Recognising mental health issues and then finding a counsellor sometimes isn’t an easy process. With this in mind, my website is designed to provide an understandable overview of the world of psychotherapy and counselling to help you take the first step towards a life of positive mental health. Workshops Introduction I run a number of workshops for members of the public as well as for professional CPD. Please come back and check this page regularly to see what workshops are planned, or simply Contact Me for more information. Information about current workshops is provided below. Most workshops are held in Central or West London, but I’m happy to consider travelling to other locations on request. Workshops A Matter of Life and Death A two-day workshop for those working with dying, death, grief and bereavement. Our beliefs about death shape the way we live. To fear death is often to fear life; to live more fully, we must find a way to meet loss, love and endings with greater honesty and compassion. Through creative and experiential exercises, we will explore our own relationship with death and the losses we have lived through. Drawing on writers and teachers including Stephen Levine, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Rumi and others, we will ask how we can support others in their suffering while also tending to our own unfinished grief. Download Leaflet Date & Price Enquiry Book Workshop Workshop - A Matter of Life and Death Addictions A 2-day workshop, part-lecture and part-experiential, aimed at counsellors, psychotherapists, students of counselling and psychotherapy, life coaches, trainers, and members of the public. I have over 30 years’ experience in the field of addiction. This exciting workshop is designed to get to the root of the addiction and help the layperson understand their addiction and student and graduate counsellors and psychotherapists assist people suffering from this debilitating condition. Download Leaflet Date & Price Enquiry Book Workshop Balancing the Chakras A two-day workshop for members of the public and interested professionals exploring the psychological, emotional and spiritual dimensions of the chakra system. When the chakras are out of balance, the natural flow of life force can feel blocked, often manifesting as emotional, physical, or repetitive patterns of behaviour. Drawing on the work of Anodea Judith, Caroline Myss, Alexander Lowen and others, this workshop offers a practical and creative approach to chakra balancing. Through massage, sound, breathwork, targeted yoga postures and reflective exercises, we will explore how the chakra system can support greater self-awareness, vitality and inner balance. Download Leaflet Date & Price Enquiry Book Workshop Facilitation Skills A two-day experiential weekend for those drawn to facilitating a group of their own, or beginning to shape an end-of-diploma project. Facilitation is far more than keeping time and following an agenda. It means holding the purpose of the gathering while staying alive to what is unfolding in the room: the atmosphere, the silences, the different voices and whatever may be stirring beneath the words. We will explore how to shape an idea into a coherent workshop, how to weave in the transpersonal while remaining grounded and clinically useful, and how to hold a group without over-controlling it. We will look at openings and closing rituals, at making room for every voice, and at reading and responding to the energy of a group. Download Leaflet Date & Price Enquiry Book Workshop Holding Difference A Workshop for Therapists A one-day staff development workshop exploring how therapists, trainers and facilitators can navigate difference in polarised times. We will look at what happens when dialogue becomes difficult, when certainty replaces curiosity, and when nuance begins to feel unsafe. Through reflection, discussion, and experiential exercises, we will explore how to stay grounded, thoughtful, and connected when working with sensitive socio-political themes, including race, decolonisation, Israel/Gaza, and other areas of conflict. The focus is on teaching stance, facilitation skills and the capacity to hold complexity without retreating into certainty or silence. Download Leaflet Date & Price Enquiry Book Workshop Working with Symptoms through the Dreambody When the Body Speaks A two-day experiential workshop for counsellors, psychotherapists and student practitioners, held at CCPE, London, on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 May 2027. What if a symptom isn’t only something to get rid of, but something trying to be heard? Drawing on Arnold Mindell’s Dreambody work, we will become curious about physical symptoms – their shape, rhythm, movement and image – and discover what can emerge when we follow them rather than silence them. The weekend brings together Gestalt and Process-Oriented Psychology. Day one lays the foundations of Gestalt, including the Cycle of Experience and how to work with its interruptions. Day two puts Process Work into action: working with polarities, following experience through different channels, and letting a symptom become a sound, image or movement. Through teaching, demonstrations and plenty of hands-on practice, you will develop ways of working that bring greater immediacy, creativity and depth to your therapeutic practice Download Leaflet Date & Price Enquiry Book Workshop Women and Weight In this 2-day workshop we will explore our unwanted excess weight and look at this from a different point-of-view. Is our weight a burden we’re forced to carry or does it hold a message from the unconscious that we need to hear? When we discuss our struggles with food and weight, we are talking not just about bodily urges but issues such as emotional appetites and wanting to be loved. Download Leaflet Date & Price Enquiry Book Workshop New Book In her first book, psychotherapist Lynn Somerfield explores the subtle processes through which change begins to take root in our lives. Through reflection and insight, she considers how moments of awareness, courage, and compassion can gradually shape meaningful personal transformation Explore the Book Workshop Date & Price Enquiry Form Please use the form below to enquire about forthcoming workshop dates and pricing. Which workshop(s) would you like date and pricing information for (select all that apply)?