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When Clients Say “I Don’t Know”
ByJo Oxley(And Why That’s Not Resistance) There are few phrases that can quietly derail a therapy session like this one: “I don’t know.” And often, something happens inside the therapist. We might feel momentarily stuck.We might try another angle.We might gently probe, rephrase, offer options. Or – if we’re honest – we might wonder whether the…
When You Feel Useless, Bored, Anxious or Pulled to Rescue
ByJo Oxley(Why Your Reactions Matter More Than You Think) There are moments in therapy we rarely speak about openly. Moments when you feel oddly flat.Restless.Anxious.Pulled to reassure or fix.Quietly ineffective. These reactions can feel uncomfortable – even unprofessional. We’re trained to focus on the client’s internal world, not our own. And yet, attachment-informed practice asks us…
Why Insight Doesn’t Soothe a Dysregulated Nervous System
ByJo Oxley(And What Actually Helps Instead) There’s a familiar experience many counsellors share – often with a hint of frustration they feel they shouldn’t admit. The client understands. They can name the pattern.They can trace it back to childhood.They can explain exactly why they react the way they do. And yet… nothing changes. The same anxiety…
Attachment in EMDR Therapy when Trauma Processing Gets Stuck
ByJo OxleyWhen the Memory Isn’t the Only Thing in the Room EMDR can be incredibly powerful. I have seen it help clients move through memories they have carried for years, reduce the emotional charge around what happened and finally begin to feel that the past is in the past. But sometimes the work doesn’t move in…
New Year Resolutions – Old Patterns: The Challenge of Change Through an Attachment Lens
ByJo OxleyBy a therapist with a soft spot for attachment theory and a healthy scepticism about January makeovers Every January we are invited—no, instructed—to reinvent ourselves. New bodies. New habits. New lives. It’s a seductive promise, usually delivered alongside a discounted gym membership and a faint sense of personal failure. But from an attachment perspective, most…
Disorganised Attachment: When the Person Who Should Protect You Also Frightens You
ByJo OxleyDisorganised Attachment: When the Person Who Should Protect You Also Frightens You Disorganised attachment is one of those areas of attachment theory that I find both fascinating and, if I’m honest, quite difficult to get my head around at times. Not because the basic idea is particularly complicated. In fact, when you strip it back,…
