Emily Duffy Therapy

@emilyduffytherapy

She/Her A queer, ambiamorous, suspected neurodivergent, and chronically ill woman ✨️ Online Integrative Therapist in UK I work with identity e.g. sexuality, gender, neurodivergence, chronic illness, and mental health 💚

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Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· 25d

Another amazing testimonial for my CPD 🎉 I'm blown away by the feedback I get for both of my CPD courses. I really do try to put my all into them, so it's amazing to get feedback like this. Check them out here - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/courses

The CPD chronic illness course has been extremely interesting and incredibly eye opening. Emily is exceptionally knowledgeable and professional and has packed this course with so much relevant and helpful information. I would go so far as to say this course is of outstanding quality and feel grateful to have had the opportunity to complete it.

- Working with Chronically Ill Clients in Therapy

This is green text on a black background. Under the text is a cartoon green heart (in the same colour as the text). The heart is shattered but being held together with white plasters.

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Jul 6

CW - pet loss, cancer, anticipatory grief I took some time off recently as I had to say goodbye to my Arty dog. He lost a 13 month battle with lymphoma. We did all we could, but unfortunately it was his time to rest.

Photo of Arty, a dandie dinmont terrier, as a puppy sat on the floor looking into the camera

Photo of Arty, a dandie dinmont terrier, lying on the floor using shoes as a pillow.

Photo of Arty, a dandie dinmont terrier, resting his head on a teal cushion and staring right into the camera. Only his face is visible

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Jun 11

It's here!!! 🥳🥳 My course is officially released after being reviewed and edited. Check it out here - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/challenge-pa...

Image outlines the course in what is covers (the basics of chronic illness, diagnosis process, intersectionality and stigma, living with chronic illness, themes in work, ways of working, and asjisting your practice), that it's self paced, text based learning, and unlimited access for as long as the website is up.

It's £75, where it can be found, and that it is recommended by those who have reciewed it.

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Jun 6

You already exist and you matter 💚 Yes, it can be comforting and reassuring to jave validation from external sources. You don't need to stop accepting or that in. But you are valid regardless of that! You don't need that external validation in order for it to be valid. Be you 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Photo looking up into a tree with the sun shining through behind it.
Quote on top saying "If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.” – Zanele Muholi

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· May 22

I'm so chuffed 🥰 My CPD for Working with Chronically Ill Clients is currently being reviewed and I have had my first testimonial. This is such amazing feedback and it's made me even more excited to share it soon!!

"Whatever your starting position be it a chronically ill therapist, an able-bodied therapist, or any mental health practitioner working with chronically ill folx, this course will change your practice for the better. For me I loved the balance of research and self-reflection woven throughout the course. Having finished it, if someone was to ask me 'what do I need to know about working with chronicallv ill folx?', I would point them here"

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· May 16

I love offering text based therapy options 💚 Some people really click with it in a way they weren't able to with "in person" therapy, whether video, phone, or face to face. See if email therapy is suitable for you here - www.emilyduffytherapy.co.uk/what-i-offer

I've found:
✨️ It can be so useful for people who are coming to therapy who've found other mediums of therapy haven't been effective and they have something specific they want to work on.
✨️ It tends to be a lot more directive and solution focused than in person therapy
✨️ It tends to be shorter term work

It works well for people who:
💚 Want therapy but can't get anywhere nor have a reliable internet connection for video
💚 Don't like to verbalise their emotions but don't mind writing them out
💚 Need flexibility in when they can attend - I still have a set time and day to send the email by but clients can write and send it any time before then!
💚 Don't have a space to talk out loud for sessions without being overheard

It's not so great for:
💔 People in crisis who need in person support (although most therapy isn't full crisis support)
💔 Don't have a space where people can't see your screen
💔 People who struggle to wait on responses and want to respond immediately
💔 Wanting someone to guide you through things in real time e.g. doing a therapy exercise in session like breathing exercises.

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· May 4

You can take all that pressure off yourself in therapy 💚 **Obviously there is nuance to this post and it is dependent on finding a therapist you feel safe(r) with and comfortable with.** There are so many things you don't need to do in therapy.

