It can feel as though everyone has suddenly started talking about their nervous system. But what does it actually do, why does it matter for how you feel, and what does the research say about some of the popular ways people try to calm it? A counsellor’s guide to nervous system regulation, from cyclic sighing and naming your feelings to cold spoons and weighted blankets, including the parts that are still debated.

Many neurodivergent people describe a particular kind of tiredness: spending the whole day translating yourself into a language other people find easier to follow. As a counsellor who isn't a specialist but works with a good number of autistic and ADHD clients, I look at the idea of double empathy, why the adapting shouldn't always fall on one person, and how counselling for neurodivergent people can adjust to you: structure, the room, fidget toys and walking sessions.

Mental Health UK's latest Burnout Report found that two in five workers aged 18-24 took time off this year due to stress, nearly double the rate overall. This isn't about young workers being less resilient — it's about money worries, redundancy fears, isolation, and an early-career stigma that keeps struggling hidden. This piece also looks at Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), a genuinely useful, confidential resource many workers don't realise they already have.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. This year's theme, Changing the Narrative on Suicide, asks us to simply start the conversation. Almost three in four people who've experienced suicidal thoughts have had them interrupted, most often by someone close to them noticing and saying something. Here's a gentle, resource-focused look at why that conversation matters, how to have it well, and where to find support if you need it today.

On 4 September, Rowe Therapy turned one. After three years of training and further years working within a community counselling charity, this was my first year doing it entirely on my own terms — and it taught me more than I expected, about imposter syndrome, uncertainty, building support on purpose, and trusting my own voice in the room.

A client recently mentioned using AI between our sessions to research something we'd discussed — and I didn't mind at all. It got me looking properly at what the research says about AI and therapy: real evidence of benefit for purpose-built tools and between-session support, alongside genuine, well-documented risks around crisis handling, over-reliance, and young people in particular. Here's a balanced, evidence-based look at where it helps, where it doesn't, and why I'm not

Today is A-level results day. As a counsellor who works with teenagers, I see what really happens beneath the surface of this day: grades quietly fusing with self-worth, results-day comparison on social media, and reactions that range from relief to a genuine sense of loss. This piece looks at A-level results day anxiety from a counsellor's perspective, and what actually helps teenagers and their families through today and the days that follow.

England has just had one of its driest spells in years — heat, water shortages, wildfires, and it's happening elsewhere too. If that's left you with a low, unsettled dread, there's a name for it: eco-anxiety. Research since 2007 treats it as a rational response, not a disorder, and studies suggest coping with eco-anxiety works best by facing the feeling rather than pushing it away — connecting with others, taking small consistent action, and knowing when to ask for support.