* A Matter of Life and Death Addictions Balancing the Chakras Facilitation Skills Holding Difference When the Body Speaks Women and Weight Please indicate which type of workshop attendee you are?* Private Attendee Professional Attendee First name* Last name* Email* Phone I consent to you processing the information I provide (which may include health information) for the purpose of responding to my enquiry * Please subscribe me to future communications and offers. Your personal details will remain confidential and will never be shared with any party outside me therapy practice Submit your Enquiry Workshop Booking Form Please use the form below to book your place on one or more of my workshops. Once I receive your booking form, I will get in touch with you to reconfirm workshop dates and locations and to request payment. Which workshop(s) would you like to book (select all that apply)?* A Matter of Life and Death Addictions Balancing the Chakras Facilitation Skills Holding Difference When the Body Speaks Women and Weight Please indicate which type of workshop attendee you are?* Private Attendee Professional Attendee First name* Last name* Email* Phone I understand that bookings cancelled within eight weeks of the workshop will be charged in full * I consent to you processing the information I provide (which may include health information) for the purpose of responding to my enquiry * Please subscribe me to future communications and offers. Your personal details will remain confidential and will never be shared with any party outside me therapy practice Submit your Booking

Recognising mental health issues and then finding a counsellor sometimes isn’t an easy process. With this in mind, my website is designed to provide an understandable overview of the world of psychotherapy and counselling to help you take the first step towards a life of positive mental health. Professional Psychotherapy and Counselling for adult individuals and couples across London and Bedfordshire Book an Initial Consultation Welcome Welcome to Lynn Somerfield Psychotherapy, providing therapy services across London and Bedfordshire. People seek support from a therapist for many different reasons. You may be struggling with anxiety or depression. Your relationship may be in trouble due to an affair, communication difficulties, or family stress. Perhaps you’ve experienced a bereavement or are coping with a serious illness. Maybe you struggle with OCD, and it’s affecting your relationships and work. Alternatively, you may be experiencing insomnia, panic attacks, or flashbacks related to a traumatic incident. You may have an eating disorder. Perhaps you find it difficult to form relationships with others. Perhaps you’re anxious in relationships, or too distant. Perhaps you have a problem with dependency on alcohol or drugs, maybe even an addiction. Believe it or not, none of these things is abnormal. They are the things that make us human! Recognising your own mental health issues and then finding a counsellor or psychotherapist is not always easy. I have designed this website with that in mind... On the following pages, you’ll find information to help you better understand psychotherapy, learn more about my background and training, and discover my approach to therapy. If there’s a topic I haven’t covered or you’d like to arrange an initial consultation, please contact me . I look forward to hearing from you. In her first book, psychotherapist Lynn Somerfield explores the subtle processes through which change begins to take root in our lives. Through reflection and insight, she considers how moments of awareness, courage, and compassion can gradually shape meaningful personal transformation Explore the Book Specialities As a transpersonal and integrative psychotherapist, I am able to support clients with a broad range of mental health worries. Below I have provided a summary of my primary specialist support areas. You can find more information by clicking through on the 'Learn More' buttons, or by simply contacting me . Abuse Issues Learn More Addiction or Dependency Learn More Anger Issues Learn More Anxiety Learn More Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Learn More Depression Learn More Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) Learn More Grief & Bereavement Learn More Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Learn More Panic Attacks Learn More Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Learn More Relationships Learn More Stress Learn More The Chakras Learn More Reach For A Helping Hand Take your first step toward positive mental health Book an Initial Consultation

Recognising mental health issues and then finding a counsellor sometimes isn’t an easy process. With this in mind, my website is designed to provide an understandable overview of the world of psychotherapy and counselling to help you take the first step towards a life of positive mental health. Specialities Introduction to Specialities As a transpersonal and integrative psychotherapist, I am able to help with a broad range of issues. Below I have provided information surrounding my main specialist areas. Please feel free to scroll down through each specialist therapy area, or use the 'Quick Links' buttons provided to jump directly to the area you would like to learn more about. If there is something you would like to discuss that is not covered on this page, please simply contact me . Quick Links Abuse Addiction or Dependency Anger Issues Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Depression Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) Grief & Bereavement Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Panic Attacks Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Relationships Stress The Chakras Reach For A Helping Hand Take your first step toward positive mental health Book an Initial Consultation Abuse Issues Abuse comes in many forms. Abuse can happen to anyone and often the situation has developed so gradually that victims are not even aware that they’re being abused. It’s impossible to detail the many ways abuse is meted out, but here’s a broad sweep of the subject. Psychological Abuse Where we are prevented from making choices or expressing opinions, subjected to threats, bullied, intimidated, etc. Physical Abuse Where we are hit, slapped, kicked or punched. Financial Abuse This can include theft of possessions, money, benefits; we may be subjected to fraud, scams, rogue traders and so on. Discriminatory Abuse We may be abused on the basis of race, religion, gender or gender identity, age, disability or sexual orientation. Sexual Abuse We may have received unwanted sexual attention such as touching, teasing or innuendos or forced into non-consensual sexual activity. