Celia Flack Counselling, Buckingham

23/04/2025

Self-esteem....it is the way you think and feel about yourself. It’s your overall sense of self-worth or personal value. Having healthy self-esteem means you generally feel positive about yourself and your abilities....you feel lovable and capable. If your self-esteem is low, you might struggle with self-doubt, criticism, or feeling like you're not good enough.

Low self esteem can affect how you handle challenges, relationships, and how you make decisions. It can be influenced by experiences, upbringing, social interactions, and even the media.

Here are 5 ways to cultivate a healthier relationship with ourselves:

1. Practice Self-Compassion
Be kind to yourself, especially during setbacks or mistakes. Instead of being overly critical, try to treat yourself as you would a good friend. Remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes, and they don't define your worth.

2. Surround Yourself with Supportive People
Spend time with people who uplift and encourage you, rather than those who are critical or negative. Healthy relationships help reinforce a positive self-image and can provide the encouragement you need to continue growing.

3. Focus on Your Strengths
Take time to acknowledge and celebrate your strengths and positive qualities. Make a list of things you're good at or things you like about yourself. This can help shift focus away from perceived flaws.

4. Self-Care
Taking care of your physical and mental health can have a direct impact on your self-esteem. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and engaging in activities and with people you enjoy being with can help you feel more grounded and positive about yourself.

5. Learn to Say No
Setting boundaries is an important way to value yourself and your time. Don't feel compelled to say yes to everything or please others at your own expense. Saying no when necessary is a healthy way to protect your well-being.

Self-esteem is built over time, and these habits will help you develop a stronger, more resilient sense of self-worth.

21/04/2025

Many people think therapy is only for tough times, but it can also be a space for self-discovery, personal growth, and learning how to navigate life’s challenges with more ease.

Here are a few signs you might benefit from counselling, even if things seem ‘fine’:

- You are struggling to focus on your career, relationships, or personal growth
- You struggle with self-doubt or negative self-talk
- You often feel overwhelmed, even by small things
- You have trouble setting boundaries or saying no
- You’re going through a life change and feel uncertain about the future

Therapy is about giving yourself the time and space to reflect, process, and grow. You deserve that 🙏

Are you ready to start your therapy journey?
www.celiaflackcounselling.com

24/12/2023

There is always help and there is always hope. If you or a loved one are struggling with any mental health concern, here are some services that are available over the festive period.

02/09/2023

It feels like a time to reflect on the summer and what it offered as we creep towards Autumn and the inevitable shift in pace and perspective. A highlight for me was once again volunteering at Wilderness Festival, offering 121 therapy to festivalgoers. What a beautiful/muddy experience it was! I was delighted to hear today that they have been awarded National Lottery funding to continue their amazing work at music festivals. Congratulations Blink Mental Health 🎉💜. It's a privilege to be part of an incredible therapy team offering free therapy. Breaking down barriers to therapy in unique places.

04/01/2023

It has been a while since posting.
This poem reflects the difficult act we all experience, of trying to start again; the necessity of stepping bravely again, into what looks like a dark wood, when the outer world as we know it has disappeared, when the world can only be met and in some ways made again from no outer ground, but from the very center of our being. The temptation is to take the second or third step outer step, not the first inward one, to ignore the invitation into the center of our own body, often into the source of our grief and our reluctance. As the New Year begins - the invitation is always, to 'Start close in.'

START CLOSE IN by David Whyte

Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way to begin
the conversation.

Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.

To hear
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes an
intimate
private ear
that can
then
really listen
to another.

Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.

Start close in,
don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

…

START CLOSE IN
in River Flow
New & Selected Poems
Many Rivers Press © David Whyte

10/10/2022

It takes just a few minutes to check in on someone if you notice they are struggling. Showing care and concern and offering empathy might just change that persons day. If you are struggling today know that you are not alone, reach out to someone you trust, contact a therapist, ring your GP or call the Samaritans 116 123. World Mental Health day.

19/09/2022

Grief can stir up grief. Therapy can help to process these feelings, however if you are struggling today, here are some useful organisations who can help.

Grief can stir up grief, so be gentle with yourself today and reach out to others for support.

It's also okay if you're not feeling grief-stricken. Everyone's feelings are different and everyone's feelings are valid.

We all experience things in different ways and are triggered by different things.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by grief talk to a trusted person or seek support through one of these resources:

Cruse Bereavement Care:

0808 808 1677
cruse.org.uk

Information and support after a bereavement.

Sudden:

0800 2600 400
sudden.org
Support for people bereaved by sudden death.

Dying Matters:

dyingmatters.org

An organisation to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement

At A Loss:

ataloss.org

The UK's signposting website for the bereaved. They can help you find bereavement services and counselling.

Survivors of Bereavement by Su***de (SOBS):

uk-sobs.org.uk
Emotional and practical support and local groups for anyone bereaved or affected by su***de.

Child Bereavement UK:

0800 028 8840
childbereavementuk.org
Support when a baby or child of any age is dying, or a child is facing bereavement.

Samaritans:

116 123 (freephone 24/7)
jo@samaritans.org

The Samaritans are open 24/7 if you need someone to talk to.

Mind:

0300 123 3393

Email: info@mind.org.uk

You can call this number to get support and advice if you're suffering with your mental health in any way.

05/08/2022

We’re at this weekend providing FREE 1-2-1 mental health support by qualified, accredited psychologist and psychotherapists.

If you don’t fancy a therapy session, come and join us in our chill out tent, with super comfy bean bags, mindful activities and a place to chill away from hustle and bustle.

02/08/2022

I will be at Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire this weekend with the wonderful Blink Mental Health, offering free counselling sessions to festival goers. If you are going and have been thinking about starting therapy, this is an opportunity to experience a taster session with one of the experienced therapists who will be available at Blink's beautiful bell tents.

With a record of 4.3 million referrals to specialist mental health services in 2021, and approximately 1.4 million people on the waiting list; blink are super proud to offer free talking therapy sessions to hundreds of people at festivals and events throughout the summer. We are aiming to expand our services to offer free therapy to thousands more people next year too.

Our therapy sessions are accessible to anyone during the festival.

There are no long wait lists, or criteria that people need to meet.

The sessions are with fully qualified, accredited psychotherapists and psychologists.

It's an honour and privilege to help so many people, and it makes all the hard work worthwhile, when we receive feedback like the below.

21/03/2022

It is World Poetry Day today and as we journey into spring, this poem by Mary Oliver speaks of the trees calling us to 'stay awhile, go easy, be filled with light and shine'.

When I am Among the Trees
By Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

08/03/2022

International Women's Day...
"May we raise the bar for how we live our lives. May we ridiculously increase the amount of peace, play, creativity, beauty, love and joy in everything we do. May we all sip from the wisdom of our suffering. And awaken with the courage to share our stories that can heal our inner and outer worlds." Tanya Markul