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Why do we carry emotional weight over time?
This short excerpt introduces a simple idea:
That emotional weight doesn’t come from one moment
but from many small moments we carry over time.
Taken from The Penny Model – Revised
In medieval times, warriors wore armour to protect themselves in battle. It kept their bodies safe and shielded from attack. In much the same way, when we experience traumas, large or small, we begin to develop emotional armour. This armour is a coping strategy, forged and refined in our early years. It serves as a protector, and in many situations, it is both needed and useful. But we need to be able to take it off. The Penny Model offers a way to begin working with this.
“We learn to protect ourselves… one penny at a time.”
Begin understanding your own emotional patterns →
All illustrations for The Penny Model: Revised
were created by Anthea Wood - wwwamwoodart.co.uk.
About
My name is Stefan Charidge. I’m a therapist and writer who created the Penny Model to help people understand the quiet weight of everyday emotional compromises. Each “penny” represents a moment we disconnect from ourselves. My work invites awareness, compassion, and the freedom that comes from giving those pennies back.
Follow my journey on TikTok!
This short video was filmed by the wonderful Happiful team and offers an introduction to some of the ideas explored in The Penny Model. Many of the metaphors shared in the book serve as “GoTos” — simple, relatable ways of making sense of our emotional world. These metaphors act as touchstones for understanding how we accumulate emotional weight, how we can release it, and how to return to balance.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
"Stefan's an excellent speaker; well worth taking the time to book a training course or a session of counselling or supervision with him."
Best lecture I’ve ever been to as a therapist in 20 years. Thank you so much!!
Fantastic seminar. This guy really knows his stuff! I've been using the
balloon technique in my private practice, and it's been very helpful.
Services
Price Negotiable
Price negotiable
Price Negotiable
Price negotiable