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Abuse Addiction or Dependency Addiction is a huge subject, so let me try to convey some of the main points. There’s a fine line between dependency and addiction. Dependence can lead to addiction. Dependence can occur with the chronic use of drugs (including alcohol). We are dependent when we are using substances to the point where it is causing significant difficulties in our lives and we are losing the willpower to control our drug use. When someone is addicted the use of drugs causes major problems with school, work or home life (or all three). They may act out of character, lie, or even steal to obtain the drug. They may suffer physical issues such as ulcers, kidney or liver damage. Addiction is the disease which is called the ‘disease of denial’. Why is that? Why would anyone wish to be in denial of any disease? Usually, we run to the doctor and hope to be reassured, or have a diagnosis confirmed and a clear treatment plan outlined. The roots of addiction may be far-reaching. It may be genetic, trans-generational, trauma-based, environmental or psychological. The drug of choice that is causing the problems usually feels (to the person suffering from the dependency) like their best friend. Their salvation. The drug of choice is usually helping them to compensate for, or avoid, something they may not even be aware of! Essentially, we may, for a variety of reasons, not have sufficient internal resources to soothe ourselves and we may, therefore, be in the position of seeking that outside of ourselves. And in an attempt to find a way of coping with stress, we may engage in unhelpful behaviours which are not conducive to a balanced, healthy life such as overeating, drinking too much alcohol, taking drugs, sexual addiction, impulsive and unnecessary shopping, workaholism, etc. In therapy, we work on exploring the ways we can soothe ourselves. We will look at many aspects of this difficult and sometimes life-threatening disease and begin to find ways of developing new adaptive behaviours to help us deal with those difficult situations which trigger us to use the very thing that seems to comfort us - but can kill us in the end. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Addiction or Dependency Anger Issues Anger is a normal human emotion. But the ways we express our anger can be healthy or unhealthy. There are two types of unhelpful expressions of anger: Passive Aggression This includes behaviours such as sulking, procrastinating, smirking, ’forgetting’ to do certain things. Overt (Open) Aggression Examples of behaviours include physically lashing out, shouting, verbally abusing others, bullying, sarcasm, criticism, shouting and bickering. If you think you have anger management issues and you want to work on making different choices, counselling can help you develop new, healthy, assertive behavioural skills in response to triggering situations. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Anger Issues Your First Step Toward Professional Support Take your first step toward positive mental health Book an Initial Consultation Anxiety Anxiety is an emotion we experience when we are worried or afraid. It is a future-oriented emotion and it’s usually about what might happen. It can be mild or severe. Some people suffer from anxiety every day as if they are hard-wired for worry. It can make your heart race, cause you to sweat, shake or become short of breath. Anxiety can also cause you to become overly careful or avoid anxiety-provoking situations. You may begin to worry in relatively harmless situations. It can feel overwhelming and interfere with your life and relationships. It can be totally debilitating. Counselling is highly effective in the treatment of the symptoms of anxiety. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Anxiety Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by demonstrating how you think directly impacts the way you behave. It's most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but can also be useful for other mental and physical health problems. In my opinion, CBT is a fantastic therapy when used as an integrative package to the other therapies I offer to my clients. I run courses on CBT for fellow-professionals, and the public, that deliver a host of techniques around how to best free yourself from any distorted beliefs that may be getting in the way of you living the best life you can! Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Depression Feeling down from time to time is perfectly normal, but if you find that you’re feeling hopeless and despairing, if your low mood is affecting how you think, feel and perform your daily activities such as working, eating, studying sleeping and having fun, you may be suffering from depression. Counselling can help with depression in many ways — let me name just two! (1) We can explore the way negative or distorted thoughts lead to emotional, behavioural and physical consequences. (2) We can examine the stressors in your life and see how these impact on you. We then play with ideas about making new choices which will help you change the way you live and see your life. Don't suffer in silence. If you feel you could be suffering from depression, take your first steps towards a better life and book an initial consultation with me today. