THE SPARK BLOG
Music and mental ill-health: how influential is a song?
We are what we eat. That is the simple truth that has launched a thousand cookbooks. Eat unhealthily, expect to be unhealthy. Slowly we are starting to realise that the same applies to our minds and mental ill-health. We are what we consume and what we consume...
Try making a relationship resolution this year
Here’s a question that came to mind on Hogmanay: why do we rarely make New Year resolutions about our relationships? Typically we opt for an act of self-improvement like eating better, exercising more, quitting smoking or spending more time reading books that will...
The Spark opens new Edinburgh counselling centre
To meet a growing demand for counselling services in Edinburgh, The Spark is set to open a new location in the city this month. Complementing their 13 locations across Scotland, the country's leading counselling provider will open The Spark Counselling Edinburgh this...
12 plays of Christmas – part 4
It’s the fourth and final part of our Christmas playlist, ‘The Twelve Plays of Christmas’. Christmas is only days away, Santa is readying his sleigh and lists of presents (demands?) are being ticked off. Which means it is a good time to remember that Christmas can be...
12 plays of Christmas – part 3
Welcome to the 3rd part of our series exploring the lessons that can be learned from well-known (and some not-so-well-known) Christmas tracks. Today we are looking at relationships during the festive period and ways to keep them in good shape. Shane McGowan and...
12 plays of Christmas – part 2
What is the real meaning of Christmas? In the second of our #12PlaysofChristmas series we are highlighting a couple of tracks that remind us that Christmas can be about more than consumerism and overindulgence. Band Aid, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' For those of a...
12 plays of Christmas – part 1
It’s beginning to feel a bit like Christmas (to paraphrase the song). To help get you in the mood we’re doing a playlist of well-known festive hits. Plus one or two Christmas-related tracks that may have passed you by. If you have checked out our #SongsForSoundMinds...
An attitude of gratitude at Thanksgiving
Cultivating an ‘attitude of gratitude’ in the era of Brexit and austerity might seem near impossible. How do we say thank you or count our blessings when the world around us seems completely chaotic? In many respects, you would be right about the challenge of being...
How to Be Happy – part 4
Why does being happy – at times – feel like such hard work? Instead of an easy path to a relaxed and consistent glow of contentment, it often feels like pushing a boulder up a hill; a brief moment of satisfaction at the peak before it rolls back down the other side...
Student counselling services under pressure
As universities and colleges prepare for the start of the new term, one major talking point continues to dominate the headlines: mental health support for students. Prior to the summer break, research laid bare the extent of the challenges facing further education...
Mental health conference targets bright future for Scotland’s young people
Recently The Spark was delighted to attend NHS Health Scotland’s conference on improving the mental wellbeing of children and young people. The event covered a wide range of key topics on the subject of youth mental health. Led by Shirley Windsor, the head of Public...
How to Be Happy – part 3
According to American pundit William Bennett, the pursuit of happiness can be thought of this way: ‘Happiness is like a cat, if you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come. But if you pay no attention to it and go about your business, you’ll...
Starting secondary school: a guide for parents
Starting secondary school can be daunting for children and their parents. To help smooth the transition our team of Children and Young People Counsellors have put together their top tips on helping your child prepare for starting secondary school. Ask: how are you...
Songs for Sound Minds #29 – Michael Jackson
Songs for Sound Minds #29 – ‘Man in the Mirror’ by Michael Jackson The latest choice for the #SongsForSoundMinds playlist encourages us to have a good look at ourselves and our motivations. Are we the nice, thoughtful person we imagine ourselves to be or do we spend...
Songs for Sound Minds #28 – Dixie Chicks
Songs for Sound Minds #28 – ‘The Long Way Around’ by The Dixie Chicks Our latest Songs for Sound Minds playlist pick could have been entitled ‘the hard way around’. The Long Way Around is a soulful, honest piece of country-pop that lays bare what it means to have the...
How FOMO is making us miss out
FOMO – fear of missing out – is a concept that could have been created for the social media age. Essentially, it captures that internal sense that other people are having a better time right now than you are. Partnered with its sibling FoBO – fear of a better option –...
That special relationship
The term ‘special relationship’ has been bandied about more often than usual recently. Whether it is in the context of UK – USA relations, UK – EU relations or to describe some of the insta-coupling occurring on ITV’s ‘Love Island’ we are all pretty familiar with it....
How to be happy – part 2
Picture the scene. A teenager opens their exam results: an A in Art, two Cs in English and French and an F in Maths. The response from their parent is likely to focus on either the good bits or the not so good bits. For example, their response might be: ‘An F in...
Songs For Sound Minds #27 – Ben E. King
Songs for Sound Minds #27 – ‘Stand by Me’ by Ben E. King Today’s #SongsforSoundMinds entry - 'Stand by Me' - is a companion piece to one of our earlier picks. In contrast to Chrissie Hynde’s assurance that, ‘I’ll Stand by You’, Ben E. King’s plea is ‘Stand by Me’. ...
The world’s most dangerous words
Believe it or not, there are two words in every language that should be considered the most dangerous in the world. With just over 700,000 words in the English dictionary, there are plenty of potential suspects. In the era of Trump and global warming you would be...
How to be happy – part 1
This is how to be happy according to Stacey Kramer. "Imagine if you will a gift. I’d like you to picture it in your mind. It’s not too big, about the size of a golf ball. So, envision what it looks like, all wrapped up. Before I show you what’s inside I will tell you...