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Psychologiocal Pain or Issues

Where does Psychological pain even come from?Everyday experiences often
Squabbles, fights, anxietySometimes, there is something more obviously traumatic, like neglect or abuse. bullyingSometimes, it's part of having a chronic illness or an unpredictable illness like migrainesThe pain can show itself in many ways.
Sometimes, it's hard for the young person to express emotional pain
The pain has to go somewhere so it often surfaces as medical symptoms such as head or stomach aches
In extreme cases, there may be non-medical seizures or unexplained collapsesAll of these respond very well to these Therapies.
My Foundation in Medicine ios also really helpful here & it sometimes makes sense to also prescribe medications for symptomsDon't let a CAMHS rejection get you down
Reach out
There's a lot can be done to help, even when it seems impossible

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The cure - 2 therapies

My Foundation of medicine is very useful in treating young people with emotional painThe two therapies (used TOGETHER):1) Solution Focused TherapyRather than being stuck in the 'problem', we look beyond it
Often, solutions are completely unrelated to the original problemBesides, you're smart; you've tried every solution imaginable (resilience training, yoga, meditation, anyone?)We paint that world where things are better in glorious technicolourThen we look at how far you've already gone along that road
(You will have, I promise!)It becomes possible, feasible, and then starts to come true2) The BLAST TechniqueWe identify some of the most traumatic experiences you've had
Think of it as 'stuff', but it's effectively traumaIt doesn't need to be war or similar to count
It just has to keep triggering youIt can be called PtSD rather than PTSD to reflect the different levels of traumaCalling up those painful memories and reprocessing them once and for all to file them away for good is the basis of the therapyHow?By passing a light from side to side, which you follow with your eyes
We think this, in some way, disconnects the two sides of the brain, temporarily allowing the reprocessing to occurEffectively, we call up those memories, gently shake them up (a bit like a snowglobe) and allow them to resettle differently so they can then be filed awayOnce they're filed, they no longer sit there up and front, constantly triggering usIf it makes sense already, book the therapy already

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About Us

Medicine has changed in the 30 years I've been practisingWe understand much better how Medical issues drive Psychological ones and Vice versaI spent so much time with families where we had no more Medical options and nothing else to offerWhen we reached that point, we'd say it must be PsychologicalIt always seemed a cop-outFamilies felt we had no idea and we just gave upIn fact, it was a mixture of both medical and psychological, and they needed treating togetherAn inspirational nurse (CAMHS Claire) taught me we could treat Psychological issues in the Emergency DepartmentShe left, and then I felt compelled to learn some PsychotherapyI found Solution Focused Therapy, which is simple to understand and learn, though it takes time to masterIt so happened; my hometown in Southport is almost a world centre of Solution Focused Therapy, and I had no idea!I learned Solution Focused Hypnotherapy during the pandemic when I fractured my dominant wristThat didn't really gel with me, but I found the BLAST Technique through thisI volunteered to undergo the therapy during the training and used my own Imposter Syndrome as the subjectIt took 6 minutes to be cured of it foreverI was blown away and now help others to experience the sameMine has never recurred, and it's changed my lifeLet me let it change your life, too

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SCHOOL AVOIDANCE

School avoidance is a huge issueSometimes for medical reasons (& sometimes after a medical issue it can be hard to go back)Children become more and more behind, making it even harder to go backThey also miss social experiences & can feel 'punished' as they feel unable to see friends or do anything nice (for fear people say that they need to be back at school)School can be difficult for all sorts of children for all kinds of reasonsThe child may have autism, or be bullied, or struggle to keep upThe longer this goes on the higher the pressures on the child, family and school areSchool environments can't easily accommodate changes for many individual children, or others would want the same accommodationsHowever, the problem is now much more widespread than pre-pandemic and it is increasingly challenging to address in the school system
(which is punitive on parents too)Two Twitter / X pioneers working on this are Naomi Fisher and Pooky Knightsmith and Naomi FisherThey both take practical, empathetic approaches to school avoidance as well as working to preserve the child's safe relationship with parentsI use much of their work and views to deliver therapy to support children and familiesSolution Focused Therapy works well here as the solution isn't being back at school; it's what difference that will makeWhat would get better and what would that then lead toPlease don't give up if your child is off for a whileTherapy works (and quickly)
Please reach out if I can help

• Dr Naomi Fisher's Website

• Dr Pooky Knightsmith's Website