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Depression New Book In her first book, psychotherapist Lynn Somerfield explores the subtle processes through which change begins to take root in our lives. Through reflection and insight, she considers how moments of awareness, courage, and compassion can gradually shape meaningful personal transformation Explore the Book Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) This type of fast-trauma reduction has, with good reason, grown steadily in popularity for the past couple of decades and is a treatment recommended by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence). It is particularly indicated for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD often occurs after experiences such as military combat, physical assault, rape, or car accidents. Complex PTSD can be the result of repeated traumas, such as an extremely unsafe environment whilst growing up due to emotional, mental or physical abuse or even being born into a war environment or having to flee one’s homeland for example. To explore the use of this therapy, please book an initial consultation or simply contact me to obtain more information. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) Grief & Bereavement We all lose a loved one eventually. Your loved one may be a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a friend, or a companion animal. The loss may be sudden or it may be expected. Everyone experiences grief in their own way. Some commonly experienced emotions are rage, shock, anger, guilt and longing. Other feelings, such as relief, are more difficult to address. It’s as if we feel there are acceptable and unacceptable emotions. There are recognisable stages to the grieving process. These include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. But the stages don’t necessarily follow neatly in order - they may be experienced more like a pinball machine, bouncing back and forth for a while. If you’re struggling with your grief, counselling can offer a safe, empathic space for you to explore your loss whilst coming to terms with a ‘new normal’. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Grief & Bereavement Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) OCD is a common condition which has two main parts: 'obsessions' and 'compulsions'. Obsessions are unwelcome and irrational thoughts, images or urges, that repeatedly come into your mind. They cause you to feel anxious or uncomfortable. Compulsions are repetitive activities that you carry out to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession. These may be things like repeatedly washing your hands or checking a door is locked, repeating a specific phrase in your head or checking how your body feels. OCD is no laughing matter. It can disrupt your daily life, your relationships and cause you to feel ashamed. It’s often accompanied by anxiety and depression. It’s often not diagnosed because it can be accompanied by other mental health conditions. The good news is that counselling can help OCD sufferers a great deal. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Professional Support Is Just A Click Away Take your first step toward positive mental health Book an Initial Consultation Panic Attacks A panic attack comes on suddenly. It is a feeling of intense anxiety and can include shaking, sweating, feeling disoriented, nauseous, irregular heartbeats, breathlessness and dizziness. It can be very frightening. People sometimes feel like they’re going to die. Most panic attacks last between five to thirty minutes. If you feel you are suffering a panic attack, try this... (1) Breathe in as slowly, deeply and gently as you can, through your nose. (2) Breathe out slowly, deeply and gently through your mouth. Some people find it helpful to count steadily from one to five on each in-breath and each out-breath. (3) Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. (4) You should start to feel better in a few minutes and you may feel tired afterwards. If you’ve had more than one panic attack and you’re struggling to deal with them, do seek help for your anxiety. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Panic Attacks Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Trauma occurs when there is a shock to the body or mind, or to both. It results from a deeply distressing or disturbing experience and although armed services personnel are commonly diagnosed with PTSD, it can occur in all walks of life. The symptoms of PTSD are varied and can include flashbacks, nightmares, mood swings, panic attacks, avoidance of things that trigger memories of the original trauma, difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating, eating disorders, cognitive delays (sluggish mind) and lowered verbal memory ability (forgetting words). Symptoms start within 3 months of an incident but they may not be particularly discernible until years later. Without treatment, it can remain with you for life. The best way to treat PTSD is a fast trauma-reduction method called EMDR, a therapy discussed in more detail in the EMDR section of my website. People can also suffer from a condition called Complex PTSD. This a psychological disorder that can develop in response to prolonged, repeated experience of trauma in an environment in which the individual has little or no chance of escape such as an abusive childhood featuring physical, emotional, mental or sexual abuse, neglect, ongoing intimate relationship abuse, prolonged school bullying, victims of kidnapping, slavery, trafficking, unhappy boarding school experiences, cult membership. Such experiences can include protracted feelings of terror, worthlessness, helplessness and loss of a sense of identity. Treatment for C-PTSD requires longer-term therapeutic work, as a good therapeutic relationship needs to be built, trust issues will need addressing, EMDR will need to be used to reduce the more debilitating symptoms of trauma before work can be done on helping the client to work on unresolved issues from the past, to establish good boundaries, a support network of trusted people and more. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Relationships Couples counselling is a specialised form of therapy where two people meet with a couples counsellor to discuss their relationship difficulties. You may feel your relationship is on the rocks for some reason — perhaps there has been infidelity or betrayal of some kind — or just going stale, or other stresses. Perhaps you feel that your attempts to communicate either escalate into arguments or go nowhere. With willingness on both sides, I can help you learn to listen to each other, and much more. Couples counselling can save relationships. It surely has to be worth a try? You can book a 12-week course with me, after which, whatever your decision, you will both be equipped with some communication skills and insight into relationships that you didn’t have prior to therapy, which will either enhance your current relationship or at least stop you continuing to make the same mistakes over again! Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Relationships Your First Step Toward Professional Support Take your first step to a life of positive mental health Book an Initial Consultation Stress The most common signs of stress are low energy, recurrent headaches, pains, tense muscles, diarrhoea, constipation and nausea, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, insomnia, frequent colds and infections, loss of sexual desire or ability to ‘perform’ sexually, anxiety, a feeling of being overwhelmed, an inability to motivate yourself, racing thoughts...and the list goes on...and I know we could all tick these boxes at times! Long-term stress is however extremely debilitating and finding ways to deal with it can feel like pushing a rock uphill. Often, people who’re suffering from stress have fallen into particular ways of thinking or behaving which they think are helpful, but are actually not. There are ways of dealing with stress and exploring alternative, helpful ways of dealing with it which are proven to be extremely helpful. If your car isn’t working properly, you take it to a mechanic. If you are not functioning well under pressure, counselling can definitely help you. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question Stress The Chakras Before you’re tempted to dismiss this as 'new-age nonsense', have a read of this... The chakra system originated in India between 1500 and 500 BC recorded within some of the oldest written texts called the Vedas. The chakras have been described as centres of organisation for the reception, assimilation, transformation and expression of life energy (known variously as chi, ki, prana, the life force and so on). The ancient chakra system can be used as a map for the process of becoming whole. The chakras are formed throughout childhood and traumas occurring during childhood can cause imbalances in the chakra system. When the chakras are out of balance, the currents of the life force can be blocked, which means we become stuck in repetitive patterns of behaviour, either focusing excessively on a particular type of energy or spending a lot of time avoiding it. Although I don’t force any type of system of learning on my clients, I do lean on the chakras as a map to understand what’s going wrong and why, and in twenty or more years of practice, this wonderful theoretical model has never failed me. My chakra courses are open to both professional colleagues and the public. See my Workshops page for further information. Book an Initial Consultation Ask a Question The Chakras New Book In her first book, psychotherapist Lynn Somerfield explores the subtle processes through which change begins to take root in our lives. Through reflection and insight, she considers how moments of awareness, courage, and compassion can gradually shape meaningful personal transformation Explore the Book

Credit Houssam Korichi on Unsplash The Secret Language of Symbols: Strangers in Our Dreams A client recently told me about a dream in which she was on a boat with several rather threatening men, possibly Mafia types. As if their company weren't bad enough, the boat began to sink. Then, out of nowhere, a stranger appeared in a dinghy and rescued her. He wore a face covering, so only his eyes were visible. She had never met him before, yet she felt completely safe with him. As he steered them towards the shore, she leaned back against him, letting herself relax into his care. She woke feeling immensely relieved. What struck me first about this dream was the contrast between the two masculine experiences. On one boat, threatening men and the prospect of drowning. On the other, a man whose face was hidden, yet whom she trusted enough to lean back against, quite literally putting herself in his hands. And he was a complete stranger. So who was he? And why would someone she'd never met inspire such a sense of safety? The strangers who visit us at night Our dreams are populated by a curious assortment of characters. Family members, old lovers, childhood friends, people we haven't thought about in decades, and sometimes people we've never seen before. Some arrive with an air of authority. Others frighten us, seduce us, help us, obstruct us, or simply stand around looking mysterious. The unconscious, it seems, has a rather extensive casting department. In everyday life, we tend to approach strangers cautiously. After all, we don't know who they are, what they want, or whether we can trust them. Yet in dreams, we sometimes reveal our deepest secrets to them, fall in love with them, or follow them into situations we'd never consider while awake. From a Jungian perspective, strangers in dreams may represent aspects of ourselves that are unfamiliar or not yet recognised by consciousness. The psyche is considerably larger than the part of ourselves we know and identify with (our ego identity). We may think we know who we are, what we're capable of, and how we're likely to behave, but the unconscious often has other plans. A stranger may embody something we've disowned, a quality we've never developed, or a capacity that is just beginning to emerge. Sometimes the stranger brings something distinctly unwelcome. At other times, they arrive bearing precisely what we seem to need. The stranger as a helper In myths and fairy tales, help often comes from unexpected quarters. A mysterious old woman offers advice, a beggar reveals hidden knowledge, or an unknown traveller appears just when the hero has run out of ideas. These figures often seem to possess what the central character lacks: knowledge, courage, wisdom, protection, or the ability to see a way through an apparently impossible situation. We might think of the stranger in my client's dream in this way. She was in danger and unable to save herself, yet someone appeared who could. What interested me was that the rescuer wasn't particularly grand or heroic. There was no magnificent ship, no dramatic display of strength. Just a man in a dinghy who knew how to get her safely to shore. Sometimes what we need is rather ordinary. The stranger as an inner figure