therapy

the very challenges that make relationships difficult are also what make them meaningful. It’s in moments of discomfort—when we navigate misunderstandings or repair after conflict—that intimacy grows. These experiences, whether with therapists, friends, or partners, teach us how to trust and connect on a deeper level. If we stop practicing these sk... See more

But great technological innovations always come with tradeoffs, and the shift to AI therapy has deeper implications than 1 million mental health professionals potentially losing their jobs. AI therapists, when normalized, have the potential to reshape how we understand intimacy, vulnerability, and what it means to connect.

suffering is the result of the event coupled with the person experiencing the event inside a culture

when the trauma label has been applied by outside mores – when an event like an explosion, an assault or a sexual event has taken place and our culture insists that it be traumatising. Sometimes this extraneous narrative resonates and provides a sense of relief, but in other instances disagreement and refusal of the label can lead to judgement from... See more

Traumatisation is most usually presented as an unassailable, concrete fact, and this is where I need to be respectful. If someone brings a firm conviction of their religion, politics or the genesis of their suffering, it is not for me to deny it. But it is for me to offer the possibility to open up the conviction in order to transform it from a sed... See more

Adverse events were not seen as trauma, nor necessarily as having effects beyond the immediate agitation and subsequent sense making.

when an army of trauma counsellors descended upon the nation after the tsunami of 2004, the University of Colombo pleaded with them to cease seeing suffering as traumatisation as it was undermining people’s resilience. Sri Lanka happens to top the charts for wellbeing in the ‘The Mental State of the World in 2023’ report despite such denial of the ... See more

If you’re told that you must listen to your momentary and subjective feelings of annoyance and hurt, and view them as your truth, minor interpersonal discomforts are much harder to let go of gracefully. If you’re then told that your troubles with relationships stem from your parents’ failure to be fully present and meet your needs in childhood, the... See more

Although the shift did not happen that quickly, there is certainly evidence to suggest that the role of mindfulness within psychological treatment is here to stay and will only increase as times goes on.