Rowan Consultancy

25/12/2025

Try sending love and compassion to yourself this holiday season. Whether you are enjoying yourself or navigating this seasons challenges.

No matter what you're feeling, take a moment to pause and offer yourself the same kindness you'd give to a dear friend. When things are difficult it may express itself as compassion, and when things are going well it may be expressed as gratitude.

24/12/2025

24/12/2025

A gentle reminder during the holiday season: caring for yourself helps you show up with more warmth for others.

What’s one small act of self-kindness you can offer yourself today?

23/12/2025

We are open until 12.30pm on Christmas Eve, then closed until Monday 29th December at 9am.

Samaritans are open 24/7 and can be called on: 116 123.

22/12/2025

22/12/2025

Anti-burnout advent day 19: routes off the stress roundabout. For lots more anti-burnout ideas swipe to see my new book- out on February and available to preorder now https://geni.us/AntiBurnoutBook

Christmas, and all it entails, can be a stressful time. That’s why it’s more important than ever to find ways off your anxiety stress.

When you get on the stress roundabout your body’s sympathetic nervous system escalates.... adrenaline and cortisol are released to get your body ready to run, hide or fight. This sets off a huge range of physiological sensations... tightened muscles, rapid breathing, shaky extremities, sweaty skin, redness rising, bowels constricting and many more. It doesn’t feel nice, but it’s just physiology... it’s your body using energy to meet its predicted needs and directing this energy in an attempt to be helpful. Noticing and understanding your signs can help you recognise you are on the stress roundabout.

What you do at this point can push you further along the stress roundabout, or it can help you find a route off. To get off the stress roundabout you need to find ways to deescalate the arousing sympathetic body system and try to engage the parasympathetic system instead, which helps calm things down.

It’s about doing something that changes your physiology.... exercise is great for this as it uses up that extra energy and triggers different chemicals that helps calm your body down, but there are lots of other ways to do this too. Usually these involve a shift in what you are doing, moving, shifting your attention, moving context or doing something to calm your body. What works for you will be unique to you... these are the ways you told me you got of the stress roundabout and some of the most common ways people find they can de-escalate their anxiety response and tap into their parasympathetic system to help change the physiological responses that are creating anxiety.

19/12/2025

Tapestry

Looking back,
Watching the threads grow in strength and colour,
New textures and tensions,
Weaving together,
A blanket of ideas holding up new ways of being-
Testing, stretching, folding and unfurling.
Sharing, responding, noticing a look, a clenched fist-
A scene comes into focus and a new stitch is added
to this tapestry.

by J. Pond

This week our Counselling Skills Certificate students compelted Module 2! They reflected on their learning during the module, their personal growth and development, and shared this in presentations to the whole group. One student wrote a poem, and kindly agreed to us sharing it here.



Image of a sewn tapestry from

19/12/2025

Tapestry

Looking back,
Watching the threads grow in strength and colour,
New textures and tensions,
Weaving together,
A blanket of ideas holding up new ways of being-
Testing, stretching, folding and unfurling.
Sharing, responding, noticing a look, a clenched fist-
A scene comes into focus and a new stitch is added
to this tapestry.

by J. Pond

This week our Counselling Skills Certificate students compelted Module 2! They reflected on their learning during the module, their personal growth and development, and shared this in presentations to the whole group. One student wrote a poem, and kindly agreed to us sharing it here.



Image of a sewn tapestry from https://www.startsewing.co.uk/about-tapestry.html

18/12/2025

The Keep Britain Working report is a step in the right direction to address rising rates of sickness absence and health-related economic inactivity.

We’re pleased to see the strong focus on prevention, early intervention and employer responsibility.

To ensure lasting change, counselling and psychotherapy must be integral to any national response and not a peripheral add-on.

Read our full response to the report 👉 https://orlo.uk/TyCc8

16/12/2025

Rowan newsletters are emailed to subscribers around every 2 months. They contain mental health related content and details of upcoming training. If you would like to stay up to date and receive a copy, you can click the link in the first comment.

15/12/2025

11/12/2025

As we approach the end of the year, we like to gather for a laugh, a mind stretching quiz (thanks to Office Manager Evie for the devilishly difficult questions), and a celebration of the year's achievements.

We are happy to support the Trussell Trust charity again this year, and if you would like to join us in donating you can use the link in the comments.

Christmas Jumper Day by Save the Children UK coincided with our event, and although we had already chosen our charity, we are happy to share their link in the comments.