Your mindset shapes your world, encompassing attitudes, beliefs, and thought patterns. In psychology, two primary mindsets exist: fixed and growth, which can differ across various areas of life.

We've become masters at suppressing our negative emotions, donning a brave face, and soldiering on with our day. But in doing so, have we missed valuable lessons?

In today's fast-paced world, it's crucial to focus on our mental well-being just as we do with our physical health. One powerful tool for achieving this balance is mindfulness.

“Trust the process” is a phrase that you might hear therapists or other mental health professionals use a lot of the time. You might also see it on social media, from coaches, mindfulness instructors, or in guided meditations. But what does it really mean?

We all know that self-care in general is an important aspect of looking after our mental wellbeing. We also know that going to counselling can play a key role in self-care for many people. However, something that we often neglect to think about is that sometimes self-care isn’t pretty.

We are hardwired to seek out human connection throughout our lives. At all stages of life, we seek out connectivity with others, and sometimes these relationships are healthy, while other times they are not. As infants, we seek out the care of others in order to survive physically, and as we grow older, we seek out connection with others in order to survive and thrive mentally and emotionally.

According to the NHS, counselling is a talking therapy that involves a trained therapist listening to a client and helping the client find ways to deal with emotional issues. Counselling is most often focused on issues in the past or present such as depression, anxiety, trauma, bereavement, infertility, self-esteem, or sexual identity issues (among many others).

Going to therapy certainly doesn't mean you are crazy, and this is the most common reason that people use to not go to therapy. There is nothing wrong with going to therapy at all. Sometimes you just might have a big decision to make, other times you might want to explore different options, different ways of thinking, or have someone unbiased to discuss things with.

Many people come to therapy expecting their counsellor to tell them what to do, to tell them how to ‘get over’ something, or generally to give out life advice.

These same clients often leave their first session feeling slightly deflated and disappointed that their counsellor has not done that at all. What their counsellor will likely have done is to answer the client’s questions with another question.

The first thing that you need to look for is the therapist’s training and education. Many therapists will list this on their website or the directory that they are listed on will display the therapist’s training. There are a few different training routes to become a therapist in the UK. So, don’t be alarmed if your chosen therapist doesn’t have an MA or PhD after their name.