Francesca Lo Verso Counselling and Psychotherapy

Full supervision day for me today, I received some and I offered some. I love supervision, my supervisor and my supervisees.

Love is a big word and I’m not using this lightly. I’m thinking of how love translates in my profession now that I feel so well held.

Love is when somebody’s feelings are held carefully and patiently to come to surface without triggering shame. I’m lucky my current supervisor gently guides me and supports me in a shame-free space, sadly a rarity in my experience in other spaces I occupied.

Love is when hope is allowed to live when all around is asking us to drop it.

Love is resistance, it happens when, feet on the ground, we say no to the ugly in this world and promote a practice that says: I hear you, I see you, I acknowledge your pain, you are not alone. I do this with my clients and supervisees, and my supervisor does this with me consistently, reminds me of who I am for me and for my work. Consistently.

Love is when opportunities come to play, all of a sudden, when our worldview feels temporarily binary and norm-led. We all get tunnel vision every now and again. Supervision is the place where I can see outside of the bloody tunnel!

Love requires me and you to face the risk that things can go wrong, misunderstanding can happen and we may disappoint the other person but we go for it anyway, because we know, we won’t be dropped. Yes, love is the knowledge that we won’t be dropped!

Many people ask me how I can do the work I do, when I spend my days listening to the ugly this world has to offer. Well, this is how. I love with all its risks.

Happy Beltane!

What a great example of growing from the ground up, seeing the green crawling up the trunk of the tree, reminding us of the beautiful dance that life is.

On a day where we celebrate fertility and rebirth, it’s important to remember what keeps us alive, gives us purpose and propels us to the future, while anchoring us to the present.

Like a tree sending viral energy to the outer-most branches, what it is that fuels you from within? How can you keep on nurturing that in the present?

🌱💚

A few snapshots from a magical place in Fife, Scotland, that I visited this past weekend. It felt nice to leave the urban natural spaces behind and explore how the trees gently accompany the hillside, the wind strength on top of the hill and the power of a waterfall from behind the waterfall itself.

I found it of particular interest to notice how my body responded to the different spaces and how it contracted and hurried when people were around.

Mainly, I’m grateful for this body and what it allowed me to do this past weekend 🌱

What were you up to?

The podcast is here 🤩

Well, the trailer is here. First episode is out on 1st March (Wednesday), then every Tuesday for the duration of spring 💐

It's been a rollercoaster to create this podcast. It's been in my mind for a very long time (first attempt of recording an episode was at the beginning of 2020, just saying) and it's finally here 🎉

It's about mental health and life abroad, an overlap that is rarely talked about, especially when, as foreigner, we integrate well in the host society. It's a space to think mental health as a foreigner and realise that we are not alone 💚

Artwork:
Music:

Link in bio to find out more (the podcast is basically on almost every platform).

Let me know what you think of the trailer?

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What does it mean for this account? Content may change a bit to give space to the podcast. It will still be about nature and mental health, just with a different spin to it.

Considerations

In the past few weeks, we saw the media going wild about therapy (basically, bullying those who seek psychological support), and at the same time, we are constantly exposed to some form of violence (some people more than others) - are we asked to just live with it?

Furthermore, I embedded the idea that I cannot bring political discourses to my workplace, to my doctor's appointments or when I do grocery shopping.

We are also so alienated from the world around us that when it comes down to distress, we don't think it has anything to do with the environment.

So, where are the spaces that foster this kind of conversation? Where can we talk about the way systemic oppression is crushing us and affecting our mental health?

Therapy with me is sensitive to this.

Therapy can be a place to share frustrations and anger about how the system is affecting you, and it can empower you to hear your voice above all of that noise that society is. Because your voice does matter, and I am ready to listen.

As a therapist, I believe in bringing political awareness into the therapy room: name the -isms when I hear them, support my clients to make sense of oppression, accompany them to finding their own resources so they can make space for their resourceful selves even when the world seems to have other plans.

I have space for one supervisee and one new client. Follow the link in the bio to see how to contact me (no DM, please).

Self-care 🌿

The past few years have been hard, personally, relationally, globally. At times, I coped with life like a pro, but at times not so much. Some days, looking after myself felt like a chore, and I wonder how many of you got caught in this pattern too.

Self-care is a fine balance between doing and not doing it because "you have to".

I love walking, and that's a fact. But I only sometimes love and have the motivation for it. And if walking doesn't feel good, it's not a self-care activity I'll happily embrace.

