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Becoming Ethical:
This is a blog sharing some of my thoughts and reflections on my life as a clinical psychologist in the UK. I explore the dynamics of group psychology through use stories and myths.
Some of this may well also resonate with people beyond my professional group.
Thoughts, associations and reflections are always welcome, so please do leave comments.
If you are interested in joining one of the reflective spaces I offer you can find out more at www.libbynugent.co.uk
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The Necessary Task: Death Mother, Sibling Society, and the Crisis of Care in the NHS
“The wish to be endlessly needed is one of the most exhausting forms of love.”—James Hillman We inhabit a care system that is...
Elizabeth Nugent
Apr 76 min read
1,881 views
0 comments


The Culture Wars and the Soldier’s Matrix: A Tale of Loyalty and Light
The Fairytale of “The Blue Light” Once, a soldier served his king through the chaos of war, his body scarred by loyalty. When peace...
Elizabeth Nugent
Apr 33 min read
49 views
0 comments


Hansel and Gretel: A Reflection on Burnout, Willpower, and Life’s Terms
These reflections on Hansel and Gretel arise from workshops exploring the tale’s resonance in our lives. The story serves as a mirror,...
Elizabeth Nugent
Mar 284 min read
176 views
0 comments

Jack and the Beanstalk: An Exploration of Group Dynamics and the Anti-Group
Jack running from the giant in the Red Fairy Book (1890) by Andrew Lang Jack and the Beanstalk to many in the UK is a familiar...
Elizabeth Nugent
Mar 214 min read
162 views
0 comments

The Golden Cage of the NHS: Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay.
I’ve recently been reflecting on The Golden Bird , a Brothers Grimm fairy tale first published in 1812 as part of their collection...
Elizabeth Nugent
Mar 144 min read
985 views
0 comments

Hans My Hedgehog: A Tale of Trauma, Otherness, and the Collective Mirror
Hans My Hedgehog, a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm in 1815’s Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales),...
Elizabeth Nugent
Mar 75 min read
71 views
0 comments


The Crane Wife: Burnout as a Cry from the Soul and the System
Odlot żurawi" ("Departure of Cranes") by Józef Chełmoński , 1870 . In the Japanese folktale ‘The Crane Wife’, a poor man rescues an...
Elizabeth Nugent
Mar 14 min read
126 views
0 comments

Rogue Waves and Woke Ideology: Large Group Dynamics and the Dance of Light and Shadow
Recently, I watched an old BBC Horizon documentary Freak Wave (2002). The show explores the mysterious and terrifying reality of rogue...
Elizabeth Nugent
Feb 265 min read
470 views
0 comments


Reflections on Humpty Dumpty
Lately I have been having a rather strange split experience. I move in some groups and there is a feeling of angst and fear -...
Elizabeth Nugent
Feb 1110 min read
217 views
0 comments

Fairytale Reflections on MDT functioning and the Metaphor of the Tooth
The Symbolism of Teeth in Fairytales and Multidisciplinary Team Functioning Teeth often appear as potent symbols in fairytales. ...
Elizabeth Nugent
Feb 105 min read
524 views
0 comments


White Witch and Snow Queen Reflections
Christmas is around the corner and I am again returning to some of my favourite Winter stories. My most beloved winter stories are C.S....
Elizabeth Nugent
Dec 13, 20248 min read
344 views
0 comments


Persuasion
Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable. ~David W. Augsburger “And you, and...
Elizabeth Nugent
Sep 26, 20247 min read
405 views
0 comments


Peter Pan: Reflecting on Puberty and Gender
Dream I am in the basement of a make-shift house on the seafront. The room is full of windows that have a huge compelling vista over a...
Elizabeth Nugent
Apr 1, 20248 min read
1,218 views
0 comments

Mermaids and Shipwrecks - Surviving the NHS.
Over the summer I took a camping trip to the Isles of Scilly. For anyone who hasn’t been, these are a small group of extraordinarily...
Elizabeth Nugent
Sep 28, 20237 min read
1,442 views
2 comments

Going on A Bear Hunt
I recently attended a conference in Finland. A small group of clinicians travelled from across the world to meet in person and think...
Elizabeth Nugent
Jun 26, 20237 min read
1,007 views
0 comments

Chicken Licken: Reflections on Large Group Processes, Online Spaces and Destructive Group Leaders.
A while ago I moved to live on a smallholding where we have, at different stages, kept chickens, turkeys and guinea fowl. Whilst we had...
Elizabeth Nugent
Mar 30, 202311 min read
792 views
0 comments

Time to Think: Some Hansel and Gretel Reflections.
I have just finished reading the book 'Time to Think' by Hannah Barnes. It is about the activity of the Gender Identity Development...
Elizabeth Nugent
Mar 13, 202310 min read
1,326 views
0 comments

Pinocchio: Reflections on telling lies, group think and the process of growing up.
Geppetto washing Pinocchio (1996) Paula Rego. ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive’. Marmion, Sir Walter...
Elizabeth Nugent
Feb 27, 202310 min read
1,283 views
1 comment


'A Man of Double Deed': Reflections on how we need diversity of thought.
During life in Lockdown, I found myself watching a considerable amount of television. One story I enjoyed watching was the compelling UK...
Elizabeth Nugent
Dec 20, 202212 min read
1,137 views
0 comments

Clinical Psychology and The Red Shoes: Vocation or a Dance of Death?
Growing up I loved watching old films. One story that grabbed me and never really let me go, was the 1948 movie ‘The Red Shoes’. The...
Elizabeth Nugent
Oct 21, 202213 min read
1,779 views
0 comments
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