Welcome to the Westmeria Counselling blog, where our counsellors and expert contributors share valuable insights about the challenges that matter most, from managing anxiety to coping with loss.
Each month, we publish thoughtful articles designed to offer guidance and practical tools for emotional well-being. Whether you’re currently in counselling or looking for ways to support your mental health, we hope you find these blogs helpful and reassuring.
Westmeria College- Training Passionate Counsellors
I had some feedback from one of my students recently regarding the CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in therapeutic counselling course she is studying on. It said: ‘Compared to my previous college I view this to be the Oxford/Cambridge equivalent of college courses and I feel...
Running and Counselling: For me they are one of the same?
2015 was the year that I learnt to run and my journey to better mental health started. The two are intricately joined and have been for the past nearly 6 years. When my youngest son went to school, I was frazzled from nearly 10 years at home with preschoolers. Those...
Mental Health and the Relevance of Sleep
Whereas quality/lack of sleep is often not viewed as a presenting problem in counselling work, it can be a contributory factor to distress and is therefore worthy of a greater understanding. Scientific research which incorporates biology, genetics and medication,...
Westmeria Mental Health Awareness Workshop
For nearly 20 years, Westmeria Counselling Service has worked with members of our local community and Primary Care Trust to support their mental health and wellbeing. Our counselling service has been vital in assisting clients make the most of their potential, help...
A Christmas Pause: Change the state to change the story
Despite what M&S, John Lewis or Aldi would have us believe about Christmas, for many people, Christmas is a time of stress – a time when we may feel under pressure and depleted emotionally, physically, relationally and financially. Often other people’s Christmas...
London Virtual Marathon 2020
On Sunday 4th October, we were incredibly lucky to have Matt running the Virgin London Virtual Marathon in aid of Westmeria. Like many charities, the London marathon is a huge event in our fundraising calendar, so in the wake of the pandemic, this year has been very...
Suicide Prevention Month
In honour of September being Suicide Prevention Month, we at Westmeria wanted to take the opportunity to explore how to best support yourself, or anyone you know who may be struggling. Firstly, it’s important to understand you are not alone in experiencing these...
Westmeria Celebrates 6 Years of Counselling Training!
We are very proud to have just completed our 6th year of delivering counselling training… and what a year it has been. Despite the challenging and uncertain times of recent months, we are very proud to have kept our training courses going, which has been no small...
How to plan a self care day
Making the most of your self-care day self-care /sɛlfˈkɛː/ noun the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health. the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress....
Why Volunteer? My Experience as a Volunteer Counsellor
Volunteers' Week takes place 1 - 7 June every year. It's a chance to celebrate and say thank you to all volunteers out there. However, you might be forgiven for asking, ‘why do people volunteer their time for nothing?’ Calvin Holbrook, writing for ‘Happiness.com’...
What to Expect from a Counselling Assessment
If you are reading this, you may have a counselling assessment coming up, or are thinking about reaching out to a counselling service and wondering what will come next. Either way, reaching out for support is a positive and incredibly brave step, so you should be very...
The New Normal
I’ve heard a lot about the ‘new normal’. It seems to be a bit of a catch all to encompass everything that is going on for us at the moment. All the uncertainty, anxiety, stress, worry and opportunity in our lives are tied into this new normal, which is something to...
Stress Awareness Month
Rather aptly it seems, April is Stress Awareness month. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us are facing an incredible stressful and uncertain time. In this blog, we’ll take a look at what stress is, some ideas on ways to cope, and a personal account from...
Eating Disorder Awareness
Sharing my personal experience, knowledge and enthusiasm about how we can do more for people with this serious mental illness. I know how it feels to be extremely slim. Until my thirties I was under-weight, and in my twenties people mistakenly thought I had an eating...
Random Acts of Kindness
Random Acts of Kindness day is on February 17th and here at Westmeria we are privileged to witness how acts of kindness can impact someone and their everyday life. Random Acts of Kindness began in 1993 when Anne Herbert scrawled on a napkin practice random acts of...
Overcoming the January Blues
With the highs of Christmas activity starting earlier and earlier each year, and the fun of the festive season feeling like an ongoing period of celebrations, it is no wonder that January pales in light and mood when we are left feeling the discomfort of...
Christmas- A time for Great Expectations
With Christmas approaching it is often met with very mixed emotions. Everyone ‘should’ be excited and ‘should’ be looking forward to the Christmas break. With that comes Great Expectations – from others and also, and sometimes with more pressure and demands, from...
Understanding the freeze stress response
When we are faced with actual or perceived dangerous or threatening situations, our fight, flight or freeze stress response is activated. This unconscious defence mechanism enables us to instantaneously evaluate the situation and triggers a series of physiological...
An insight to Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Generally anxiety is a normal reaction and we need this to survive. It only becomes a problem when it gets out of our control. Learning to understand our body and our own normal range of anxiety is paramount to us being able to manage heightened anxiety and...
Mindfulness at Westmeria
We believe mindfulness can have an incredibly positive impact on our mental health, which is why we're running a NEW mindfulness course here at Westmeria Counselling. Run by our counsellor Sheena, this 6 week course is perfect for beginners who would like to learn...