Jung used the terms anima and animus to describe the contrasexual aspects of the psyche: the unconscious feminine in a man (his inner feminine) and the unconscious masculine in a woman (her inner masculine). These figures sometimes appear in dreams as strangers of the opposite sex, embodying qualities we may not yet recognise in ourselves. Of course, Jung's ideas reflected the gender assumptions of his time. Today, we might understand masculine and feminine qualities as belonging to all of us, regardless of sex or gender. In this dream, the stranger might represent the positive animus: a steady, protective and trustworthy masculine presence rather than a threatening or controlling one. Perhaps the dreamer is discovering a different relationship with the masculine, both within herself and in the outside world. I am always wary of settling on a single interpretation too quickly. Jungian concepts can illuminate a dream, but they can also become convenient labels that prevent us from looking further. Still, we have to start somewhere, and even Jung had to stick his neck out occasionally. I digress. For me, the most interesting moment was when she leaned back against him. She didn't need to steer the boat, watch for danger, or stay on guard. She could let someone else take responsibility for getting her to safety. What might it mean for someone to experience that level of trust, even if only in a dream? When the stranger is frightening Not all dream strangers are so accommodating. Some pursue us down dark streets, enter our homes uninvited, or appear at the foot of the bed, looking decidedly sinister. Others seem perfectly ordinary yet leave us with an inexplicable sense of dread. One thing to consider is whether these figures represent aspects of the shadow, the parts of ourselves we find hard to acknowledge or accept. We tend to imagine the shadow as containing our less attractive qualities: envy, aggression, selfishness, resentment, and the occasional murderous thought about someone who's upset us. But the shadow can also contain qualities we've been discouraged from developing. Someone who has always been obliging may dream of an aggressive stranger. Someone who prides themselves on independence may encounter a helpless figure. A person who has learnt to be sensible and restrained may dream of someone gloriously reckless. The question isn't necessarily whether we want to become like the stranger, but what their presence might prompt us to acknowledge. And sometimes a frightening stranger is simply frightening. We need to consider the dreamer's actual experiences, including trauma, before assuming that every threatening figure represents some useful psychological quality waiting to be embraced. Giving the dream a voice: A Gestalt approach Another way of exploring dreams is through Gestalt therapy. Rather than standing outside the dream and trying to work out what everything means, we invite the dreamer to become the different characters and objects within it, speaking as each one in the first person and present tense. And I do mean everything. People, animals, buildings, furniture, even the weather. Nothing is too insignificant to have something to say. In my client's dream, for example, I might invite her to become the sinking boat. "I am the boat. I'm sinking... I contain a number of sociopaths... I'm taking them on a journey..." What is it like to be this boat? What is happening to it? What is it carrying? Does it want to sink, or is something causing it to go under? Then I might ask her to become one of the Mafia men. "I am one of the men on the boat... I am powerful... I'm part of a family... We look after each other..." What is it like to be him? What does he want? What makes him threatening? Is he afraid of anything himself? Next, she might become the stranger who rescues her. "I am the man in the dinghy... I'm rowing fast to rescue a woman... I'm going to save her..." What brings him to this particular place? How does he feel about the woman he's rescuing? What gives him the confidence to take charge? And then there's the dinghy itself. "I am the dinghy..." What's it like to be this small craft, capable of carrying someone to safety when the larger boat is sinking? What does it have that the other boat lacks? Not many people arrive in therapy expecting to speak as a dinghy, but there we are. The important thing is that I wouldn't supply the answers. The dreamer discovers them by entering into each experience, noticing what happens in her body, how her voice changes, what feelings arise and what she finds herself wanting to say. Sometimes we might even invite two dream figures to speak to one another. What would the sinking boat say to the dinghy? Or the threatening men to the rescuer? In Gestalt dreamwork, the different elements of a dream may represent aspects of our experience, including parts we've rejected, neglected, or haven't yet recognised. By giving each element a voice, we may discover things we wouldn't have thought of through interpretation alone. And quite often, what turns out to matter most is something we barely noticed when we first heard the dream. What do we feel towards the stranger? When exploring a dream, I'm often more interested in the dreamer's emotional response than in the figure's appearance. Do they feel curious, attracted, suspicious, frightened, or reassured? Does the stranger seem familiar in an indefinable way? Is there a sense of recognition, despite never having met them? And what happens between them? A stranger who offers help, only to be rejected, tells a different story from one whose help is gratefully accepted. A threatening figure who becomes friendly when approached may suggest something different from one who grows more dangerous. We can also ask what qualities the stranger possesses that the dreamer may find difficult to recognise in themselves. In my client's dream, I wouldn't want to lose sight of the feeling she woke with. Relief. Safety. The experience of trusting someone she didn't know. Perhaps the dream showed her a possibility she hadn't yet fully experienced in waking life. Perhaps this stranger represented an inner resource becoming available to her. I wouldn't want to decide for her. After all, the stranger had only just arrived. It might be worth getting to know him before deciding who he was.

