In 2018, a research led by Anderson and Jiang estimated that 45% of teenagers use their smartphone near-constantly. This was 5 years ago, before the pandemic, before we spent all that time home, before the algorithm of most apps diabolically perfected even further in the art of hooking customers to screens (ie the introduction of the infinite scroll on Instagram and most social media , anyone?). What could it be now? I am not sure how you feel but this makes me feel awful and utterly worried. After I watched the Dove advert campaign "Cost of Beauty" about girls and social media and seeing how ..read more

"Once you start approaching your body with curiosity rather than with fear, everything shifts." Bessel van der Kolk I remember that a few years ago I was quite impressed, surprised and somehow grateful that Prince William said “ Just like physical health, we all have mental health." Despite the enormous acknowledgement of mental health needs and the normalization of psychological therapies, we still seem to live to some extent in an era where mental health is still a taboo or something to hide. Many clients of mine do not disclose to their parents that they are seeing a Psychologist. Another i ..read more

How familiar does the following scenario sound to to you? Let's take Lisa, a self-employed London based professional who often creates quite challenging expectations for herself: neverending to-do lists, multiple complex projects and competing deadlines because " I can't say no, I owe them", " it is now or never for my career", "all the others manage so easily, why shouldn't I do it?" and all other very valid reasons. Most importantly, she must succeed in all tasks and get it this right time. By doing that, Lisa inadvertently puts a huge amount of pressure on herself. When the times comes to ..read more

I will not attempt to deny it in any way. This last year has been rough for most of us. Lately, to escape from the grim news and to practice some self-care, I have intentionally avoided any kind of entertainment that reminded me of loss, tragedy, mourning. I was doing quite well with my resolution until I stumbled across " "Pieces of a woman", a Netflix film from Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó starring Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf, produced by Martin Scorsese. I certainly knew what the plot of "Pieces of a Woman" was about , but nevertheless I decided to watch it, despite my resolution ..read more

There is something that I definitely noticed in my practice in the last weeks. Several new patients who very recently decided to start therapy , as well as existing clients, wondered why they have been feeling worse when the lockdown restrictions were lifted than when the country was in full lockdown mode and they were barely leaving the house. I think this graph may help understanding these feelings. In this post, I will not focus on individuals and families that were affected by a death of their loved ones as the psychological responses to such traumatic events are quite different. I will r ..read more

For us in the United Kingdom, it will probably be remembered as THE serie of the lockdown. I am referring to Normal People, the BBC/Hulu 12 episodes Tv adaptation of Sally Rooney’s hit novel of a couple of years ago. I am not sure how many of you read the book. I personally did and although it was a good companion on my daily bus ride, I did not consider it as a book to remember in decades, but maybe just a pleasurable tale of young love. The serie is a different story. It extensively is quite loyal to the book but it has opened to me so many more doors than the book has so after an initial re ..read more

Let me begin with a question. What stage of the Coronavirus lockdown are you in? Or should I say “time zone”? As you know, here in the UK the official lockdown started a week ago, in France a little longer than two weeks ago, in Italy three weeks ago. Since a big, large chunk of my connections, my heart, my identity , my emotional world is in Italy, I have been in lockdown for nearly three weeks (emotionally and practically, too). That seems to have not been unusual. From a quick survey, I have discovered that most Europeans in London have been following the guidelines from their country of o ..read more

I will not attempt to deny it in any way. This last year has been rough for most of us. Lately, to escape from the grim news and to practice some self-care, I have intentionally avoided any kind of entertainment that reminded me of loss, tragedy, mourning. I was doing quite well with my resolution until I stumbled across " "Pieces of a woman", a Netflix film from Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó starring Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf, produced by Martin Scorsese. I certainly knew what the plot of "Pieces of a Woman" was about , but nevertheless I decided to watch it, despite my resolution ..read more

There is something that I definitely noticed in my practice in the last weeks. Several new patients who very recently decided to start therapy , as well as existing clients, wondered why they have been feeling worse when the lockdown restrictions were lifted than when the country was in full lockdown mode and they were barely leaving the house. I think this graph may help understanding these feelings. In this post, I will not focus on individuals and families that were affected by a death of their loved ones as the psychological responses to such traumatic events are quite different. I will r ..read more

For us in the United Kingdom, it will probably be remembered as THE serie of the lockdown. I am referring to Normal People, the BBC/Hulu 12 episodes Tv adaptation of Sally Rooney’s hit novel of a couple of years ago. I am not sure how many of you read the book. I personally did and although it was a good companion on my daily bus ride, I did not consider it as a book to remember in decades, but maybe just a pleasurable tale of young love. The serie is a different story. It extensively is quite loyal to the book but it has opened to me so many more doors than the book has so after an initial re ..read more