Bright green background. In black text in the middle it says "in therapy you don't need to". This is then surrounded by other black text like "lie" "protect others" "hide your emotions". There is a line drawn black armchair in the centre at the bottom and a line drawn squiggle joined to a line drawn heart at the top

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Feb 12

Had my hair cut for the first time in over a year 🫣 Getting my hair cut always falls down my priorities, it can be hard to remember or have the energy with chronic illnesses and just life itself. I also just forget how long it's been as well as how good it feels after 😅

photo of emily duffy looking at the camera. Emily is a white woman with long strawberry blonde straightened hair. she is wearing a grey waffle jumper.

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Feb 10

Tell me your dog's clingy without telling me..... Made me laugh as he's rested his head on my hand as I'm typing this 😂😂

Image of short haired dog sat on someones lap, the dog is side eyeing the camera

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Feb 8

It's been 2 years since I released my CPD on working with non-monogamous clients 🥳 Non-monogamy is just as valid as monogamy 💚 Here are a couple of slides around different types of non-monogamous relationships and then a slightly deeper dive into terms related to polyamory specifically 🫶

Types of Polyamory
Solo polyam - Keeping individuality whist in multiple relationships. Relationships are treated equitable.

Parallel polyam
Where meta's don't have a relationship with each other or even talk.

Kitchen Table - Where a polycule is open to interracting and spending time all together e.g. sharing breakfast together round the kitchen table

Garden Party - Where a polycule is open to spending some time together e.g. like a garden party

Other terms: Hierarchy
Where relationships are prioritised in different ways. E.g. a couple who is opening up may see each other as primary partners and then a other partner as secondary

Meta
A term for your partner's partner

Polycule
The mapping of your partners and metas. Like a molecule.

Polysaturated
When you are out of capacity and unable to gove any more time or energy into dating any more partners.

Relationship types....
Monogamy - An exclusive relationship between 2 people

Monogamish - Where an exclusive dyad occasionally have a sexual relationship outside of their relationship e.g. threesome

Open Relationship
A dvad who are open to (mainly) ongoing sexual relationshins outside of their relationship

Non-consensual non-monogamy - e.g. cheating- Where an individual has a relationship outside of exclusivity

Non-monogamy:
Polyamory
Open to multiple relationships. This can take many forms such as solo, parallel, kitchen table, garden party, hierarchical, etc.

Ambiamory
Open to either monogamous or polyamorous relationships

Swinging
Sexual experiences with others outside of an exclusive relationship

Relationship Anarchy - Having relationships based on the expectations and desires of the individuals involved rather than socieital norms

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Feb 2

Feelings aren't failure, they're messages 💚 #feelings #therapy #emilyduffytherapy #therapist #you'renotbroken

Green background with words like fear, worthless, sadness, grief, hopeless, anger, anxious in black text in varying sizes. In big partially transparent white text going accross all of this in a left to right direction are the words "fix me"

Therapy isn't here to "fix you" 💚

I'm sure so many of us are feeling a many number of these feelings and emotions on a daily basis with all thats going on in the world. It can feel like we're so connected via technology but feeling so disconnected as humanity.

It can also seem like we don't have time, energy, or permission to sit with these difficult emotions anymore. Society wants us productive and doing, not feeling. And so it can lead us to think we're broken and need fixing when we experience these emotions.

Therapy helps you explore them, why are you feeling them? Where have they come from? Are the relative to what's going on, or left over from past events, or both? Are they rational? What are they telling you? Etc.

Therapy helps you feel them, what goes on for you when you feel X? Is it comfortable or uncomfortable? Do you have a physiological reaction? Or sensations?

It let's you stay curious and move through it rather than resisting it thinking it's "wrong".

It let's you look at how you want to move forward from it, when you're ready to.

It explores the core belief if you've been stuck with that emotion for so long ("I'm worthless" "I'm bitter")

It reminds you that joy, happiness, curiosity, freedom, excitement, thrill, etc. Can exist alongside in parallel and that's okay and important too.

