Category Archives: Uncategorized

New qualification

Verifying the work I have done over many years in the areas of psychology and philosophy, the Open University today confirmed my award of a BA (Hons) Philosophy and Psychology.

This award is useful to my work since before the psychologist Wundt, philosophy was the area of science that dealt with the mind. Study in philosophy and psychology therefore enables the graduate to have studied far deeper than those who have merely studied modern psychology.

Psychology in it’s various names has after all dated back to 4500 BCE in china and to Alexander the Great in the west.

Philosophy and in particular Socratic counselling, influences my work and my style, providing psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and hypnoanalysis in Edinburgh and Falkirk.

psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, hypnoanalysis, counselling, Edinburgh, Stuart morgan-Ayrs
Stuart, Psychoanalyst, hypnotherapist

RIP British contributor to Humanism

John Rowan has sadly passed away.

John Rowan was a founder of the UKAHPP and a significant figure in humanism in the UK

Humanism of course is largely USA philosophy (influenced by Eastern psychology) mixed with direct Eastern philosophy. Rowan was however a massive influence in the field in the UK, at least for many years.

Reaching the great age of 93 years old, John will be sadly missed.

Although on the couple of occasions John and I met, we were not on the same side of debates, he was someone to listen to, and respect.

I wish his family well, and wish him personally peace.

Ongoing Professional Development

Buddhist and Mindful Psychology

It is a little bit annoying to say the least, as an ordained minister and a Martial Art expert (5th Dan) to have to pander to the western ideas about what mindfulness is! (I’ve trained academically too). I am an ordained minister (multi-faith and humanistic) and am on the FHT Accredited Register under mindfulness. I am a personal practitioner and my 2nd major accreditation was with the NACHP, where the honorary president was a mindfulness within hypnotherapy expert (Yapko).

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is PART of Buddhist, Taoist and Zen based psychology
Multiple Mindfulness certifications

Acceptance

Acceptance is a basic part of the above
Multiple Mindfulness certifications

Compassion

Compassion is a crucial part of the above
Multiple Mindfulness certifications

 

In real Eastern humanistic tradition: there are 3 stages:

  1. Self awareness
  2. Self forgiveness
  3. Self responsibility

So annoying to KEEP hearing reinvented  psychology over and over when it dates back to 4500 BCE!

 

Key Words

Mindfulness, Acceptance, Compassion, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, Shinto, Paganism, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Counselling, Hypnotherapy, MBCT, MBSR, CBT, CBASP, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk

Federation of Holistic Therapists. Registered Hypnotherapist and complementary holistic therapist

Federation of Holistic Therapists. Registered Hypnotherapist and complementary holistic therapist: Hypnotherapy, Mindfulness Therapy, EMMETT

National Council of Psychotherapists. Psychotherapy, Counselling, Psychoanalysis, Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy, Psychology, Mental Health

National Council of Psychotherapists. Psychotherapy, Counselling, Psychoanalysis, Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy, Psychology, Mental Health

Important Humanistic Psychology Conference London 7th Oct

 

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

 

Arrival and registration – 9 a.m. onwards

 

Conference chairs’ Intro – 9.40 till 9.50 (Richard House [AHP] and Stuart Morgan-Ayrs [AHPP])

 

Maureen O’Hara – 9.50 till 10.50 (incl. questions etc.)

“Expanding a Humanistic Vision for a 21st Century Psychology”

 

Brief comfort break – 10.50 till 11.05 (no refreshments)

 

Jill Hall – 11.05 till 11.45

“Holding the Vision of what It Is To Be a Whole Human Being as We Embrace the Digital Age”

 

Book launch – 11.50 till 12.10 (merging into lunch – with requested signings over lunch)

 

 

Lunch – 12.10 till 1.10

 

 

David Wasdell – 1.15 till 1.55

“Frontiers of a Paradigm Shift:  Transforming Humanistic Psychology for Tomorrow’s World”

 

Robin Shohet – 2 till 2.40

“Outside the Box”

 

Brief comfort break – 2.40 till 2.50 (no refreshments)

 

Open plenary (with book contributors’ panel) – 2.50 till 3.30

(Chair: John Rowan)

 

Zohar (Dina) Glouberman – 3.30 till 4.10

“Your Own Humanistic Future: A Visualisation Experience”

 

Refreshment break / music / social (Music by Jennifer Maidman and Annie Whitehead) – 4.10 till 5’ish

 

 

One-day HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY Conference

 

Expanding a Humanistic Vision for a 21st Century Psychology

 

Saturday 7th October 2017

Resources for London, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA

 

Dear friends and colleagues,

Just sending you the details again about our forthcoming conference and book launch – a snip at £60 for such a stellar list of speakers!  I’m also appending the link to our new book, which will be formally launched at the conference.

This is a CPD event, and we still have spaces; so if you could circulate these details to your lists and contacts, that would be much appreciated – many thanks.

Warm best

Richard

Online detailshttp://ahpb.org/index.php/one-day-humanistic-psychology-conference/

ONE-DAY HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY CONFERENCE – AHPB

ahpb.org

The purpose of AHP, as set out in the objects contained in the company’s Memorandum of Association, is to: “Benefit the public by furthering the education of

ONE-DAY HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY CONFERENCE – AHPB

ahpb.org

The purpose of AHP, as set out in the objects contained in the company’s Memorandum of Association, is to: “Benefit the public by furthering the education of

Booking online:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/expanding-a-humanistic-vision-for-a-21st-century-psychology-tickets-36013638763

Expanding a Humanistic Vision for a 21st Century …

www.eventbrite.co.uk

Eventbrite – Association for Humanistic Psychology GB presents Expanding a Humanistic Vision for a 21st Century Psychology – Saturday, 7 October 2017at Resource For …

THE BOOK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanistic-Psychology-Current-Trends-Prospects/dp/1138698911/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504881519&sr=8-1&keywords=humanistic+house

Dublin

Dublin branch OPEN

In an extension to our services, a branch is currently being opened in Dublin. Official finalisation of premises is expected this month (August) in preparation for launch shortly.

