Between Sessions Blog

Welcome to Between Sessions a psychotherapy blog exploring mental health, emotional wellbeing, trauma recovery, nervous system regulation and the realities of modern life.

Written by Lynsey Skinner, UK psychotherapist (CBT therapist, EMDR practitioner and Dramatherapist based in Stratford-upon-Avon), this space shares psychologically grounded reflections, practical therapy insights and honest conversations about what it means to be human - both in and outside the therapy room.

This is also home to Ask A Therapist - a product from our Store where you can anonymously submit questions about therapy, mental health, emotional wellbeing, relationships or navigating life challenges. Responses are grounded in clinical expertise, compassion and real-world therapeutic experience.

Whether you’re considering therapy, already in therapy, supporting others, or simply curious about mental health, this blog offers thoughtful, accessible and clinically informed perspectives.

Think of this as the space between sessions; where reflection deepens, understanding grows, and change often begins.

All Posts

Ask A Therapist - Life Is 'Fine'… So Why Do I Feel Like This?

I’ve been thinking about submitting this for a while, but part of me feels like I don’t really have a “valid” problem. On paper, my life is fine. I have a steady job, people who care about me, nothing major has gone wrong. But lately, everything just feels heavy. Even small things like replying to messages, doing the food shop, or making plans feel like too much. I find myself cancelling things I was looking forward to, and then feeling guilty and annoyed at myself afterwards

Lynsey Skinner

Mar 314 min read

The 'Sound' Of Beginning Again

I turned forty this year standing in the Atlas Mountains. It was my birthday. The Moroccan sun was high, the air thin, and I was trekking up a dusty path somewhere outside Marrakech wondering how life had managed to get both bigger and simpler at the same time. There’s something about reaching forty that feels less like a milestone and more like a quiet realisation. Not that you have everything figured out. Far from it. More that you understand something essential about the k

Lynsey Skinner

Mar 95 min read

Ask A Therapist - Brutiful Parenting

How can I be fully present with my children? I feel so guilty now they've gone back to school after the Christmas holidays. They spent time on their devices and not with me and whereas I enjoyed the peace and quiet, I feel like I should have been making memories with them or playing with them more. Christmas was pretty full-on and now the return to routine means that the evenings and weekends feel so full of work and commitments and I feel guilty that I don't spend enough tim

Lynsey Skinner

Feb 194 min read

This Is Totally Sound (Therapy)

A therapist's journey into why vibration belongs in therapy (and why it’s not woo) For most of my career, I’ve lived at the intersection of the clinical and the creative. My work has always moved between worlds; theatre and psychotherapy, science and story, trauma and transformation. I’ve spent a decade helping people regulate, reconnect, and rebuild through EMDR, Dramatherapy, somatic tools, nervous system education, and creative processes rooted in my physical theatre train

Lynsey Skinner

Feb 194 min read

On Doing The New Year 'Right'*

*Spoiler alert - you already are. Celebrating the arrival of 2026 with vibrant colours and festive cheer. There’s something about a new year that can make even the most grounded among us feel quietly on edge. As if we’re meant to arrive on the 1st of January refreshed, motivated, emotionally organised, and holding a clear vision for the next twelve months. As if everyone else got a memo about how to do the new year properly. So let’s say this clearly, early on. There is no r

Lynsey Skinner

Feb 193 min read

On Seasonal Pressure: The Art of Getting Through

Let’s start with the truth, not the tinsel Father Christmas rocks the holidays with a boombox beside a vibrant pink Christmas tree against a bold blue backdrop. I’ll start with some honesty. I am limping to the end of the year. I have had a low-grade, never-ending cold for weeks, the kind that doesn’t quite knock you off your feet but also refuses to leave. There is a growing stack of presents in the corner of the room that still need wrapping. I keep meaning to do it and kee

Lynsey Skinner

Feb 196 min read

On Loneliness

Loneliness is one of those quiet words that lands with a thud. Heavy. Tender. Often wrapped in shame. Many people tell me they feel lonely and then almost immediately apologise for it, as though loneliness is something they should have outgrown, fixed, or transcended by now. As though feeling lonely means they’ve failed in some personal way. But loneliness isn’t a personal deficiency. It’s not a weakness of character or a flaw in resilience. Loneliness is a signal. It’s your

Lynsey Skinner

Feb 196 min read

Ask A Therapist - Grief Tending

I’d love to ask a question about grief. I’m entering a period of my life where I know there will be a lot of loss, and I’ve been hearing people talk about “grief tending.” I’m wondering whether it’s possible to prepare for grief by learning about approaches like this or whether I'm kidding myself, and grief will hurt just as much no matter what. I’d really appreciate hearing a therapist’s perspective. Dear Anonymous, Thank you for your question. The way you describe entering

Lynsey Skinner

Feb 195 min read

Ask A Therapist - Approaching Burnout

My job is becoming more and more stressful and I feel like I’m approaching burnout. I’m short tempered at home and lacking drive and motivation. I struggling to find the words to communicate how I’m feeling with my partner. What advice would you give to help me tell them how I feel and connect on this issue that’s impacting our relationship? Dear Anonymous, I’m really glad you reached out. What you’re describing is something many people end up carrying quietly; the weight of

Lynsey Skinner

Feb 194 min read