Voxel Hub Newsletter vol.59
Welcome to our November newsletter!
Welcome to our November Newsletter!
I hope this email finds you well.
Autumn is slowly giving way to winter here in the UK. We had our annual morning of snow in Bristol today. I hope the allotment frogs are now slowing down, because we had a relatively warm autumn. I am glad to finally feel the typical turn of the temperatures, as Nature prepares to slow down, fall asleep, and restore its energy for spring. Birds quieten down. Our dog slows down, too. It’s time for mornings and evenings under the blanket with a hot cuppa of chocolate and a good book. I hope you are also honouring this shift by slowing down, resting more and enjoying the company of others (human and non-human allies).
This year, I feel prepared for winter in many ways. I organised the allotment in preparation for colder weather, so I can visit it less often and simply let it be. Winters are quite relaxing on the plot, so I look forward to no growth, but calm, steady silence or gentle whispers of wind and rain. It’s nice to regulate our nervous system with the annual cycle of Nature.
At home, I am gearing up for a small piece of research about geek therapies. This is an exciting project, and I have excellent partners in crime. Working in liberation psychology offers a fantastic opportunity to support people who are not similarly minded but are open to meeting across our differences, and I love that. Next summer, I will be joining a UKCP psychotherapy course on existentialism, but in the meantime, I am diving deep into the world of gaming, VR, AI, pop culture, superheroes and anything else related to geek identity. I am sharing this as you will probably hear a little bit more about my explorations.
At Voxel Hub, I continue delivering counselling and coaching sessions, as well as corporate work. A quick review of the year so far, in preparation for December, shows wonderful stats and feedback - we are ever so grateful for all your support and trust placed in us! I do not like to refer to our times as “hard” because everything is complicated, and I generally resist negative bias. However, at times, I feel overwhelmed with the negative news, and I am touched by the emerging stories (such as Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s memoir, which I spent a week learning from for my therapeutic practice). When sad, tragic and darker feelings emerge, I look back at the work we do to assist healing and wellbeing - your words and your healing keep me going. I am hopeful that what I see around me is increasing kindness and incredible perseverance. A huge thank you for this to our clients and our collective.
Thank you for reading! I wish you a slow and balanced early winter!
Monthly reflection
Today, I am inviting you to reflect on play for rest and restoration:
Reflect on your capacity to access rest through play. How often do you play games (offline or online)? Do you have a gaming style? Do you know your gamer motivation profile? When was the last time you played a game?
When you play games, how do you notice your levels of stress, and how do you know when your nervous system is regulating, calming down, soothing and resting?
What types of games, and which games specifically, relax you at the end of a stressful day?
Which games draw you in to an unsustainable, unhealthy level, and how can you regulate this pull or switch to a different game?
Do you play alone or with others? Are games part of your socialising? How do you feel when connecting with others online? Which interactions contribute to our rest and restoration?
What play and gaming are you not thinking about? Experiment, identify your gamer motivation profile and try new, recommended games. Enjoy!
My favourite topic this month
This month, I am researching geek therapies (edited by Anthony Bean):
Geek Therapy: How Do We Use Geek Culture Artifacts To Help Clients Succeed?
Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide
The Psychology of Zelda: Linking Our World to the Legend of Zelda Series
The Therapist Guide To Esports and Maximizing Gamer Performance by Stephanie Orme and Anthony Bean
Resources and offerings
I am going to repeat this for a few months, as this is a critical read for mental health practitioners.
I was incredibly honoured to review a few chapters of Mamood Ahmed’s newly published “A New Introduction to Counselling and PsychotherapyEmbedding Context, Diversity, and Equity into Practice” and I can assure you that it is a game changer for all of us. You can join the online book launch with OnlineEvents on the 7th of November. I also recommend his courses over at TADF.uk.
Featured blog post - Questions clients don’t ask in counselling consultation
How will you ensure you understand and respect my beliefs, values, and background?
It’s perfectly OK to ask your therapist this question. Regardless of their therapeutic approach, every therapist needs to respect their client’s beliefs, values and background. You may have come across the term Unconditional Positive Regard, which originates from Rogerian person-centred counselling. This nonjudgmental attitude is one of the key principles of therapeutic work.
I would only add that if you happen to be expressing harmful views that stigmatise others or signal abuse and harm, your therapist – still respecting your humanity – should be able to softly, skillfully and with care explore the impact of those statements on others.
Thank you for reading our Newsletter. Contact us online, explore our blog, and let us know what else you would like to see here in the upcoming months.
Stay safe. Stay well. Stay connected.
Sylwia
Copyright (C) 2025 VoxelHub. All rights reserved.