Providing counselling & psychotherapy in W.Yorkshire. Mindfulness Teacher. Passions include mindfulness, compassion, equality, humanity, HAES and my children.
West Yorkshire
Joined October 2013
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Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
The Government has until the end of the year to scrap the NHS-Palantir deal.
Do you want Palantir out of the NHS?
RT if you do.
Lets get them out.
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
BREAKING: The Catholic Archbishop of the U.S. military enrages MAGA by announcing that Catholic soldiers must not take part in the public execution of Nidal Hasan.
Pete Hegseth is about to blow a gasket...
“In addition to supporting and subscribing to the statement by my brothers the Bishops of Texas, it is my duty to express my disapproval of what is proposed regarding the execution of the terrorist Hasan in the Archdiocese entrusted to my spiritual care to be done by those for whose salvation I have been constituted as the Archbishop for the Military Services, USA," stated Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who is in charge of Catholic pastoral services for the U.S. military.
He was referring to a statement put out by the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops condemning Hegseth's plan to livestream Hasan's execution because it would "make a spectacle of death" and fail to achieve "true justice." Broglio was no doubt drawing attention to the Texas bishops' statement specifically because Hasan committed his mass shooting at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
While we have absolutely zero sympathy for Hasan, we also adamantly oppose MAGA's efforts to turn us into an even more bloodthirsty nation where public killings are broadcast for the entertainment of the masses. We are the United States of America, not ancient Rome.
“First of all, I renew my expression of heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those who died in the attack at Fort Hood," Broglio continued. "It was an attack that disregarded the dignity of the human person. I had the sad duty of presiding and preaching at the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in that attack."
“Secondly, I repeat the opposition of the Catholic Church to capital punishment. The Catechism was already clear and Pope Francis made it even clearer. The dignity of the human person is again at stake."
“Thirdly, do we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries? The crime committed by Nidal Malik Hasan was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose? Has the potential moral injury, which the members of the firing squad might experience, been considered? Will the exposure of a live-stream to the young and impressionable during the 250th anniversary year of our independence be able to be repaired?"
"The US military generally enjoys a good reputation in the world," he continued. "Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheel chair to the whole world? Does this decision reflect the dignity of the human person?"
“I call upon all men and women of good will to ask that this decision be reconsidered and, at the very least, do what is possible to keep the exposure to the live-streaming of the proposed execution from the vision of the young and impressionable," he went on.
"As I would in the case of a procured abortion, I oblige any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church," concluded Broglio.
Regardless of one's thinking about the Catholic Church's teachings on other issues, we wholeheartedly agree with their staunch opposition to the death penalty and particularly public executions.
Hegseth and Trump want to normalize this kind of brutality — likely setting the stage for even more heinous displays of fascist violence — and at the same time they know that it's red meat for their mindless, jabbering base who will delight in watching a Muslim be killed on television. The moral weight of history is on our side. We must stand up and stop this.
Please ❤️ and share if you oppose public executions!
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
NEW: A Vatican theological commission has defined the destruction of the natural world as a “sin against creation and against the Creator,” in a 29,000-word text cleared for release after it was presented to Pope Leo XIV.
It comes the same month MAGA commentators lambasted the U.S.-born pontiff for asking Catholics to pray for the 2.1 billion people without safe drinking water.
Leo told the faithful that “it is not yet too late” to turn what has been used for destruction toward life. thelettersfromleo.com/p/vati…
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
Just remember…
You’re on a spinning planet, floating through an enormous universe.
There’s fire beneath your feet, stars above your head, a moon that follows you home, and tiny creatures that glow in the dark.
Your heart beats without being told to.
You are alive.
Honestly, what a ridiculously beautiful thing.
Don’t forget to notice.
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
The Vatican has officially declared environmental destruction a ”sin against creation and the Creator” in a major new doctrinal text.
The 29,000-word document, titled Caring for Our Common Home, elevates ecological concern from a merely political or scientific issue into a direct matter of personal faith.
Authorized under Pope Leo XIV, the text declares that destroying natural habitats, polluting, and exploiting resources are not just civic failures, but a 'sin against creation and against the Creator' that directly violates God's plan.
This shift from Pope Francis' earlier concept of 'ecological sin' to a more explicit 'sin against the Creator' is designed to reshape how believers view their daily environmental impact. The Vatican emphasizes that failing to safeguard the planet severely harms the poorest populations and future generations, distorting the core relationships that define humanity. By placing ecological action squarely in the realm of moral responsibility, the Church is challenging millions of people to treat environmental care as a fundamental requirement of their faith.
source: O'Connell, G. (2026). Vatican theological commission defines 'sin against creation and the Creator' in new document. America Magazine.
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
A young person I support is 18, still in the care system and living in his own flat. He is doing incredibly well.
He’s settled. He’s making friends. His college is literally next door. He’s building a life, finding stability and, most importantly, his mental health is good. He’s getting his life back on track.