So I found ways how to tweak it: I walk shorter, I listen to a podcast while walking, I walk with another person, I walk in a new place, I walk mindfully and with purpose, I walk mindlessly, I walk without looking at my watch, I walk to take pictures.

Or I don't tweak it at all, and I do something else.

This is to say, it is a matter of appreciating that we are much more than just one version of an activity, and that self-care allows us to see that by meeting our needs in resourceful ways.

We do need beauty in our life 💚 And what best place to get more of it if not the mountains!

Views over Lake Como, Italy (from Monte Broncino)

Re-connecting

One of the things I wanted to carry with me into the new year was walking. And I can walk quite a distance, as it plays an important role on how I define myself.

☘️Walking allows me to slow down, breathe deeply and (mentally) rest.

☘️Walking is one of the ways I use to connect to nature (and feel part of a bigger picture)

☘️Walking is one of the ways I work because it fosters fluidity and movement when we feel stuck and caged in.

Walking is a good way to reconnect with myself, others and the world around me. And this is why I am doing more of it this year.

☀️Can walking be part of your year, too?

SAD

🌿There are many ways we can make sense of our feelings, and this post is by no means an imposition on how you should view your situation. It is instead an invitation to see if something else is there.

🌿For sure, the ongoing narrative of SAD has never fitted in with my experiences. Last year, I wrote a blog post about this which I revived and updated (link in bio).

🌿There's much more to us. We are nature. We connect through our senses, and we are undoubtedly impacted by our environment on a physiological level. But we are also brains and histories. We are affected by the people in our lives and society, too.

☀️It may only work for some, but if this is you and you find some connection with my words and would like to work together, you can get in touch (you can email me, for all info > "About" section).

Direction

In the middle of winter, my direction is going inwards. It is the right time to root deeper into my value and vision and feel more creative.

It doesn't mean embracing a time of solitude and self absorption. Rather, a time when connecting with others feels more meaningful, better crafted, slower, where going deeper with myself means being more present for others.

This is the direction I am taking. What about you?

Happy Monday

☀️And it starts slow for me. I long debated a come-back date for social media, and I landed today simply because it is my first day back to work after the Christmas break.
🌲And I got taken aback by the amount of goal-setting and plan-planning I saw around. At this time of the year, comparisons strive high, and I want to lie low. It's still winter, after all.

🌲This is a time for still looking inward, and this is where my intentions come from. Of all the things I want to be and do, I want to care more. 2020-2022 were years of forced insularity and energy-saving, and when we are in that space, there's little we can do: it's a struggle to connect, to associate, to be as outwardly as humanly possible. It's a place of boundaries and carefulness (rightly so!).

☀️This year, I intend to create a more boundless and caring space.
How would you like to feel this new year? What would you like to see more of?

Do what makes you happy!

Last night, I went to a gig.
Gigs have always equaled alcohol but not last night. Last night, I chose water and food.

And no, this is not a post about alcohol use or peer pressure. This post is about choosing me and my needs.

Although the quality of that pizza was debatable, concert was as great as it could possibly be and the company too, I was me 100%.

I know it's difficult to embody that all the time, especially when our boundaries (our body boundaries) are pushed and stretched and challenged and oppressed from all corners all the time.

Slow and steady, grassroot, baby steps, community --> we can't change overnight, but we can attend to us with gentleness and care so we can tend to others and our environment with the same tenderness and love.

When I choose me, I am happy. And I hope you can get there too ❤️

Relationships can be caring, trusting, mutual and nurturing (yes, even with a pet). How do they enrich your life?

The mountains speak my language 🌲

When you spend the majority of your life speaking a language that's not been yours since the beginning of time, you can be left with a bitter sweet taste. It's like being an intruder in somebody else's world. Sometimes it's like winning the jackpot because let's face it, speaking two (or more languages) can expand your mind to infinite possibilities X2 (or X3 or x4 etc).

Sometimes I just get stuck in the middle. Nothing comes out in Italian, nothing in English. Words stay there, confused, not knowing where they belong. They crave belonging, but they can't choose. And they are also not chosen. And if they choose, at times they feel guilty.

You don't have to be foreign to feel like one. And that's what I embrace and welcome in the work I do with clients.

I see you beyond the boxes you are in (no matter how you got in there).

After having to postpone our April workshop, we now have a new date. and I will be hosting this heartfelt, enriching and connecting workshop on how to work with clients outdoor.

🌲

Freedom as space and expansiveness

Sometimes you just need some time outdoors to get that.
What is giving you that sense of freedom?

