My Blogs

During National Grief Awareness Week, with its focus on “Growing with Grief,” it’s important to recognise all the ways loss changes us, including the often unspoken grief after the death of an ex-partner. Whether this was your first love, the parent of your child, or someone from a past chapter, you may find yourself quietly mourning, adapting, and gradually growing with this loss. Your grief is real and your growth as you move forward deserves compassion.   Hidden Loss: When

As National Grief Awareness Week begins, I want to bring up the difficult topic of sudden death. Those moments when life changes in an instant, with no warning and no chance to prepare. Sudden death can feel like the ground has opened beneath you, life one minute, gone the next and with no time to say goodbye. It is shocking, disorientating and often very lonely, even when you are surrounded by people who care.   When grief comes out of the blue When someone dies suddenly thr

If you’ve ever watched the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, you might remember the scene where George Bailey ends up alone on a bridge on Christmas Eve, convinced he has let everyone down and that the world would be better off without him. The film eventually shows him how connected he really is, but that moment on the bridge captures something many people quietly recognise at this time of year: the way Christmas can magnify feelings of isolation, embarrassment and shame.

As life gets hectic in the run-up to Christmas, it can be all too easy to forget the power of simply stepping back. Taking a moment, as seen in Jonathan Bailey’s touching “Sesame Street” exchange with Elmo, is a simple but profound act: pausing to breathe, reflect, and just be, no matter what’s happening in life. There’s nothing to feel guilty about when you take a break and do nothing; these pauses are vital for wellbeing. Sometimes, letting yourself slow down for a moment i

As the colder months set in, many of us pause to take stock of the year behind us. For those navigating separation or considering divorce, this season is often especially challenging. With Good Divorce Week now drawing to a close - a national campaign promoting kinder, healthier approaches to separation and family law - we’re invited to reflect on how we can handle endings with more compassion. This campaign is a timely reminder that taking a positive, constructive approach t

Family law demands a rare balance of emotional stamina and sharp thinking. You deal with clients at breaking point, navigating conflict, grief and trauma on a daily basis, while guiding them through some of the hardest decisions of their lives. It’s not just the law you’re managing but the human fallout that comes with it. And through it all, you’re expected to stay calm, composed and relentlessly available.   But that kind of pressure takes its toll. Compassion fatigue, depl