Garden of Eadon

17/08/2026

Where are the women in the conversation about Boarding School Syndrome?

Much of the language around boarding school survival has understandably focused on separation, emotional armour, self-reliance and the boy who learns very quickly not to need.

But I’ve been thinking increasingly about whether girls sometimes adapted differently — particularly within institutions shaped by very particular expectations of femininity, behaviour, relationships and belonging.

Not every woman who boarded will recognise what I’m describing here. Some loved boarding school. Some hated it. For many, it will be much more complicated than either.

I’m interested in making space for those different experiences — including some of the things that may have been dismissed as simply “what girls are like.”

Later this week I’ll be sharing more about a new space I’m creating specifically for women connected to boarding school.

For now, I’m curious about the girls themselves.

What do we still not talk about enough?

12/08/2026

Men’s work doesn’t always have to happen sitting in a circle.

On Monday evening, Twickenham Men’s Circle is heading outside for our first Walk & Talk around Twickenham Green.

We’ll begin together with a check-in, before walking the Green in pairs — one man speaking and the other simply listening. We’ll return to reflect on what we’ve heard, swap roles, and then come back together for a short guided meditation and closing circle.

There’s structure and a container, but also movement, fresh air and space for conversation to emerge.

If you’ve been curious about men’s work but aren’t sure about walking into a traditional men’s circle, this might be a gentle way to experience it.

📍 Twickenham Green
📅 Monday 17th August
🕗 8pm - 9.30pm

Message me if you’d like to join us.

10/08/2026

A little reintroduction… 🌱

After some time away over the summer, I’ve been thinking about what I actually want this space to be.

There’s already so much noise online. So much certainty. So many people telling us who we are, what’s wrong with us and what we should do about it.

I don’t really want to add to that.

I’d like Garden of Eadon to be somewhere we can slow things down. Be curious. Wonder about what sits beneath the surface. Explore some of the messier, more complicated parts of being human without rushing to find an answer.

Some of you have been here for a long time and some of you have only recently arrived. Either way, hello — I’m Al. 👋

I’m a psychotherapist, but I’m also a husband, father, friend and fellow human being trying to make sense of some of this stuff too.

So there’ll be therapy and psychology here, but also relationships, autism, men, boarding school, s*x, gender, family, childhood, soul, shadow, connection — and probably a few things I haven’t thought of yet.

Thank you for being here.

And I’d genuinely love to know: what would you like me to explore?

Sending you love and light ✨
Al

07/08/2026

Did boarding school shape more than your education?

Many former boarders tell me they left school years ago, yet still recognise patterns in adulthood that began as ways of surviving childhood.

That’s why the RAC Model is so effective for my Boarding School Survivors Circle:

🌿 Recognise the impact boarding school had on you.

🌿 Accept that many of your behaviours were survival strategies, not personal failings.

🌿 Change the way you live your life today.

This September I’m launching my first Boarding School Survivors Circle—a small, psychotherapy-informed online group for adults who want to better understand their story alongside others who truly understand.

📅 18 September – 18 December
💻 Online
🌿 Open to adults of all genders

More information:
https://www.gardenofeadontherapy.com/boarding-school-circles

If this resonates with you—or someone you know—I would really appreciate you sharing this post.

05/08/2026

Boarding school changes us.

Sometimes in obvious ways.

Sometimes in the quiet, everyday moments that we barely notice until someone points them out.

The statements in this carousel won’t resonate with every former boarder—and they’re not meant to. Boarding school isn’t one experience, and there isn’t one outcome.

These are some of the survival strategies and adaptations I’ve encountered through my own experience, my work as a psychotherapist, and conversations with other ex-boarders over the years.

Some may challenge you.

Some may not fit at all.

Some may make you stop and think, “I’d never connected that before.”

I’m curious…which one resonates most with you?

If you’d like to explore these themes more deeply, my 12-week Boarding School Survivors Circle begins on 18 September.

More information:
🔗 https://www.gardenofeadontherapy.com/boarding-school-circles

Or feel free to email me for a free discovery call:
📧 [email protected]

03/08/2026

As a child, the end of the holidays meant going back to boarding school.

Packing wasn’t just packing. It was remembering every item on the school list because if you forgot something, you simply went without until the next exeat or holidays.

These are the quieter ways early experiences can continue to shape us—not always dramatically, but in ordinary moments that suddenly make a little more sense when we stop and reflect.

I’d be interested to hear whether this resonates with other former boarders. What are the seemingly small things that still catch you by surprise?

If you’d like to explore these experiences in more depth, my next Boarding School Survivors Circle begins on 18 September. You can find more information via the link in my bio.

27/07/2026

21/07/2026

Sometimes men’s mental health looks like this.

Not therapy.
Not a workshop.
Just good food, honest conversation and a few hours away from the pressures of everyday life.

Last night we held our first Supper Social, bringing together local men from different backgrounds and stages of life.

One thing that struck me was how quickly strangers became a table of people sharing stories, ideas and plenty of laughter.

Community doesn’t always begin with deep conversations—it often begins with simply showing up.

Our next in-person event will be a walk and circle in Marble Hill Park on 17 August. DM for details.

20/07/2026

One of the unexpected highlights of this year has been becoming a regular contributor to .

What began with introducing the Twickenham Men’s Circle has grown into conversations about men’s mental health, connection, community, wellbeing and, in this month’s edition, The Sustainability of Being Human.

As a psychotherapist, I believe some of the most important conversations happen beyond the therapy room. Writing for a local magazine is one small way of making psychological ideas more accessible and helping build a stronger, healthier community.

A huge thank you to Phil, Maxine and everyone at TW Magazines for the opportunity and continued support.

And now… off to our Twickenham Men’s Circle Supper Social this evening. Looking forward to another evening of good food and even better conversation.

15/07/2026

Two years ago today, we said goodbye to my mother.
I’ve been thinking about how different her death and her funeral felt.
I chose to sit beside her as she passed. It was one of the most private and intimate moments of my life.
And then, almost immediately, there were things to do.
People to call. Decisions to make. Practicalities to manage.
Looking back, I wonder if all that doing helped hold me together when emotionally I was anything but together.
She had died.
But I don’t think I had really begun to process what that meant.
The funeral was different.
My family and I were able to take Mother’s wishes and create something that also allowed us to say goodbye.
A eulogy. Music. Flowers. Food. Family and friends.
Whiskey.
Our village.
For me, the funeral created a space to stop doing and begin feeling.
To honour her life. To share memories. To cry and laugh. And to allow other people to carry some of the grief with us.
Perhaps that’s why rituals around death have mattered to us for so long.
Death can be deeply private. Grief needs somewhere to go.
That day, surrounded by people who loved her and loved us, we committed Mum to God, with Reiki and love.
And, although I couldn’t have known it then, I think I was making a commitment too.
To growth.
To living more honestly.
To carrying the best of her forward.
Her funeral wasn’t the end of our relationship.
It marked a transition.
Hers committed to God, with Reiki and love.
Mine committed to growth.
Two years on, I’m deeply grateful to everyone who stood beside us that day. ❤️