It doesn't mean these uncomfortable emotions and feelings will disappear, that's just not possible, we're human, we feel! But we can learn how to navigate them and listen to them, especially when our world is full of such chaos, division, bigotry, fearmongering, disconnect, hurt, loss, abuse, and atrocities.

** this post is focusing on the uncomfortable but please remember there are spaces and glimmers out there to bring anyone of those more comforting emotions, connection, and good in the world too **

You don't need to be fixed 💚

#therapy
#therapyprocess
#staycurious
#emilyduffytherapy
#life

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Jan 31

You've heard of girl math but what about chronic illness math?

Chronic illness math is trying to weigh up whether a plan/task/activity is worth doing.

but unfortunately the numbers never weigh up so you can't truly know the outcome....

I really want to go to the cinema

But I'm feeling a little run down

If I go will it send me in a flare or will I be okay with symptom managment

And will the flare last a day or a week or more?

Maybe I should stay home and rest?

But I've not done something for myself in a while and getting out the house can make me feel good.....

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Jan 29

100% this

You canrs expect therapists to help heal trauma and then not speak out against the systems that are causing collective trauma on a massive scale in real time

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Jan 17

I'm so excited to get this course finished but I'm also making sure it's as robust as possible! ✨️ I'm enjoying writing it at the moment and have completed the first 2.5 modules 🥳 Sign up for updates here 💚 - forms.gle/yGC7Hj9pSibE... #cpd #therapy #therapytraining #chronicillness #disability

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Dec 31

Happy New Year's Eve all ✨️ Queue Psychostick - Happy Fucking New Year 🤘 I don't really do resolutions anymore, instead I quite like what I've seen others do of carrying over a word with me for next year. So 2026 for me is going to be ꪱׁׅꪀׁׅtׁׅꫀׁׅܻꪀׁׅtׁׅꪱׁׅᨵׁׅꪀׁׅ.

A selfie on the left of the image of Emily Duffy wearing a black santa hat which jas "heavy xmas" stitched on the white banding.
On the top right is an image of Emily with one of her dogs.looking up at her.
And bottom right is another dog looking at the camera licking her lips.

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Dec 6

I turned 35 today! It's been a hard year but I'm grateful for so much in my life. I know this next year is going to have some pretty big difficulties but hoping there's many lighter moments for us all ✨️ For now I'm taking the week in my happy place w/my partner & woofs! How're b'days for you? 💚

Picture is a mash up of a "happy birthday banner", selfie of Emily a white woman, with ginger hair wearing a black tshirt, 2 dogs looking at the camera, and then a barn conversion with a hot tub

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Nov 20

List of names from:
https://tdor.translivesmatter.info/reports

In trans colours

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Nov 20

Your lives matter and I'm so sorry this world and the people in it ever make you feel that your lives don't. (I have included "name unknown" in the list to show the full extent of lives lost too soon. This includes those lost by suicide)

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Nov 20

It's Trans Day of Remembrance 🏳️‍⚧️ Sending love to all trans siblings today and every day! This post covers some key findings from the last year from TGEU as well as the list of names to remember today from TDOR

Trans day of Remembrance in trans colours

TRIGGER WARNING:

The next slide is a snapshot of statistics collected & reported by TGEU for 2025. This is then followed by the names of all the lives lost.

You can find these stats and more here

-

https://tgeu.org/trans-murder-monitoring-2025-reveals-new-trend-in-anti-trans-violence-systematic-targeting-of-activists-and-movement-leaders/

281 trans and gender diverse people were reported murdered between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025

90% were trans women or trans feminine people.

34% (whose occupation is known) were sex workers.

Trans people affected by racism make up 88%

over half were between 19 and 40 years old.

44% were shootings.