Credit: Nick Fancher for Unsplash When the image we have of ourselves falls apart We've all heard the superstition that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck. Even those of us who don't believe in such things might feel a momentary twinge of unease when a mirror falls off the wall and smashes. But why? It's only a piece of glass, after all. Mirrors have fascinated and frightened us for thousands of years. Before manufactured mirrors existed, people gazed at their reflections in still water. Imagine what it must have been like for our ancestors to see another version of themselves looking back! Was it simply a reflection, or something more mysterious? It reminds me of the Greek myth of Narcissus, the beautiful young man who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. At first, he didn't realise that the beautiful face looking back at him was his own. He became so captivated by the image that he couldn't tear himself away, and he eventually wasted away beside the pool. We tend to associate Narcissus with vanity and self-absorption, and of course his name has given us the word narcissism. But I think the myth is rather sad. Here is a young man so entranced by an image that he loses touch with life itself. He can see the beautiful face in the water, but he can never embrace it. The moment he reaches for it, the reflection disappears. I wonder how often we become similarly caught up in an image of ourselves, whether it's one we admire, one we're ashamed of, or one we've spent years trying to live up to. In ancient cultures, people sometimes associated reflections with the soul. People used mirrors for divination, and some traditions held that they could provide a passage between the living and the dead. The custom of covering mirrors after a death partly stemmed from the fear that the departing soul might become trapped in one. The familiar superstition about seven years of bad luck is often attributed to the Romans, who supposedly believed life renewed itself every seven years, although historical evidence for this explanation is uncertain. Whatever its origins, the broken mirror has remained an unsettling symbol. So what happens when mirrors break in our dreams? A room full of shattered mirrors A client recently described a dream in which he found himself in a large, ornate and rather posh room. He was standing in front of a mirror, looking at his reflection. He wore a tuxedo, with a cashmere overcoat casually slung over his shoulders. A rather splendid image. Suddenly, the mirror shattered. He turned around and found himself surrounded by mirrors. Every time he looked at himself in another mirror, it shattered too. Wherever he turned, the same thing happened. I was struck by the contrast between the luxurious surroundings, the elegant clothes, and the sudden destruction of every reflection. The room and the clothes suggest wealth, status, success, perhaps even a touch of grandeur. The cashmere coat, casually draped over his shoulders, adds something to the picture. It has an air of effortless sophistication. And there he is, looking at himself. Then the image disappears. Unlike Narcissus, who couldn't tear himself away from his reflection, my client couldn't find a reflection that would remain intact. I found myself wondering about that difference. The mirror and the persona Jung used the term persona, originally the Latin word for the mask actors wear, to describe the face we present to the world. We all have one, and we need one. I'm different when I'm sitting with a client than when I'm at home with my husband or laughing with friends. That doesn't mean I'm being false. I'm still myself in the role, but I'm not the role. We behave differently depending on where we are and who we're with. I'm still me, just a slightly different version from the one my mates know. The trouble begins when we become so identified with our persona that we mistake it for who we are. Perhaps we've become attached to being the successful professional, the competent parent, the person who always knows what to do, or the one who never needs help. We might have spent years developing this identity, and it may have served us very well. But what happens when it no longer fits? A mirror in a dream may represent how we see ourselves, but it could also suggest how we want others to see us. In my client's dream, I wondered about the elegant clothes. Did they represent an identity he was comfortable with? Something he aspired to? Or perhaps a part he felt he was expected to play? And why did the mirror shatter when he looked at himself? When the old image no longer fits Sometimes our familiar sense of who we are is challenged. A relationship ends, we lose a job, become ill, grow older, or discover something about ourselves that doesn't fit with the person we thought we were. Sometimes the change is welcome. At other times it can feel as though the ground has disappeared beneath our feet. Jung believed that psychological development involves becoming aware of those parts of ourselves that have remained unconscious. This can be distinctly uncomfortable. We may discover vulnerability beneath our apparent confidence, envy beneath our generosity, or anger where we've always prided ourselves on being reasonable. We're not necessarily delighted by these discoveries. Sometimes the image we've worked so hard to maintain begins to crack. But this dream offers another possibility. Perhaps the shattering mirrors express a fear of looking too closely. What might the dreamer discover if he looked beyond the elegant clothes and splendid surroundings? Is something changing, or is there something he would rather not see? Of course, these are my questions. His own associations are what matter. Why so many mirrors? What particularly interests me is that there isn't just one broken mirror. The dreamer turns around and finds himself surrounded by them. Each time he looks at himself, another one shatters. We learn a great deal about ourselves through the reflections