Ani Arnold Therapeutic Counselling

BSARCS have a new and improved website! Please share with anyone in the Barnsley area who may need our services. Thank you.

This year I have been co facilitating support groups with this organisation which has been amazing. If you or anyone you know is estranged from a family member or maybe their whole family, it's worth taking a look at the website to see if Stand Alone can support you. As we are all aware Christmas is coming which can be a particularly challenging time for people who don't have good relationships with their families. It can be a lonely time but please remember you are not alone, there are many more who find themselves without a family to celebrate Christmas with. Stand Alone can help.

I'm so lucky to be part of this amazing team. Well done everyone!

Just finished watching the Louis Theroux documentary 'Savile'. A very good revealing program, although it is haunting and disturbing. Very good account as to how abusers can use their status and create the illusion of being a good member of society in order to hide what they really do in secret. Also how this can prevent survivors from speaking out about what someone has done to them. Totally recommend watching this. I also recommend seeking help if you have experienced sexual abuse, or you have a loved one who has. If you are in the Barnsley area don't hesitate to call Barnsley Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Service (01226320140) where I spend some of my working hours. And if you are in another area, to seek out help from your local rape crisis service. Change is possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdbbtgf05 Ek

Sending these beautiful flowers to all the people who find Mother's day difficult. Whether she has passed away or you are estranged from her, or it could be that you want to become a Mum yourself and are not quite there yet. These are for you. Look after yourself today.

Thought this was a lovely little video.

Hope the new year is going well for everyone. However if you are suffering with the post holiday blues you might want to read this.
The Christmas and new year period is a subjective experience. Some love every minute of it, and cross each day off on the calendar enthusiastically until it arrives. Others dread it, and spend December feeling angry and full of hatred for the ridiculous charade of what we call Christmas and everything it stands for.
But what happens when all the ...festivities are over? The Christmas tree is coming down, leaving your house feeling bare. Night after night you notice more sparkling fairy lights being taken down by your neighbours, and the streets return to a cold, wintry and dreary normality.
Maybe you made a new years resolution at the end of 2016 when your heart was brimming with hope, and your body aching for change? But have failed miserably on the first day of the New Year, and now you completely hate yourself.
So for those who really feel the end of the festive period, in whatever way that may be, this article is for you.
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Panic attacks are more than just a collection of physical symptoms such as a pounding heart, shortness of breath, sweating and shaking etc. There are also mental states which are not as widely spoken about as they should be.

Need to speak to someone about experiences of sexual violence? You can do this today in a few hours of this post going out.The Barnsley Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Service's (BSARCS) anonymous text and email service is open Monday 10:00am - 12:00pm and Thursday 2.30pm - 4:00pm 07786209070 or support@bsarcs.org. Check their website and Facebook page for more details.

Please refer to FILM ONE - #BreakTheSilence for the full story. (All films are posted on this page).

Please refer to FILM ONE - #BreakTheSilence for the full story. (All films are posted on this page).

Please refer to FILM ONE - #BreakTheSilence for the full story. (All films are posted on this page).

A friend/colleague who I work with at Barnsley Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Service (BSARCS) shared this series of videos earlier. I felt it was important to put them on here and also my website, as the fear that comes with speaking out about experiences of rape and sexual abuse can be very intense and also paralysing for the person who has been though it.
What these videos do is inform us of what can happen when a person decides that it is time to break the silence and tell... someone what has happened to them.
There is no pressure to report anything to the police, and if legal action isn't something you are ready for, or want, you can receive counselling with someone such as myself to help you heal from what has happened.
However if legal action is something you are even slightly considering, or just want to know more about, these videos take away the mystery of what can occur after disclosure.
When we take away the mystery of something, it becomes less frighting.
I'll put the other videos in the series on here too if you are interested in watching all of them.
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Ruby Wax gives a vibrant TED talk on mental illness. She makes some fantastic points.

Just listened to this and really enjoyed it. It's worth a listen if you want to know more about the person-centred approach which is the way I work with clients. Carl Rogers is one of my heroes.

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Good Luck to everyone for 2016!