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With so much going on in the world there can be a temptation to remain silent and keep our heads down. Listening is of course an important aspect of communication and we need to listen to each other's stories. However we also need to share our own. In thinking about communication and the need to hear different stories and especially stories that hold difference, the story of The Little Mermaid comes to mind. The fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” was written in 1837 and was i

By Dr Libby Nugent, First Published Oct 1 2021 02:49PM “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?” “Thou, O Queen, art the fairest in the land,” said the mirror. Little Snow-White. Grimm. 1812 I’m sure many reading this blog will know the story of Snow White: a powerful, insecure queen seeks reassurance of her insurmountable beauty from her reflection in a magical mirror. One day the mirror declares her step daughter (Snow White) is the fairest in the land

By Dr Libby Nugent, First Published May 25 2021 02:29PM In Cinderella there is an important symbol of feet (and shoes). It is Cinderella’s uniquely shaped, small feet that make her a perfect fit for the glass or golden slippers. In the original Grimm brother’s version, by instruction from the mother, the ugly sisters' feet are cut up to fit Cinderella's shoes. The first sister has her big toe cut off, the second sister has her heel removed. They are told to hide their pain an

By Dr Libby Nugent, First Published Apr 15 2021 03:34PM "We don't have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that's what I want in life." ... “It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together.” These are lines from an essay written by Marina Keegan, a 22-year-old Yale graduate on her experiences at Yale university. She died in a car accident not long a

By Dr Libby Nugent, First Published Feb 5 2021 07:45AM "If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me." Alice Roosevelt Longworth This quote always makes me both laugh and feel alarmed. I am the fourth of seven siblings and as such envy and Schadenfreude are inescapably deeply familiar territory: the inward groan when a sibling triumphs, the relief or smirk when a sibling fails and the delight mixed with fear of sharing my own glory. In childho

By Dr Libby Nugent, First Published Nov 28 2020 11:59AM Weariness I'm weary, I hear myself say My eyes closing as I walk on my way The day just beginning when all I wish it to do is go away Weary of the day ahead, what's gone and what's yet to come This weariness draining my heart through my noisy head The chill of the breeze my weary heart wanting to cease And then the loving sun shinning her rays upon me, come closer I beg of thee Take me to another place Do not disappea

By Dr Libby Nugent, First Published Feb 7 2020 12:26PM I’d like to acknowledge Dulcie Cormack and her contribution to this blog when sharing her thoughts, ideas and personal experiences with me in the February Wrexham Anti Racist Book Club meeting. I have her permission to share them here. I recently asked psychologists, on various social media groups I belong to, to share with me their favourite childhood stories, as I’m interested if there are any commonalities. This mini

By Dr Libby Nugent, First Published Oct 26 2019 08:32AM An internal critical voice is an incessant stream of destructive self talk. Common critical conversations with the self can include scripts such as: “You’re ugly,” “You need to try harder” “You are too loud shut up” and “You’re stupid” “Nobody likes you,” “You are fat and useless”, “You are too much for people”, “Don’t be diffiuclt”, “You are better off on your own”, “You are a mess”... Sadly this stream of uncontained

By Dr Libby Nugent, First Published Jul 11 2019 02:55PM I think most Clinical Psychologists are drawn to this profession for restorative reasons: our individual, family and community wounds have taught us the impact of unattended pain. Part of my private practice I have made available to provide therapy to trainee clinical psychologists during this life-changing chapter. I have witnessed the stepping into this professional identity from a behind the scenes view. In addition