Category: Kristine Abercrombie

Northern Ireland Conflict, Trauma, and Mental Health – Kristine Abercrombie

Kristine Abercrombie

I would love to share my own personal experience of growing up in Northern Ireland during ‘the troubles’, leaving just as the peace process began, and returning four years ago as a clinical psychologist to work with people in my community affected by the trauma of this period. The conflict in Northern Ireland, although steeped in much deeper history, started in the late 1960s, continuing until the 1990s, with dissident republican and loyalist groups continuing to attempt to upset the peace which has been obtained.

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Learning from Our Differences: Drawing from Our Overarching Humanity – Kristine Abercrombie

Kristine Abercrombie

To say we are all unique does not really capture the complexity and true ‘one-of-a-kind’ we all are. Regardless of what theoretical orientation or orientations we all practice from, or our training background, all of us counsellors / psychotherapists / clinical psychologists are taught and deeply know the importance of our own self awareness, both for our therapeutic relationships and self-care.

Words such as difference and diversity, transference and counter transference, narratives, scripts and stories, authenticity and individualisation are regularly discussed. We are all trained and experienced in sitting with our clients differences, vulnerabilities and uniqueness, but it is inherently and understandably more difficult to sit with our own.

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