In Dean Burnett's article, Cruel Summer: how hot weather makes people angrier, he looks at the psychology behind why people are more angry when it's hot. He says that one reason might be because when it's hot, higher temperatures increase heart rate, testosterone, and stimulate the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for our fight-flight response. Another reason he suggests is due to discomfort. When people have no control over their discomfort this tends to make them angry, and usually they then displace this anger onto something else, like the person driving the car in front. It might also be due to something called cognitive neoassociation theory, which says that when people experience something negative, like being hot and uncomfortable, they tend to have a similar predisposition to anything they associate with it. So a person might also associate traffic jams, crowded beaches and shopping centres with being hot, and so have a similar negative feeling about them. Dean also notes that there are 'numerous theories' which also handily creates room for me to look at this from a counselling perspective, using some of the principles of formative psychology developed by Stanley Keleman.
My love of playing with sand really began when I was a child. Every summer we would buy a family train ticket, and journey each day down to Weymouth's sandy expanse. Here we would mix water and sand in a bucket, plop it out on the beach, where it would magically transform into a mighty castle.
I was introduced to sand tray therapy as a counselling student, and I vividly recall myself and a colleague creating this complex narrative out of nothing more than a pile of sand, and a collection of objects. What I really like is the extra dimension it brings to therapy, not only for children, but also adults. If you've read the advice on how to choose a therapist, you will read things like "one you feel comfortable talking to, " or you might even be urged "to trust your instinct!" None of this sounds particularly scientific, so I thought it might be helpful to explain why trusting your instinct or finding someone comfortable to talk to really is the best way to choose the right counsellor.
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