68% were committed in Latin America and the Caribbean

This year saw a rise in murders of trans activists and movement leaders - 14%

Helplines in the UK

MindLine+ Trans - 0300 330 5468

Mermaids - 0808 801 0400

LGBT Switchboard - 0300 330 0630

Gendered Intelligence - 0800 640 8046

Terrence Higgins Trust has amazing resources listed here - https://www.tht.org.uk/sexual-health/trans-people/resources (Link in story)

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Nov 14

Tried to have a nap, this is how it went..... No sleep was had 😂😴

Someone lying down under a teal blanket with a mustard dandie dinmont lying beside them near their head. There's another dandie lying on the chaiselounge of the sofa

Someone lying down under a teal blanket with a mustard dandie dinmont lying beside them near their head. There's another dandie lying just behind the other dog propped up on the persons legs

A person lying down under a teal blanket. One mustard dandie is lying facing away from the camera up against the person with bum by armpit. The other mustard dandie is lying on both human and other dog with head on himans chest and on their back

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Nov 6

The aim of therapy is to empower someone to help themselves. This is done in lots of ways, but we are essentially working ourselves out of a job 😅

So what can therapy help with/do:
💚 Look at how you talk to yourself and reframe it
💚 Explore your identity, the relationship with yourself, and understand who you are
💚 Work on ways of communicating with others and difficult dynamics
💚 How to sit with and notice emotions, as well as how to manage any symptoms that come up (chronic illnesses, disabilities, mental health...)
💚 Challenge our biases, ways of thinking, and behaviours
💚 Learn how to respond to situations rather than react
💚 Learn how to set boundaries
💚 Celebrate achievements, progress, and the work you're doing
💚 and so much more...

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Oct 30

I learned about this due to my reactive dog 😅 But I feel like the sink analogy by Dr. Sarah Heath is transferable to human emotional regulation, too. Does this resonate with you? 💧 (Description in comments and as ALT text if can't watch/don't want to watch video 😊)

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Oct 29

Here's my pumpkins. I did all but the face carved one 😆🎃 they are tiny home-grown pumpkins, though, so it was tricky. Are you carving/painting pumpkins this year? 💚

Carved pumpkins. One saying "boo!" One with stars and dots and one with an open mouthed smiley face

Painted pumpkins. One as Jack Skeleton, one with silver ghosts on a gree pumpkin, and one saying hally halloween

A hand by the pumpkins showing scaling. The pumpkins are about the size of their palm

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Oct 26

Harvested my pumpkins to decorate for Friday 🎃 They grew by accident after I composted last years pumpkins 🤣 I'm pretty happy with them!

A variety of small and medium pumpkins. All but 2 are white/cream, and the other 2 are dark green. There are 9 in total.

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Sep 23

Today is 3 years since I got my octopus tattoo 🥰💚 they are fascinating!

Octopus tattoo on a white persons arm. The octopus is blue going into purple tentacles with punk suction cups

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Sep 20

I kinda feel they all link into each other. One of the biggest things I've unlearned from my training is being a blank slate because it made me feel like I couldn't be in the room.... but I am in the room, and I am part of the therapeutic relationship.

So yes, I self disclose when it feels necessary, relevant, and in the best interest of my clients and our relationship.

I am not a blank slate, I let my personality come out both in the room, the relationship, and here on my social media - still with professional boundaries.

And to those saying "Politics doesn't belong in the therapy room", fuck that!
When our existance is debated by politicians, when bigotry is rife, when violence against women and girls is getting worse, when the system, patriarchy, and capitalism oppresses so many people, when there's genocides being denied, when there is such fear, aggression, hatred, and divide within humanity.....how can this not be in the therapy room?! Especially when working with queer, trans, chronically ill, disabled, fat, non-monogamous, neurodivergent, and/or people of the global majority. This impacts people's experience of living in this world, and when we need to meet clients where they are, we need to take this into account and accept it in the room!

It doesn't mean you have to explain your own political stance or introduce politics as content for the sessions but being aware of the impact for your clients is so important (and some may feel more safe knowing your stance).

If therapists don't self disclose or want to be blank slates, then that's part of how they work, but not understanding how modern-day politics impacts the therapy room isn't something I am willing to budge on....

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Sep 20

What're your thoughts on these?

Emily Duffy Therapy@emilyduffytherapy· Sep 12

So this website popped up... Apparently, there's a "right way" to respond to someone's death when they're part of MAGA. They're using this to try and get people targeted by their hate and fired. I'm not even in the US, but this is terrifying amongst everything else going on in the world.