What a dream of a castle 🤩

But also, a time to connect with new friends. Meeting up with another Italian person-centred counsellor based in Scotland felt pretty special. Felt like meeting an old friend after years of being apart.

That sense of familiarity that only a shared language and culture can give you was brought to another level during my trip to Aberdeen. I felt at home in a way that wasn't new but only forgotten.

Have you ever experienced that?

An interesting article about tiredness and the forms it takes. Which one(s) are you experiencing right now?

The seven types of rest: I spent a week trying them all. Could they help end my exhaustion? When we feel fatigued most of us focus on sleep problems. But proper relaxation takes many forms. I spent a week exploring what really works

Loving this! So much is connected to mental health and our emotional experiences when one part of our brain is affected by injuries or trauma.

Experts are still discovering exactly how our brains make, sort, and store memories. Here’s what we know so far—and a few tips to keep your mind sharp.
If you think we are doing great, please support us here: https://www.patreon.com/neuro_science

When describing my practice, I always mention being trauma-informed. Dr Jessica Taylor beautifully summarises what being a trauma-informed practitioner means, with questions to ask therapists

If this speaks to you and you are thinking of accessing therapy, I offer a 15-minute introductory call to see if we are the write fit (email me at [email protected] to arrange a call)

Lots of you have been asking me for this for months, and so here it is:

Dr Jessica Taylor’s
Top Tips for Finding a Trauma-Informed Professional

1. Ask them if they support psychiatric diagnosis of people, and whether they think ‘mental illness’ is caused by brain chemical imbalances, disorders of the mind and predisposed genetics. If they do, they are not trauma-informed.

2. Research or ask them. Do they use interventions, films or resources with ‘shock’ tactics or ‘hard hitting’ elements? If they do, they will use retraumatisation to elicit disclosures, responses, or to force you to process events and are therefore not trauma-informed.

3. Ask them whether they support chemical restraints, sedatives, or medication of people who have been traumatised, oppressed or abused. If they do, they are not trauma-informed.

4. Ask them if they work from and support the social model of mental health. If they don’t, or they don’t seem to know what that is, they are not trauma-informed.

5. Do they use medicalised language about their clients such as ‘relapse’, ‘recovery’, ‘symptoms’, ‘condition’, ‘treatment resistant’, ‘lifelong’? If they do, they are not trauma informed.

6. Do they believe or insist that clients must be on medication before accessing talking therapy to ‘stabilise them’? If they do, they are not trauma informed.

This is why communities are important ❤️

I wrote a blog post about this. There are quite a few questions throughout the post to support you in exploring what you can do to help fight violence against women.
I hope you feel inspired by this reading (you can find it on my website)

An important lesson 🌊

For those who enjoy swimming outdoors, you may know too well this moment from the picture: the second before immersing your full body into the water. Specifically, you know how it will feel to have your chest submersed in cold water. And then your shoulders. And the back of your neck 🥶

In that moment, the only thing I'm trying to tell myself in between "why am I doing this?" is "breath slowly and steadily". Every fiber of my body is telling me otherwise though. But I know that conscious breathing is the only way forward.

That moment, the one from the picture, is the most special one: it taught me to stretch my boundaries, be a more espansive person and believe in myself. As a bonus, it taught me that breathing (remembering to breath and being mindful of the way I do it) is what help me through hardship every.single.time. 😊

When wearing a mask keeps us safe but disconnected

Post by Wild Heart Movement Center

Familiarity 💚

If there is one constance in a life full of variables is nature. And yes, shapes, colours and abundance may differ, but some themes are universal no matter where you are:

🌱Events are temporary and cyclical
🌱the importance and significance of growth and death co-existing
🌱The environment impacts how you thrive
🌱 Diversity and cooperation is necessary for the existence of the system and those who live in the system.

What themes are familiar to you?

Food for thoughts by artist Gemma Correll
I would say I mix and match the places and spaces where I find tranquillity (as you may guess, nature is one of those).
What about you?

Where do you find Tranquility? Drawn for - inspired by “Tranquillity” part of the “Being Human” exhibit 🐈‍⬛

What do you think about this?
I saw it shared on a friend's page and found it quite thought-provocking.

If only...

Outdoor therapy may just look like talking therapy in nature, but it is much more than that. Outdoor therapy allows you, the client, to choose how to move in the space, in a way that feels more comfortable to you.

If you would like to work with me outdoors or explore this further, you can contact me at [email protected]