The Opening Micro-skills

  The Opening Micro-skills This article was published on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 “First impressions stick.” “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” If there is any truth in these two popular notions, then anyone working with a helpee (e.g. a therapy client, a friend, a family member, etc.) within the context of providing mental health support should not underestimate the usefulness and importance of opening micro-skills. Appropriate use of non-verbal micro-skills tells care recipients that you are with them and ready to listen. When you use opening micro-skills, you are inviting them to tell you more. While these are technically commands, they are “soft” ones, in that they are presented to the helpee in a manner that communicates,...

Read more »

The Micro-skills of Non-verbal Language

The Micro-skills of Non-verbal Language This article was published on Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 The American National Science Foundation discovered that we form an impression of someone in just three seconds (personal communication, 1984). Social scientists also claim that at least 80 per cent of our communication takes place on the non-verbal level (Young, 2005), with only 7 percent of emotion being conveyed by verbal means. Of the rest, 38 per cent is conveyed by voice, and 55 per cent by facial expression (Mehrabian, 1972). Beyond that, researchers have come to appreciate non-verbal behaviours as important channels of communication, serving the functions of: Regulating conversations Communicating emotions Modifying...

Read more »

Fundamentals of Stress and Anxiety

Fundamentals of Stress and Anxiety This article was published on Friday, March 9th, 2012 Although never quite adequately defined, vague generalisations such as “stress and tension are normal reactions to events that threaten us” are used to describe it. Such threats can come from accidents, financial troubles and problems on the job or with family and through our emotional and physical reactions to the given situations, we become what is termed ‘stressed’. Not that long ago, the terms of worry, anxiety, fear, impatience, and anger gave way to what has been formally termed ‘stress’ and its offshoots, stressful, stress-related, and stressed-out. Further complicating matters is the fact that different people...

Read more »

Six Anger Management Strategies for Clients

Six Anger Management Strategies for Clients This article was published on Monday, March 5th, 2012 ...

Read more »

Counselling Techniques to Reduce Stress

Counselling Techniques to Reduce Stress This article was published on Monday, January 16th, 2012 How do we cope with stress? There are literally thousands of books, articles and websites that cover stress and stress management. However, the ancient and natural ways are probably still the best ways towards peace and serenity. The old adage, ‘prevention is better than cure’ is certainly true for stress management. Below are three counselling techniques counsellors can utilise with client...

Read more »

Psychological Therapies

Psychological Therapie...

Read more »

Humanistic Therapies

Humanistic Therapie...

Read more »

Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies

Psychological Therapies » Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies Information about cognitive and behavioural therapies: Behavioural Therapy Behavioural Therapy is effective for individuals who require treatment for some sort of behaviour change, such as addictions, phobias and anxiety disorders. Based on the principle that behaviour is learnt, and can therefore be unlearnt, or reconditioned, Behavioural Therapy concentrates on the 'here and now' without focusing on the past to find a reason for the behaviour. The most famous examples of conditioning are those of Ivan Pavlov and B.F Skinner. An experiment conducted by Pavlov demonstrated how ringing a bell close to dinner time caused dogs to associate the ringing of the bell with the expectation...

Read more »

Psychoanalytical and Psychodynamic Therapies

Psychoanalytical and Psychodynamic Therapies Information about psychoanalytical and psychodynamic therapies: Psychoanalysis Freud is widely regarded as being the founder of modern psychology, developing the therapy known as psychoanalysis. This therapy is based on the idea that a great deal of an individual's behaviour and thoughts are not within their conscious control. Psychoanalysis attempts to help clients develop insight into deep-rooted problems that are often thought to stem from childhood. Psychoanalysis is based on the principle that our childhood experiences have created our current behaviour patterns and thinking process. These thoughts and feelings can become repressed and may manifest themselves as depression or other negative symptoms. By talking freely about...

Read more »

Psychological Therapies (others)

Family/Systemic Therap...

Read more »

Where is the love

Where is the love January 24th, 2012 by Angela Dierks, BA (Hons), MStud (Oxon), MA Integrative Counselling, MBACP Share this:         Most of us would have experienced that dreadful moment in time when the relationship with our partner somehow feels different: heavy, difficult, guilt-ridden, anger provoking, suffocating, annoying - whichever way you may experience it at this point in time. Where is the partner who we fell in love with, who we singled out from a myriad of others because he or she was so special, who made us dive to the bottom of a seemingly endless well of joy? Where is the mirror that we get lost in, the reader of our every though...

