work place stress and anxiety counselling
 by Pat Capel

Workplace Stress Part 2

In Part 1, I explained our basic emotional needs and our innate resources.  I am now going to focus on major causes of workplace stress.

Firstly, it needs to be said that a bit of stress is good for us.  Helpful stress is what stretches us; makes us strive and learn new things and feel exhilarated.  Stretch normally happens when our needs are being met and our innate resources are being used and developed in a healthy way. It motivates us to perform at our best. But when that stress becomes overwhelming or constant and we never get the time to “rest and digest”, it becomes unhealthy and it can result in exhaustion or burnout.  And the result of that is often mental and / or physical ill health.

Read More›
in Blog
work place stress counselling
 by Pat Capel

Workplace Stress Part 1

In this first part of this series on Workplace Stress, I am going to explore the foundations of what we need in order to be emotionally and mentally healthy within the workplace.  Over the next few blogs, I am going to show you how to recognise and prevent stress in the workplace.

Read More›
in Blog
keeping exam anxiety down counselling
 by Pat Capel

Top tips for exam readiness part 3

Young people like you all over the country are busy revising for their upcoming GCSE and A Level exams. Anxiety and stress levels for you and your parents are rising. In order to make the most of these exams, it is important to keep an eye on your mental health and wellbeing. The next in the exam season series is going to focus on keeping the anxiety and stress levels as low as possible.

Read More›
in Blog
the importance of taking a break at exam time
 by Pat Capel

Take a break!

Recently, an article appeared in The Daily Mail in which it was claimed that because of the pressure of achieving top grades at GCSE or A Level, there are parents who are cancelling or postponing family holidays in the buildup to exam season.

As a teacher and counsellor, I think this is a really bad idea. What would be much better is to continue with the planned holiday but to help the child use the break in a constructive way as time away from home is good for the entire family. But the basic rule is: Establish a routine.

Read More›
in Blog
stress and anxiety exam time
 by Pat Capel

Top tips for exam readiness Part 2

Social Life: You need one. You cannot spend all day alone. Making time for meaningful face to face interaction (not on a screen) with your close friends will give you much needed down time and a shift in focus. But having chats with your classmates also allows you to gain perspective. You might realise you do actually know that complicated bit of Physics or you don’t know it quite as well as you thought you did and you need to revisit it.

Read More›
in Blog
exam stress and anxiety
 by Pat Capel

Top tips for exam readiness Part 1

Firstly, it has to be said that there is no substitution for hard work. You cannot go into the exams if you are not prepared academically. But more about that at another time. This guide is aimed at what you can do to prepare yourself emotionally for the exam season by keeping exam stress and anxiety as low as possible.

Read More›
in Blog
exam time stress advice for parents
 by Pat Capel

Exam Time for Parents (Part 1)

We are edging closer to the time of year that parents and adolescents dread the most: exam time. For some the important GCSE and A Level exams are now less than two months away.  Exam stress and anxiety can set in.  As a parent, what can you do to keep this down to a minimum?

Read More›
in Blog
well-being at work
 by Pat Capel

Wellbeing at work

Here are my top 5 tips that could help you minimise stress while at work.

1 Start and finish the day well

This could be as simple as ensuring you are not rushing out the door or running for your train. Children are always told: pack your school bag the night before. Well, we as adults should do the same. Preparation for tomorrow starts today. Get to be bed early enough that you get enough sleep. If you have a presentation tomorrow, pack what you need for it before going to bed. Check laptop is charged. Check your presentation is backed up. Pre-empt anything that could go wrong by preventing it before bedtime. And then on the journey, what can you do to relax? Read? Listen to some music?

Read More›
in Blog
impact of divorce on children counselling
 by Pat Capel

Divorce and children

I recently saw a 10-year-old boy who was struggling with his parents’ breakup. He was living with his mother and younger brother and had regular contact with his father over Skype. On the surface he was coping quite well and school mentioned that he was showing signs of acceptance but what they had noticed were moments of anger outbursts and a drop in his academic performance.

Read More›
in Blog
anxiety stress school counselling
 by Pat Capel

Anxiety in the Classroom

What are the causes of stress and anxiety in the classroom?

The following is based on personal anecdotal experience within the classroom and from my private practice and I am not going to attempt to put any scholastic or proven scientific research behind it.

Read More›
in Blog
Call Now ButtonCall Me