A great example of Dad 'holding space' for his young son. He is calm and 'regulated' - modelling how 'to be' , without judgement, shaming his youngster, fear or anger. What does that mean for the little lad? He grows up feeling secure, loved, supported and accepted. He learns how to 'regulate' himself as his capacity for language and understanding develops. Wonderful!

We are mere humans. Not perfect but perfectly imperfect. In our mistakes, comes growth...if we look for it. It never surprises me that we often keep making the same mistakes but once it is in our awareness, we can, maybe, do something differently. Exploring our patterns in therapy can reap huge benefits. Personal development is growth and growth is good!

This can be a difficult time of year - daylight is getting shorter, nights longer, grey days and the possibility of a long, cold winter ahead of us. Less physical activity can mean being more with ourselves and that is not always a comfortable place to be. Stresses can feel that much darker. Having a nervous breakdown could seem like the ultimate calamity. Far from it. Handled correctly, it can be a unique opportunity to learn - and to get properly well. What got you there? What changes could you make? What cannot be changed? Our past cannot be changed but we can learn from it and maybe change our perspective. When in the pit, there is only one way out...up!

Playfulness is a superpower! How do we live playfully? Steven Gross talks us through how in this marvellous TED talk. Play is the spirit we bring to everything - are we fully present in the moment?

Experience the world like a child. They soon forget their quarrels with their friends and start playing together once again. Maybe this helps them to be happy and smiling? Translated into the language of adults, perhaps we should learn to forget and forgive more? Not forgetting the power in play either!

What change can do for us? Change helps us grow Changes often force us to adapt in ways we’ve never experienced, which can promote personal (and even professional) growth and development. Change teaches you to be flexible Change can be something that gets us out of a rut. By embracing change and meeting it head-on with excitement, we can learn not to be so set in our ways, which can help us maintain a more positive attitude. Change can challenge our values and beliefs Reacting to change often involves re-evaluating our belief system. If you’re devoutly religious, for example, you don’t need to turn your faith on its head but if you’re open to learning new ways of approaching problems, you may find you learn something. Alternately, change may simply reinforce your trust in the belief system you already have. Either way, you become stronger. Change reveals your strengths Without being forced to accept changes, we might never recognise our own strength including our ability to adapt in new and possibly more exciting ways. Change makes you more compassionate If we become complacent, it can be much more difficult to understand what others might be going through. Change reminds us to be kind when we’re considering the choices other people may make. Change breaks up routines Some routines, like brushing and flossing our teeth, are good to maintain but other routines can leave us bored and possibly even contribute to depression and stress. If we break up our routine; change keeps our mind active, refocusing our thoughts so our mind stays active and doesn’t become fixated on negative thought patterns. Change offers opportunities By altering how we live our life, even in a small way, change can present us with opportunities that can have a domino effect, providing us with more choices so we can lead a more fulfilling and authentic life.

What many of us long for more than anything else is a simpler life; we can often feel overwhelmed by our responsibilities, schedules, commitments and obligations. This short film is about how to create the simpler life we deserve.

Identify your fears – and your goals. Why? Knowing what we want, as well as what we don’t want, allows us to stay focused to pursue our goals. Take baby steps to build confidence. Create a self-fulfilling prophecy to encourage your success. Remember to consider the source of any discouragement from others. Maintain momentum by repeating Steps 1-5 over time. So acknowledge your fears and goals, take another baby step in the direction of your goal, in order to create a self-fulfilling prophecy of success. So, moving beyond our fears can actually help us reach our goals.

Sadly, men are still under pressure in life, and in the bedroom, to be untiring, masterful and dominant. It’s generally assumed men are always ready for sex and women’s interest is much less, and subjective. It’s time we stop this oversimplification of men and start debunking some of our strongest assumptions about men. Esther Perel shares with us her expertise in overcoming male performance anxiety.

1. Commit yourself to tidying up The KonMari method does require time and effort. But once you have made up your mind, all you need to do is apply the right method. 2. Imagine your ideal lifestyle You would rather start tidying right away? That is precisely why so many people suffer rebound after tidying up. 3. Finish discarding first One characteristic of people who never seem to finish tidying up is that they attempt to store everything without getting rid of anything. When things are put away, a home will look neat, but if the storage units are filled with unnecessary items, it will be impossible to keep them organised, and this will inevitably lead to a relapse. 4. Tidy by category, not location For example, when tidying clothes, gather every item of clothing from the entire house in one spot. This allows you to see exactly how much you have. It’s very important to get an accurate grasp of the sheer volume for each category. 5. Follow the right order It is: clothes, books, papers, komono (miscellany) and finally, sentimental items. Have you ever run across old photos while tidying and found that hours have passed while you were looking at them? This is a very common blunder, and clearly illustrates the point of tidying in the proper order, which is designed to help you hone your ability to distinguish what sparks joy. Clothes are ideal for practising this skill, while photos and other sentimental items are the epitome of what you should not touch until you have perfected it. 6. Ask yourself if it sparks joy Remember: you are not choosing what to discard but rather what to keep. Keep only those things that bring you joy. Extracted from Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying (Vermilion, £12.99) by Marie Kondo

One of our most basic psychological needs is to create a home, that is a space that is decorated in such a way as to reflect our values back to us. The summer holidays is often a time when many of us will spend time and money on our homes. We can get so excited, or distressed, by matters of home decoration - and why, after trips away, we often long to get back to our own place. The School of Life gives us a little more to think about!

I have recently bought this book and I like it! Sometimes I struggle with books that are too wordy or just not thorough enough so this is a refreshing read and yes, I have recommended it to clients. Most parents want their child to be happy and most parents want to avoid messing things up. So how do you achieve that? In this absorbing, clever and funny book, popular psychotherapist Philippa Perry shares what really matters and what behaviour it is important to avoid - the vital dos and don'ts of parenting. Instead of mapping out the 'perfect' plan, Perry offers a big-picture look at the elements that lead to good parent-child relationships. This refreshing, judgement-free guide will help you to: - Understand how your own upbringing may affect your parenting - Accept that you will make mistakes and learn what you can do about them - Break negative cycles and patterns - Handle your own and your child's feelings - Understand what different behaviours communicate Full of sage and sane advice, this is a book that every parent will learn from and every child will wish their parents had read.