Anna Melnik

Most of us walk through life believing we see reality clearly. But in psychological terms, we are looking through our own set of lenses. In schema therapy, we call these lenses schemas. Schemas are deeply held patterns of belief about ourselves, others and the world. They are not random thoughts. They are emotional-cognitive templates formed early in life — often in response to unmet needs, repeated experiences, or relational environments. A child who repeatedly experiences c

Loneliness is a universal experience, familiar to almost everyone. Review by Mansfield et al. (2021) suggests it can be roughly divided into three types: - Social loneliness – feeling a lack of social connections. - Emotional loneliness – feeling the absence of close, meaningful relationships, even when surrounded by people. - Existential loneliness – a deeper sense of separation from others and the world as a whole. In my practice, I rarely see people who objectively have no

There’s a popular coaching tool called the Wheel of Life — where we identify several key life areas and rate our level of satisfaction with each on a scale from 0 to 10 (see the first picture).  I’ve been experimenting with this technique, looking for a way to visualise the relationships between these areas and the factors influencing them. This is what I came up with (the second picture).  Do you think this could be useful?  All data is made up; visualised with Flourish.

One of the most important goals of therapy is to help clients be kinder to themselves . We all have beliefs that shape our decisions, but...

Mornings can be a tough time for any family, but they can be particularly challenging for children with ADHD. It’s not uncommon for these...

While people with ADHD are often seen as easy-going and extravert, it's not uncommon for them to face significant communication...

Let’s imagine a scenario: your child wants another sweet treat, but you know they’ve already had enough. You gently say no—then BAM! They...

Have you ever experienced this? You spend the whole day looking forward to the evening, that quiet time when you can finally get things...

A parent of an explosive child often finds themselves caught between multiple fires. On one hand, the child may behave terribly—screaming,