Read more »

Couples Counselling

Couples Counselling Couples Counselling, previously known as marital therapy or marriage guidance, addresses the problems arising from adult sexual or intimate relationships. The relationship, rather than the two individuals, is the 'client'. Our very closest relationship: a marriage; co-habitation or civil partnership, is based on intimacy and trust. When it stops working we are affected deeply and our health and happiness suffer. Our sense of identity and self-worth often rests on the strength of our relationships and we can despair when our prime relationship fails. Pressures of work, family, money and health all take their toll. Suddenly the relationship that once recharged us leaves us drained and disappointed. Patterns of behaving that we learned as children often re-emerge...

Read more »

7 secrets of good relationships

7 secrets of good relationships April 24th, 2012 by Rachel Shattock Dawson BA (Hons), MA, MBACP Share this:         ...

Read more »

What is mental illness?

What is mental illness? Illness is like the street you've driven down your whole life. So familiar you've never bothered to look around. We've all experienced illness, either first-hand or via someone we know, but rarely do we stop to wonder what it really is. You might say it's when something mental or physical isn't working as it should be. But then who is to say how things should be working? This is easier to answer in relation to physical health, but still tricky. Pain, a loss of ability, a shortening of life expectancy, perhaps? These criteria seem far from satisfactory. Pain is highly subjective and can be triggered by mundane ailments like toothaches or stubbed toes - are they really illnesses? Loss of ability seems...

Read more »

Harsh discipline makes aggressive children worse

Harsh discipline makes aggressive children worse Parents should avoid harsh, combative ways of disciplining their aggressive children. That's according to psychologists whose new research shows that harsh parenting makes children more aggressive in the long run.Michael Sheehan and Malcolm Watson followed 440 children and their mothers for five years. On four occasions during that time, the mothers answered questions about their own style of parenting and their children's behaviour. At the start of the study, the children's average age was 10 years and by the final assessment their average age was ...

Read more »

People Smile When They Are Frustrated, and the Computer Knows the Difference

People Smile When They Are Frustrated, and the Computer Knows the Difference ScienceDaily (May 28, 2012) — Do you smile when you're frustrated? Most people think they don't -- but they actually do, a new study from MIT has found. What's more, it turns out that computers programmed with the latest information from this research do a better job of differentiating smiles of delight and frustration than human observers do. The research could pave the way for computers that better assess the emotional states of their users and respond accordingly. It could also help train those who have difficulty interpreting expressions, such as people with autism, to more accurately gauge the expressions they see. "The goal is to help people with face-to-face communication," says Ehsan...

Read more »

Positive Psychology and Resilience

Positive Psychology and Resilience Posted in Blog Posts, Professional Development on May 10, 2012   0 By Mrs Toula Gordillo What makes one person ‘bounce back’ following adversity and another person seem to ‘crumble in a heap’? This question has always posed a fascination for me. I have often wondered whether individuals are simply born with the skills to cope with the difficulties that life often presents or whether there are a set of stress-coping skills that individuals can learn. I love Martin Seligman’s response. As the founder of the modern Positive Psychology movement approximately 20 years ago, Seligman believes we can create our own happiness. That is, we...

Read more »

School Bullying

School Bullying This article was published on Thursday, May 13th, 2010 There is a plethora of information available on the topic of bullying. There are many different types of bullying including; child or school based (schoolyard) bullying; workplace bullying; cyber bullying; military bullying and hazing. The purpose of this article is to focus on child or school-based bullying as opposed to any of the other types of bullyin...

Read more »

Working with Young Children

Working with Young Children This article was published on Monday, May 24th, 2010 It is important that children are able to express and understand how they are feeling. Some children feel uncomfortable talking about their feelings, therefore combining discussion with an external activity will often help them open up about their feelings. It is important when working with children to remember to apply the strategies and techniques that work best with the child. For example, a toddler may be able to express their feelings using a finger puppet or a stuffed animal whereas pre-school aged children like to express their feelings through creative imagery, drawings,...

Read more »

Hey 'Revenge' writers: be careful how you portray mental illness

Hey 'Revenge' writers: be careful how you portray mental illness Date May 2, 2012 - 7:52AM Amy Corderoy Amy is a Health Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. Before working at the Herald she worked as a freelance journalist and radio presenter, as well as writing for a number of publications for doctors. She also keeps a health blog at www.dailylife.com.au. Follow @twitter Email img alt="What the hell is with the Tyler Barrol character in Revenge?" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v6qdfLADjoip4Bx-ri-7BExH-Rf9aUFjxn4W53jLH47rVdZyK6XXAw01KW5OPxjS60Yslzlz-RWBZJVx5Fk1ih_tF9Pb5QWntdEk3rIew7CfBKJueCR63q-5bp9hwWpV4c8tNf6gawpPj6N0w=s0-d"> ...

