A Backstage Pass to Mind Over Matters's Creation, the Blog Launch, and Future Goals
Welcome, one and all, to the brand new Minds Over Matters blog! It has been a radically wild year so far getting to where we currently are, and pandemic lock-downs aside, things have somewhat settled down enough to get started on this additional aspect of our psychological services: the blog. While Minds Over Matters came into being just a few short months ago, the roots of its story go back much further…
In the Beginning
In some way or another I’ve been working in the mental health field and psychology since my undergraduate days – all the way back to 2004. My many iterations have included being a research assistant, doing editorial work on scholarly journals, working as a therapist, then as an assistant and trainee psychologist, and now finally as a fully qualified counselling psychologist. This variety of settings of course taught me a great deal about how I’d like to practice, but they would also often imprint in me the pitfalls that I wanted to steer clear of.
Related: A bit About my Background
I remember going into an interview, having just graduated with my bachelor’s degree. It was for the position of assistant psychologist working in the area of agoraphobia and panic disorder, and it was a group interview with several other candidates present. Annoyingly, the panel would ask all of us the same question in a row, and though they changed the order around each time, it still meant that the last candidate would be stuck with the unenviable task of coming up with something articulate, and relevant, which hadn’t already been said by four other nervous people.
On one such round, I happened to be the last one to have to answer the question, “Tell us about something you have recently read and how you would apply it to the treatment of agoraphobia”. Now, having just sat through four other people talking about behavioural experiments, avoidance and safety behaviours, and reattribution strategies, idealistic, bright-eyed, newly-graduated me thought: why not hit them with something they’ll never expect? I then proceeded to go on an impassioned rant about the biophilia hypothesis, popularized by – shock – not a cognitive behavioural psychologist, but the well-known biologist E. O. Wilson.
Biophilia he believed is the concept that humans have an innate affinity towards natural stimuli and towards creating connections with other forms of life; not only could the lack of exposure to these be detrimental to our (mental)health, but their availability could have dramatic positive impacts on us as well.
Naturally, I felt that many people suffering from agoraphobia may be even more limited in these connections, and that it might be beneficial to conduct research in how introducing houseplants and/or pets into their daily routines, might improve baseline quality of life levels, facilitating therapy. Furthermore, biophilia could be used as a tool when working with clients to reframe their relationships to being outdoors amongst potential triggers, and from a positive psychology perspective it would serve to offer them a sense of wellbeing and strength, outside of the otherwise constant therapeutic focus on their difficulties.
Needless to say I did not get the job.
But the fact that my integrative approach was shot down quite dramatically, got me thinking…
And Now for Something Completely Different
That experience and others like it throughout my career have stayed with me. They have made me distrustful of overly dogmatic approaches to therapy and of insularism within the profession, whilst also making me look towards interdisciplinary ideas, creativity, and collaboration. There is definitely a time and a place for strict therapeutic practices, particularly when fast symptomatic change is needed for someone’s well-being, but I believe that in the long run, for the greater good and growth of a person, a holistic approach to their life’s strengths and weaknesses is necessary. And that is where the Minds Over Matters blog comes in.
Related: A Look at Services Offered
This will be an intersectional place where psychology can meet other fields and areas of interest, creating well-rounded content for readers – because, despite our name, we as people are more than just our minds. For that reason, articles will range amongst eight main components:
Social – developing a sense of support, belonging and community with others
Intellectual – channelling and expanding skills, knowledge, and creative abilities
Physical – pursuing physical health, including through exercise, sleep and nutrition
Emotional – coping with and understanding feelings that arise from life experiences
Spiritual – discovering a personal meaning or sense of purpose to life
Financial – feeling satisfied with current financial situations
Occupational – finding satisfaction in one’s work or calling
Environmental – occupying healthy and stimulating settings that promote welfare
Come What May
Minds Over Matters is dedicated to offering clients evidence-based, empathic psychological services, both face-to-face and through online sessions, and this blog aims to be an extension of that ethos. Its goal is to integrate psychological theory and practice with useful information that can enhance wellness in all aspects of one’s life – something that is not always possible time-wise or very efficient within a 1-hour therapy session, which may often need to deal with very specific or crisis-driven interventions. Therefore, think of these blog posts as therapy top-ups, not only for my clients but for anyone interested in fostering a more comprehensive and well-rounded perspective to their personal growth and wellbeing.
We are about helping people to change their worlds for the better, not only through individual therapy and couples counselling, but also through providing information and engaging in dialogue and discussion. So go ahead and subscribe – we’d love for you to join us on the journey!
If you are interested in learning more, or feel like any of the issues discussed above resonated with you, feel free to contact me directly!
t / whatsapp: +357 99 187800
skype: manuelapsychology