Sandra's blog | Counsellors On Call - Part 2

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When Family Hurts

Sandra Bowden 11/08/2017

There is a deep need in all of us to belong, to be part of people we can call home. Generally, ‘home’ is our family, those individuals we are connected to by blood. Within a good enough family, we are supported, loved, protected, comforted, and celebrated. There is an experience of reliability and dependability within […]

THREE QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ASK

Sandra Bowden 07/08/2017

Marriage counselling has been a place of great learning, not just for my clients, but for me as a counsellor. It is not about what I think, and understand about marriage after years of education and training, but what I know, because of those couples who have been willing, and brave enough, to present the […]

Intoxicating or Toxic Relationship

Sandra Bowden 04/08/2017

There is nothing quite like starting a new relationship. It is fun and exciting. It seems everything changes for the better, and life feels intoxicating to say the least. But what if the relationship starts off on a foundation of conflicting values, different levels of commitment, betrayal, and denial? These potentially toxic factors could predict […]

When your life and my life matters

Sandra Bowden 28/07/2017

It seems the most common cause for the failing of marriages and partnerships is change. Change is inevitable; like the passing of time, change is going to happen. We evolve as people individually, so in turn our relationships will evolve, or not. We fall in love, we get married, make a commitment to one person, […]

A new normal

Sandra Bowden 26/07/2016

A few days ago I had a conversation with a young woman who recently became a parent. As most new mums do, she talked easily about the joys of parenthood; how amazing her body is for being able to produce this perfect little human being, falling in love as she could never have imagined she […]

Tell me the truth!

Sandra Bowden 21/10/2015

Over the years I have heard this phrase many times in couples and family counselling. Often made me think about the 1992 movie, A Few Good Men with Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise, when Nicholson’s character, Colonel Jessep, yells out in court “You can’t handle the truth!” It is one thing asking for the truth, […]

Considering the importance of our thoughts

Sandra Bowden 02/10/2015

Thoughts….we all have them, and they do impact our lives emotionally, behaviorally, and within our relationships with those around us. Many experts in the field of counselling and psychology have researched this topic in depth, to bring us new ways of understanding and managing our own thought patterns. In many instances the focus is on […]

The gift of time

Sandra Bowden 19/05/2015

I was sitting in a cafe nearby my home office the other morning, enjoying my morning coffee, when I overheard a lady talking with a friend about losing her job. One of the concerns she mentioned before I respectfully moved away from their conversation, was her fear about having all this time on her hands […]

Family Relationships

Sandra Bowden 13/05/2015

On a recent trip to Europe, we had a few days in London, and on the morning we flew to Dublin, we hailed a cab to take us to Gatwick Airport. It was a cold and beautiful sunny morning in London, and our cabby was very chatty. He talked about his upcoming 70th birthday party […]