And now the local authority wants to move him miles away — apparently to save a few pounds.
This is what is so fundamentally wrong with our care system.
We talk about stability, relationships, education and positive outcomes, but when a young person finally finds all of those things, we put a price on them.
What they seem to be forgetting is that moving this young man could cost far more than money. It could cost him his friendships, his education, his stability, his confidence and the progress he has fought so hard to make.
You cannot keep moving young people around to save money and then act surprised when the consequences come back through your services.
This isn't a flat. It's his home.
This isn't just a placement. It's his stability.
And this isn't just a budget decision. It's a decision about a young person's future.
We need to stop treating care-experienced young people like numbers on a spreadsheet and start asking the most important question.....
What will give this young person the best chance of a successful life?
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
“As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems — or, for that matter, to any problems.
“Inequality is the root of social ills.” — Pope Leo XIV
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
Imagine the amount of propaganda it took to convince millions of people that healthcare, food assistance, social programs, clean water, clean air, good wages, housing, equal rights, diversity and a healthy planet for all people was somehow a threat to America and to Christianity.
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
If you watched Channel 4’s show on ADHD earlier in the week and felt invalidated, please read the Science Media Centre’s curation of expert reaction and evidence related to ADHD.
If you watched it and felt it was balanced, please read article as well.
sciencemediacentre.org/exper…
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
'The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.' Thich Nhat Hanh
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
A simple act of kindness has the ability to be more effective for healing than some of the traditional ways. The invisible force of grace motivates the recipient to believe in the good that exists in the world. Always remember how powerful your kindness is, and share it for all.
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
STOP watering the WEEDS in your life, and
START watering the FLOWERS. ~Anonymous
#RozSpirations #Kindness #Encouragement #Positivity #Inspiration #SelfCare #Quotes
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
“Enough with insults, enough with bullying, enough with all those things that wage war between people, between communities, between countries!” — Pope Leo XIV
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
The PHQ-9 is one of the most widely used depression screening tools in the world.
It's used in primary care offices, hospitals, schools, universities, workplace wellness programs, and mental health clinics. Millions of people have completed it. Many have received a depression diagnosis based, at least in part, on their score.
Most people assume the PHQ-9 emerged from a purely scientific effort to improve the identification of depression.
The actual story is more complicated.
In the early 1990s, Pfizer was preparing to market Zoloft. At the time, severe clinical depression was generally viewed as a relatively uncommon condition, and many primary care physicians were hesitant to diagnose and treat it.
Mental health assessments were complicated. They required time, clinical judgment, and an understanding of a person's life circumstances. Most family physicians didn't receive extensive psychiatric training and many were uncomfortable making psychiatric diagnoses.
This presented a problem.
If antidepressants were going to reach a much larger population, depression had to become easier to identify within primary care.
The solution was a brief screening questionnaire.
The idea for what eventually became the PHQ-9 originated with Pfizer marketing executive Howard Kroplick. The goal was straightforward: create a simple tool that could be administered during routine office visits and help physicians identify potential depression quickly and efficiently.
Over time, the PHQ-9 became embedded throughout healthcare.
The problem isn't that the questionnaire asks about symptoms associated with depression. The problem is that the symptoms it measures are not unique to depression.
Feeling down.
Loss of interest.
Trouble sleeping.
Fatigue.
Difficulty concentrating.
Changes in appetite.
These experiences certainly occur in depressive disorders. They also occur during grief, divorce, job loss, financial hardship, chronic illness, burnout, loneliness, and countless other painful but normal human experiences.
A questionnaire can count symptoms.
It cannot understand context.
It cannot tell whether someone is mourning the death of a spouse, struggling through a difficult life transition, or suffering from a depressive disorder.
That distinction requires a conversation.
It requires clinical judgment.
It requires understanding a person's history, relationships, circumstances, and meaning-making processes.
When we reduce emotional suffering to a checklist, we risk confusing normal human responses to adversity with psychiatric pathology.
This matters because screening tools do more than measure symptoms.
They shape how clinicians think.
They shape how patients understand themselves.
And they influence who receives a diagnosis, who receives medication, and how society defines mental illness.
The question is not whether depression exists.
The question is whether we have allowed a marketing-driven framework to expand the boundaries of diagnosis in ways that blur the distinction between clinical disorder and ordinary human suffering.
The history of the PHQ-9 deserves far more attention than it receives.
Most people have never been told this story.
They should be.
Read the full article and decide for yourself. 🔗in first comment
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
Laughter is anti-inflammatory. Crying is regulating. Hugging is immunoprotective. Singing is vagal toning. Dancing is neurogenic.
Joy is a biological necessity.
Emma Dunn Counsellor (she/her) retweeted
“Dear migrants, before I say another word to you, I want to bow before your dignity.
You are not numbers or case files.
You are people, with a family and a home left behind, with dreams that no one has the right to scorn.” - Pope Leo
Basic humanity that is so rare these days
