Andrea Perry – författare

Procrastination is a frustrating habit, but it can also disrupt our health and happiness. 'Isn't it about time?' explores and explains why we put things off. The book is full of useful ways to overcome procrastination, and to create a more satisfying, exciting and productive life. Andrea Perry is an experienced psychotherapist who recognises that if people could 'just do it', with or without fear, they would. She describes how we need to develop trust in our abilities to follow our own logic into satisfying action, and how procrastination is a strategy to compensate for significant gaps in this process. She shows how to identify how you block your natural tendency to be effective and creative, and how to build on your strengths and give your tendency to procrastinate something better to do. Accessible and practical, illustrated with humorous and pertinent cartoons, 'Isn't it about time?' provides a rich variety of ideas which help you overcome delay and accomplsih what you need and want to do - today, not tomorrow.

Experiencing claustrophobia can be terrifying. Each person who is claustrophobic copes with their fears differently - some by struggling to manage their anxieties and panic, and others by limiting their lives to avoid enclosed spaces, like tube-trains, lifts, tunnels, car-washes, MRI scans, loo's on planes, or even wearing a crash-helmet. Some people find their fears embarrassing or shameful, and worry what others may think of them, when they have to "just get out" of small or crowded places. In this sensitive and insightful book, therapist and consultant Andrea Perry speaks honestly of her own experiences, as well as drawing on the views of others whose claustrophobic feelings have affected their lives. She paints a powerful picture of the challenge of dealing with claustrophobia on a daily basis, looking at how people manage, whether it is possible to overcome the anxiety, and what others can do to help friends, family and colleagues to cope.She even manages to find the humour in what can be a truly frightening experience, and controversially, presents claustrophobia not simply as an irrational response, but as a deeply human rejection of being electronically controlled in the confined spaces of an increasingly technological world. She also claims that many businesses are losing customers through not understanding people's fear of confined spaces and provides concrete suggestions as to what designers, architects and a wide range of public and private service providers can do to help.

When children from insecure backgrounds become adolescents, the challenges they experience themselves and present for those around them can get a lot harder to sort out, before the teenager can fully integrate into society. These adolescents can quickly acquire 'bad kid' or 'anti-social' labels. They may form attachments by joining gangs, but in doing so, further alienate themselves from other more constructive options on offer.The contributors to this much needed book have all worked successfully on the front line with teenagers whose ability to make healthy relationships, or to find learning exciting or even possible, has been severely compromised by their past experiences of trauma, neglect and abuse. Each expert practitioner offers practical strategies, underpinned by attachment theory and their own extensive experience, to enable teachers, psychologists, therapists and social workers to reach out to young people in new ways, establishing genuine connection and real possibilities for learning and hope.