Even to this day, I'm still glad to have a first degree in medical sociology - as a psychotherapist there isn't a day I don't read sociology into the mental health conditions.

What I say to clients struggling with people-pleasing: Your kindness is not a free pass. You wouldn't work for free, so why are you letting people take advantage of your emotional labour? #PennyDrop

Just saw a decision to a manuscript as a reviewer. I feel for the author. I’m not an especially generous reviewer, but it’s troubling to see peer review turn into a platform for personal opinion rather than a constructive evaluation of the work itself…

R.I.P, Ronald Britton. Very few people speak the truth quite like you did!

So much going on that every conversation lately touches on some forms of existential dread or anxiety. Giving yourself the permission to unplug isn’t indifference. It's self-empathy. We can't pour from an empty cup, and we can't help others if we're drowning ourselves.

Happy to endorse Graham’s new book as a fellow Fairbairnian thinker. It explores Fairbairn’s model of endopsychic structure and offers a fresh take on it - out 11 Sep! Karnacbooks.com @ppscnyc.bsky.social @assocpsychosocial.bsky.social @theijp.bsky.social @ipaonline.bsky.social

Happy to endorse Graham’s new book as a fellow Fairbairnian thinker. It explores Fairbairn’s model of endopsychic structure and offers a fresh take on it - out 11 Sep! Karnacbooks.com @ppscnyc.bsky.social @assocpsychosocial.bsky.social @theijp.bsky.social @ipaonline.bsky.social

Great editorial opening on the latest special issue! As a contributor, good to see different takes on the topic! Read David & Liz’s piece first - then read Barry and me (same issue) to further complicate and expand the thinking on #nationalism! bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

“The Role of Nationalism in the Appeal of the Far Right” is now out. We show how banal nationalism creates the conditions for the rise of far-right populism, which exploits social alienation & economic hardship to blame outsiders for national decline bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

“The Role of Nationalism in the Appeal of the Far Right” is now out. We show how banal nationalism creates the conditions for the rise of far-right populism, which exploits social alienation & economic hardship to blame outsiders for national decline bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

Pleased to be part of the #ASEN2025

Thank you everyone who joined us yesterday - we enjoyed sharing the space, the energy, and at times anxiety and helplessness with you all! ⭐️ A record-breaking 350 people registered, showing just how eager ppl were to discuss the rise of authoritarianism affecting us all around the world.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow! 😊

As a shrink, I see the #DisabilityBenefits cuts hit like a tsunami: suicidal ideation up, hope drowned. £5.5bn saved on paper, but the human cost? Unaccountable. This proposed policy is stoppable - please write to your MP today. #WelfareNotWarfare

Join us for a morning of insightful discussions on Rising Authoritarianism and Implications for Counselling and Psychotherapy with leading thinkers #SusieOrbach #BarryRichards @wkerr.bsky.social Sign up: forms.office.com/e/JxUcQ3z7eR Fri 11th April 2025, 10am – 1:30pm Free, open to all! 🤗

"Psychoanalytic psychotherapy and autism have had a complicated relationship... key psychoanalytic concepts need to be reviewed when working with autistic patients." Read this free article from our publication The British Journal of Psychotherapy: bit.ly/4kDuBB5 #NCW25 #neurodiversity

Join us for a morning of insightful discussions on Rising Authoritarianism and Implications for Counselling and Psychotherapy with leading thinkers #SusieOrbach #BarryRichards @wkerr.bsky.social Sign up: forms.office.com/e/JxUcQ3z7eR Fri 11th April 2025, 10am – 1:30pm Free, open to all! 🤗

Someone created this on Youtube - such a cute effort to put a lantern in the background ☺️ youtube.com/watch?v=oA5G...

“If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” A classic quote from Malcolm X, who was assassinated 60 years ago today.

[CfP] Hope and Despair: Crisis and Opportunity Annual Conference of the Association for Psychosocial Studies (APS) 9-10 June 2025, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London TW1 4SX Deadline: 10 February 2025 www.psychosocial-studies-association.org/conference-2...

[CfP] Hope and Despair: Crisis and Opportunity Annual Conference of the Association for Psychosocial Studies (APS) 9-10 June 2025, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London TW1 4SX Deadline: 10 February 2025 www.psychosocial-studies-association.org/conference-2...

