Transactional Analysis (TA) is a framework for understanding how people communicate, relate, and get stuck in patterns. This plain-language guide explains ego states, transactions, games, scripts, and strokes — and where TA is used today.

Eating-body distress is rarely about food. Debbie Thomson explores why a relational and attachment-informed approach changes everything about how therapists understand and work with this client group.

A five-part series exploring what it takes to hold the complexity of couples work — drawing on Gottman, Tavistock, Kleinian and Jungian thinking, alongside Brad McLean's own integrative TA model.

There is often a moment in couples work when the atmosphere shifts. Not dramatically — just a tightening of tone, a small recalibration of posture. And you realise the work is asking something different of you.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that supervision rarely produces dramatic breakthroughs. More often, it produces subtle recalibration — a formulation softens, an assumption loosens, an emotional response becomes clearer. Occasionally it unsettles certainty. Sometimes it restores it. The question, for me, is not whether supervision was useful. It is what happens next.

From time to time, a coach will email me and say something like: “I’m not a therapist — would the TA101 still be relevant for me?” It’s an understandable question. Transactional Analysis is a recognised psychotherapy approach. But the honest answer is that some of the most thoughtful participants we see on theTA101 are coaches. Not because they want to retrain as therapists. But because they’re working with real human complexity — and they want a way of thinking that can hold

If you’re already working as a counsellor or therapist, there may come a point where you begin to wonder about the next stage in your professional development. This doesn’t always arrive as a clear plan — sometimes it shows up as curiosity, restlessness, or a sense that your work is asking something slightly different of you. For many practitioners, training to work with couples becomes a natural next step. Is it the right step for you?

With a clear philosophical grounding, technique becomes more integrated and responsive — a way of expressing something more fundamental about how we work with people.

Reflecting on Yalom's therapeutic factors, we explore the power that can happen when people get together with a shared purpose. Its the healing life of groups.

If you’ve ever facilitated or participated in a therapy group, you’ll know that some groups seem to “click” in a way that others don’t. Something subtle but palpable begins to form — a sense of we. It’s the difference between a circle of individuals and a living, breathing organism.

Working with groups offers counsellors and psychotherapists a powerful way to deepen their practice. From personal growth to transferable skills and creative connection, here are five reasons why learning to work with groups is a great next step in your professional development.

April 2025 newsletter for therapists - this issue - global mental health policy and support for menopausal women.

March 2025 newsletter for therapists - this issue - Discrimination-related depression and Music as pain relief.

February 2025 newsletter for therapists - this issue - postpartum depression and bullying and harassment in the creative industries.

Nea Clarks series of workshops on the theme of ADHD in the Therapy Space

A selection of picture card ideas to use within your therapeutic work - including recommendations from other practitioners.

Using picture cards can help to tap into hard to articulate feelings and communicate on a level beyond words.

Like me, many therapists work alone and clinical supervision fills a gap where you would normally have a professional line manager.

As people who help others and, often are the backstop for others, how can we change our habits and routine to include caring for ourselves?

An overview of four types of passive behaviour that don't problem solve and lead to dissatisfaction.