As the year draws to a close, many people find themselves caught between two competing impulses. On the one hand, there is the cultural momentum of December: the rush towards celebration, the pressure to be sociable, the expectation that we should be merry simply because the calendar says so. On the other hand, there is the body’s quieter instinct, which often whispers an entirely different message. Winter, from a purely biological perspective, calls us to slow down. Shorter

Entering trauma therapy is one of the most significant decisions a person can make. It is deeply personal, often emotional, and always brave. For many people, trauma has shaped the way they see themselves and the world around them. Trauma can influence relationships, sense of safety, expectations of others, and the capacity to trust. It can touch every part of life, sometimes in ways a person may not fully recognise until much later. When the impact of trauma has been present

Every November, when the poppies reappear and Remembrance Sunday edges closer, I notice a familiar internal shift. It arrives quietly, not as ceremony, but as sensation, a heaviness behind the sternum, a heightened clarity around what really matters. It is not a flare of nationalism or nostalgia. It is recognition and memory. A reverence for stories most people will never hear. For a significant part of my clinical career, I have been lucky enough to have worked alongside ser