Getting to know your ADHD brain: The amygdala and why emotions can take the lead
Why can emotions feel so intense or immediate in ADHD? In this article Duncan E. Stafford, psychotherapist and ADHD coach explores the role of the amygdala – the brain’s alarm system – and how heightened emotional responses can override thinking, shaping behaviour, avoidance and decision-making in everyday life.
Is it depression or do I hate my child?
A chance encounter in a café raises an unsettling question for psychotherapist Duncan E. Stafford: Is this rejection or something more complex? This reflective piece explores how depression can shape a parent’s emotional responses, and how difficult feelings towards a child may sometimes mask deeper experiences of grief, overwhelm or disconnection.
Getting to know your ADHD brain: The prefrontal cortex and why intention doesn’t always lead to action
Struggling to start tasks or follow through, even when you know what to do? Psychotherapist, counsellor and ADHD coach Duncan E. Stafford explores how the prefrontal cortex (PFC) shapes planning, focus and action in ADHD, and why the gap between intention and doing is about brain activation, not effort or ability.
Why relationships struggle: Communication, power dynamics and how couples therapy can help
Relationships rarely fail overnight – they unravel through breakdowns in communication, unresolved tensions and unbalanced power struggles. Couples therapist Duncan E. Stafford explores why relationships struggle, how issues like blame, disconnection and superiority/inferiority patterns develop and how therapy can restore understanding, balance and meaningful connection.