The #Psychoanalysis & the #Psychosocial Group discussed Nini Kerr’s evocative & reflective article, ‘Culture as the Bad Object’ @ our 3rd session. It’s available open access & well worth reading link.springer.com/article/10.1... & www.bpc.org.uk/event/psycho... @ninikerr.bsky.social

Blessed Solstice to All! Welcome back the Light!

There’s a part of us that seeks to be ‘right’ rather than finding peace within ourselves. Choosing peace over self-righteousness is a radical act - one that requires humility and the courage to recognise that relationships and differences often hold greater value than proving a point

The unconscious is not a private realm but a space shaped by social inscriptions.

Culture as the Bad Object (2024) link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Phillips to Avgi: "What do you hate about psychoanalysis?" A rare kind of playful jousting and intellectual flirting between two thoughtful psychoanalysts by @redclinic.bsky.social. Each person always expanding the conversation in new directions. Highly recommend. youtu.be/9RdcWbyP9qM?...

Happy to be completing the pilot project, Decolonising Counselling & Psychotherapy: Reflections from Psychosocial Perspectives Huge thanks to all who joined us in reimagining counselling & psychotherapy as a relational act toward social justice Read our reflections: blogs.ed.ac.uk/teaching-mat...

“The act of listening is an act of justice” - Jessica Benjamin Truly listening to another person is a political act, as it affirms their humanity and agency, especially for those whose experiences have been oppressed or disenfranchised

Choose to be with those who restores the you power in you, not those who drains it away from you. These are people who help you feel whole, affirmed, and recognised - the reparative good objects who hold all of you together, rather than breaking you apart #psychoanalytic

It’s very hard to love oneself, to truly offer yourself the respite of kindness, in this day and age when we’ve become so consumed by the race to achieve and perform. But it’s okay to press pause, even if just for today Reminder from the Scottish Highlands

Such a shame the word ‘dialogue’ has become such a management tool!

Dog-sniffing is an essential part of my morning routine

Not really about names but about British media’s not so subtle way to incite moral panic www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This new book looks fantastic and with lots to learn for economists too. press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

Unequal opportunities for minoritised students are a pressing issue. This disparity is especially evident in teaching opportunities for pg students. Only 34% BAME students offered teaching opportunities compared to 41% of their white counterparts www.timeshighereducation.com/news/teachin...

'The lack of teaching opportunities is particularly apparent among PGRs from an ethnic minority, with just 34 per cent of black, Asian or minority ethnic PGRs doing any teaching during their research degree compared with 41 per cent of white PGRs.' Link to report below. 2/2

'Only 37 per cent of PGRs say they have had the chance to teach or demonstrate, according to the survey, published on 5 December, which received responses from PGRs at 57 UK and four Australian universities.' 1/2

Women with PhDs 1 Musk’s troll army 0 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Call for research proposals for a fully-funded PhD in #Psychoanalysis & Culture @ Ulster University, Belfast 3-year research projects with an emphasis on the object relations tradition of psychoanalysis. I will supervise the project. Further details: www.ulster.ac.uk/doctoralcoll...

Great time at Framing Racial (In) Equality final event today showcasing student voice & brainstorming impactful actions to support racialised students in School of Health in Social Science at Edinburgh. Grateful for ongoing support for Decolonising HiSS Working Group & EDI Committee!

""Militarist-nationalism is the perennial mechanism through which the state enacts division and blame, and through which fundamental freedoms are curtailed." My blogpost on the increased suppression of dissent & scapegoating of racialised communities in the UK

It's critical to read about this & oppose it. The "terrorism" label is a political weapon for oppressing Palestinians, Muslims, and/or people of color. That's what it was designed for within US legal regimes. There is no way to reform or expand the label that undoes its fundamental colonial nature.

Always a joy to connect with fellow trailblazers, such as @rmkhan.bsky.social today! I highly recommend her article ‘Positionality Statements as a Function of Coloniality: Interrogating Reflexive Methodologies’ academic.oup.com/isq/article/...

Happy publication day to READING ARENDT IN THE WAITING ROOM!

"France is so attached to its so-called colour-blindness that it cannot stand the public existence of anyone who challenges the theoretical universalism of our republic" Spot on as always by @rokhayadiallo.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

📢 CfP ‘Hope and Despair: Crisis and Opportunity’ APS Annual Conference 🗓️ 9-10 June St Mary’s University London Key themes: diverse psychosocial perspectives on how crises shape lives & societies ⏳ Deadline: 10 Feb 25 www.psychosocial-studies-association.org/conference-2...

I’m exhausted, plain and simple. Not everything needs to be interpreted or analysed further.