Mental Health Blog by Tracy Dixon

Path through a wood represents finding a way forwards

Why working with grief can feel difficult in counselling.

Working with grief in counselling isn’t always straightforward. This blog explores why it can feel difficult and what may be sitting underneath.

Grief and Loss

Tracy Dixon

6 days ago3 min read

Man looking out of window feeling guilty

Understanding guilt and how to ease it

Guilt can show up in many different areas of life, often leaving us questioning what we should have done differently. This post explores why guilt can feel so strong and how to begin to ease it.

Mental Health

Tracy Dixon

Mar 315 min read

5 Common Themes That Show Up in Grief Counselling

Grief can feel confusing and changeable. One day you might feel okay, and the next it hits you again. In this blog, I share 5 common themes that often come up in grief counselling.

Grief and Loss

Tracy Dixon

Mar 233 min read

Disenfranchised Grief: When Loss Isn’t Recognised

Disenfranchised grief refers to losses that are not always recognised by others. This blog explores hidden grief and how it can appear in counselling.

Grief and Loss

Tracy Dixon

Mar 164 min read

Woman drinking tea thinking about the loss she has experienced

The Hidden Losses of Being a Carer

My very first placement as a trainee counsellor was working with carers. I quickly realised how challenging being a carer could be — the responsibilities, the emotional load, and the ways life can change when someone is caring for another person. Seeing these challenges up close taught me how much grief can be involved when you become a carer and how easily these losses can go unrecognised. This blog explores some of those losses — the shifts in identity, autonomy, relatio

Grief and Loss

Tracy Dixon

Mar 94 min read

man looking out of window contemplating his loss

When a Relationship Ends: Understanding the Grief Behind Breakups

When people think about grief, they usually think about death. But in therapy rooms, grief often shows up in many other ways. One of the most common, and sometimes least recognised, is the grief that follows the end of a relationship.

Relationships

Tracy Dixon

Mar 65 min read

What working with grief can bring up for counsellors

Reflections on sitting with grief in the therapy room. When counsellors talk to me about feeling unsure in grief work, it can come from a few different places. For some people, they haven’t had much grief training yet, so they’re still building the foundations. For others, they know the theory and have read the books, but when they’re sitting with real loss in the room, it still feels overwhelming — sometimes scary — often very raw. And a lot of the time it’s both: I want to

Tracy Dixon

Feb 132 min read

What I’ve learned from years of counselling people through grief

Working alongside grief - reflections from a Grief Counsellor When I first began working with grief, like many counsellors, I leaned heavily on the theories. Models, stages, tasks – they offered structure and a sense of direction. And they are useful. I still return to them often. But years of sitting with bereaved clients has taught me that grief rarely behaves in the tidy ways the textbooks suggest. Grief doesn’t arrive in neat stages. It doesn’t move forward in a straight

Tracy Dixon

Feb 22 min read

An elderly couple shares a joyful moment on a sunny day, standing outside a charming, vine-covered brick house.

What to Do When You’re Caring for Someone: How to Cope and Where to Find Support

While it’s an act of love and dedication, caring for another person can take a toll on your own emotional and physical wellbeing. The good news is that support is available.

Mental Health

Tracy Dixon

Jul 28, 20254 min read

Understanding Social Anxiety: How Exposure Therapy Can Make a Difference

Struggling with social anxiety? Learn how exposure therapy can help you overcome fear and regain confidence in social situations. Discover how small, mindful steps can lead to big changes in your emotional wellbeing.

Anxiety

Tracy Dixon

Apr 28, 20254 min read