other people give us. Our parents, partners, friends, colleagues, and even strangers all contribute, in one way or another, to who we think we are. But their reflections can be contradictory. One person sees us as confident, another as arrogant. Someone admires our independence, while somebody else experiences us as distant. We may spend years trying to reconcile these different versions of ourselves, or trying to control which version others see. And, of course, some of the images reflected back to us in childhood may have been thoroughly distorted. ('You're just like your mother/father/uncle!') Yet we can carry them for years, still believing they tell us something true about ourselves. I wonder whether some of this shows up in the dream. Is the dreamer struggling to find a reflection he can trust? Or are the mirrors showing him that the image he's been relying on can no longer be maintained? Another detail catches my attention. He doesn't break the mirrors himself. They shatter when he looks at them. There's no deliberate act of destruction. Simply looking seems to be enough. Destruction or transformation? Broken glass can be a frightening image, and I wouldn't automatically assume that this dream represents some welcome psychological breakthrough. Losing our familiar sense of ourselves can be deeply disturbing, especially if it has given us security and a place in the world. Yet sometimes the identities we've constructed become rather restrictive. We may find ourselves living according to an image formed long ago, perhaps to please a parent, gain approval, avoid rejection, or simply survive. Interestingly, Jung discusses a series of mirror dreams in his book Psychology and Alchemy. In one, a mirror used to navigate an aeroplane is smashed, causing the plane to crash. Jung saw the mirror as a possible symbol of the intellect and wondered whether the dreamer was relying too heavily on conscious understanding while neglecting what the unconscious might offer. We might think of the intellect as a kind of mirror. It shows us an image of the world, but however clear the reflection, it's still only an image. We can see a tree in a mirror, but we can't touch its bark, smell its leaves or sit beneath its branches. In much the same way, we can understand something intellectually without really experiencing it. And sometimes we become so absorbed in the reflection, so convinced that we're seeing the whole picture, that we forget there's a world beyond the glass. I couldn't help thinking of this when I heard my client's dream. Might the shattered mirrors suggest that his familiar way of understanding himself was no longer serving him? That something beyond his conscious self-image was asking to be recognised? It's an interesting possibility, although I wouldn't want to assume that the same symbol carries the same meaning in two different dreams. From an alchemical perspective, I might also think of separatio, the process of breaking apart what has previously been joined together, so that its different elements can be examined. Something that once appeared solid and complete begins to separate, revealing what was previously hidden within it. But, once again, I'd be wary of imposing an alchemical interpretation on the dream without knowing more about the dreamer's experience. I wanted to know how he felt when the mirrors shattered. Was he frightened, angry, bewildered, perhaps even relieved? What did the grand room mean to him? Did he enjoy seeing himself in the tuxedo? Was it familiar clothing, or did he feel as though he were playing a part? And what was happening in his life at the time? All these questions helped us explore what the dream meant to him, rather than what I thought it meant. One final detail I find rather intriguing. When the mirrors shattered, the dreamer himself didn't shatter. As far as we know, he was still standing there. Only his reflections disappeared. I wonder what he might have discovered about himself if he'd stopped looking for another mirror. And perhaps there are questions here for the rest of us. How much do we depend on other people's reflections to tell us who we are? What happens when those reflections no longer fit? Is there an image of ourselves we're reluctant to let go of, even though it may have outlived its usefulness? In these blogs, I share my thoughts on dreams and their symbolism. When I discuss a client's dream, with their explicit consent, I put far more work into it than I wish to reveal here: time spent exploring their associations, memories, and feelings, through which the dream's personal meaning emerges. My aim in this series is to help readers become curious about symbols and recognise their possibilities, while keeping the fuller exploration of a client's inner life within therapy.

When the body speaks 22nd & 23rd May 2027 What if a symptom isn’t only something to get rid of, but something trying to be heard? Dreambody work, developed by Arnold Mindell, founder of Process-Oriented Psychology, begins with the symptom itself. Rather than rushing to silence it, we become curious. What does it feel like? Does it have a shape, a rhythm, a movement, an image or an impulse? What happens if we stay with it and gently amplify what is already there? Mindell noticed that symptoms, dreams, gestures and feelings can tell the same story in different ways. When we follow a symptom with care, something unexpected can emerge – an emotion, an image, a memory, or a part of ourselves that has not yet found words. The body becomes an active partner in the therapeutic conversation. This lively two-day workshop brings together Gestalt and Process-Oriented Psychology. Through teaching, demonstrations and plenty of hands-on practice, you’ll explore ways of working that bring greater immediacy, creativity and depth to your therapeutic practice. For a leaflet with more info, visit my website: www.lynnsomerfield.com/workshops To book, email lynn@lynnsomerfield.com Follow me on Substack @lsomerfield and Instagram @lynnsomerfield