What is available in Dublin

The full range of research evidence based therapies is provided in Dublin and is covered by our insurance (full international cover) and our international professional memberships.

 

How to book

Contact via the contact us page HERE

Dis-associative Disorders

Psychological therapy for Dis-associative Disorders

Dis-associative disorders are conditions where the sufferer dis-associates for periods of time. What this means in basic terms is they mentally “switch off” or “blank” in a way that may either appear to be day dreaming, or which may just resemble a silent few moments. In more severe cases two other presentations may occur: dis-associating into a different personality, or with a loss of consciousness.

Short blank disassociations

This is the most likely version to be seen, the person reacts to stress or an anxiety trigger by “being elsewhere”. it can also be the result of a flash back being triggered where a historical event is being recalled. The person may appear inattentive, distance, and seem to be ignoring you. This can lead to misunderstanding, conflict and accusations of laziness or inattention, especially in adolescents in education or when it occurs in the workplace. Depending on whether a task is under way at the time, it is possible for this task to be interrupted for a moment, or even, for example, for a cup of tea being made to be split or dropped.

It should be noted that it is very hard to tell these short blanks apart from epileptic “absence” seizures and  it is important to discuss them with your medical doctor and not assume they are psychological in nature.  It should be remembered however that it is more usual for psychological disassociation to be misdiagnosed as epilepsy.

Personality change disassociation

In more severe cases the personality of the sufferer undergoes a change in the disassociated state and a person may appear to have changed in their behaviour, attitude and even in what they believe and remember. What occurs in this state may not be remembered afterwards.

It is a matter of debate whether this is related to schizophrenia or not,  with some sufferers of disassociation adamant that it is a different condition entirely, and some sufferers of schizophrenia claiming that their condition is itself a form of disassociation.

Loss of consciousness disassociation

Often called Non Epileptic Attack Disorder (NEAD) or pseudo-epilepsy,  this is the ultimate disassociation response. The person will loss consciousness and will often shake or spasm as one would expect to see in epilepsy. NEAD is often initially misdiagnosed as epilepsy.

Most people are aware of flight and fight responses to danger. The third response however is that seen in the humble possum. The person loses consciousness, lies still playing dead, the body is flooded by natural pain killers, and for the predator the sufferer / possum appears to be a long dead and unpalatable prey. This state is often associated with loss of bowel or bladder control, again to make the prey smell “off”.  This is a highly primal response to extreme danger.

Causes of disassociation

Disassociation occurs when the sufferer has a history of being faced by traumas such as abuse or rape which can not be coped with at their mental state or age. Thus it is common for these conditions to be present in adult survivors of child sexual abuse or domestic violence. Essentially the subject learns to “opt out” of the situation they are incapable of handling.

Treatment of disassociation

There are two main strategies for addressing disassociative disorders:

1. Increase the sufferer’s ability to cope with stressful situations. This may involve cognitive behavioural therapy to reduce stress response with methods like stress inoculation therapy. It may also involve analysis of interpersonal relationships to adjust perceptions and behaviours which may otherwise lead to conflict. Interpersonal psychotherapy methods, CBASP, CAT or other analytic cognitive behavioural methods might be employed. This is therefore an attempt to use psychoeducation and personal analysis to better manage the condition day to day.

2. Addressing any history of abuse. Addressing PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) as a condition may reduce the underlying effects presented as a disassociative disorder. Psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioural analysis, trauma debriefing such as specialist hypnotherapy “trauma runs” can all be used if appropriate.

Co-morbid presentation

It is common for persons with disassociate disorders to have a history of different diagnosis, and to have elements of different mental health conditions. These might include depression, anxiety, self harm, mood disorders or OCD.

Key words
Disassociation, disassociative disorder, disassociative seizures, NEAD, non epileptic attack disorder, possum response, flight and flight, PTSD, post traumatic attack disorder, sexual abuse, domestic violence, survivor of childhood abuse, child abuse survivor, personality change, mood change, mood disorder, anxiety, depression, OCD, self harm, multiple personalities, multiple personality disorders, loss of memory, stress response, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioural analysis, cognitive behavioural therapy, CBASP, CBT, hypnotherapy, counselling, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, analyst, hypnotherapist, couhsellor, therapy, therapist, psychology, psychologist, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk, Stirling

Contact via the contact us page HERE

CPD Exam

Philosophical psychology exam

Service will be a bit slow until Wednesday. I (Stuart) have an exam as part of my COD commitment.

Psychology, Psychotherapy, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis

 

The exam will be part of my commitment to ongoing professional development. It covers psychology, philosophy and social studies.

New clinic base in Edinburgh

We now have a clinic base at Wallace House in Trinity, which is in the North of the City of Edinburgh.

I will be providing Psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, counselling, coaching, hypnotherapy and mindfulness at this new base from later this month, mainly on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Expanding our provision

New premises?

Today I am happy to be visiting another facility in Edinburgh with a view to providing more flexibility in regard to location, and security for my clients.

Security of provision

I (Stuart) believe that one should not be reliant on just one location for facilities, and therefore adding venues is a natural measure.

Therapy in Edinburgh

We hope to be providing psychoanalysis, clinical hypnotherapy, counselling, psychotherapy and CBT in our new location in North Edinburgh if all goes well.