Read more »

Five-star divorce

The Vine Cuisine Essential Baby Essential Kids Fairfax Media News Domain Drive MyCareer RSVP Stayz More Daily Life Five-star divorce Date April 28, 2012 M.J. Hyland Freedom … for some, a visit to the Divorce Hotel is a reason to celebrate. Jim Halfens launched his “divorce hotel” concept in the Netherlands on February 14, 2010. The businessman thought a Valentine’s Day launch was fitting for his brainchild – a “more positive” alternative to the standard divorce model. In Divorce Hotels, Dutch couples check in on Friday afternoon, sleep in separate rooms,...

Read more »

When your friends lust after your partner

When your friends lust after your partner Date May 14, 2012 - 8:01AM Kerri Sackville Author and blogger "The idea that other women might find him attractive really hadn’t occurred to me at all." The other day, I heard some news about my husband that surprised me an awful lot. “Oh my god your husband’s hot,” a female friend said to me. And then - before I could check that she was talking about the right husband – she pointed straight at him and added, “I would do him for sure.” I nearly fell over (and...

Read more »

Compromising positions

Compromising positions Date May 23, 2012 - 9:05AM Elmo Keep "[Relationships] are terrifying because when we are in them, we are completely exposed as our true self to another human being." Photo: Getty Images Okay, everyone. If you read this website I presume you have heard of a woman, Bettina Arndt? Yes? If not please Google "Bettina Arndt + sex + men", and lots of stuff will come up and you can make up your own mind regarding her opinions on men and women and sex. Just kidding! I'm here to put my own spin on it and so will help make up your mind for you! Please do not think that you could be so stupid...

Read more »

Why is self-harm spreading?

Why is self-harm spreading? Date May 24, 2012 - 7:45AM 11 reading now Amy Corderoy Amy is a Health Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. Before working at the Herald she worked as a freelance journalist and radio presenter, as well as writing for a number of publications for doctors. She also keeps a health blog at www.dailylife.com.au. Follow @twitter Email We still don’t have all the information about why self-harm happens, and who is doing it. Self-harm...

Read more »

Improving couples’ attachment security, intimacy, stability and satisfaction

Improving couples’ attachment security, intimacy, stability and satisfaction June 2012 | Knowledge Share Barry G. Ginsberg Working with couples and families requires a different stance from working with individuals. I like that I can experience the relationship dynamics directly by being in the same room with the couple. It’s so different seeing the dynamics in action as opposed to having one individual describe it to you from her or his view. With couples work, you can witness how quickly one person’s response is cued by the other. Before you know it — before the couple knows it, for that matter — they launch into defensiveness and negativity almost as if you weren’t there. When you...

Read more »

Food fight or romantic dinner? Communication between couples is key to improving men's diets

Food fight or romantic dinner? Communication between couples is key to improving men's di...

Read more »

A Person Centred Approach to Grief and Loss

Author: Liz Jeffrey Maggie is a 35 year old woman who came for counselling six months after the break up of her nine year marriage to Michael, the father of her two children, Josh aged 6 and Joseph aged 12 months. Currently both children are in Maggie’s sole care. Maggie has been referred to counselling by her General Practitioner whom she has been seeing for a number of minor physical ailments and early signs of depression. For ease of writing the Professional Counsellor is abbreviated to “C...

Read more »

A loss like no other

A loss like no other June 2012 | Cover Stories Although loss is a universal experience, every person’s grief process is unique, meaning practitioners are wise to leave behind one-size-fits-all approaches to grief work Lynne Shallcross Imagine this scenario: You are a counselor, and you have two clients. They are the same age and same gender, and both experienced the death of a partner at roughly the same period in life. So, you can reasonably expect that both will have similar reactions to that parallel loss and both will benefit from similar counseling techniques to deal with the residual grief, right? Not likel...

Read more »

How to Be a Successful Person

How to Be a Successful Person By eHow Contributor , last updated October 08, 2011 Success comes with hard work. To succeed you must have the desire and the determination. Not all people will be successful in life, but success can be achieved. Here are some tips to succeed. Instructions 1 First, you must believe in yourself and your ability to succeed. Without believing in yourself you have already lost the race. In everything you do you should exude a high level of self-confidence. 2 Work hard and be very disciplined....

Read more »

Ten Ways to Be Successful

Ten Ways to Be Successful By Miranda Brookins, eHow Contributor Successful people understand the importance of balance. ...

Read more »

How to Have a Successful Life

How to Have a Successful Life By Hannah Wickford, eHow Contributor , last updated July 18, 2011 Having a successful life requires work. "Capital isn't scarce; vision is," said WalMart founder Sam Walton. Achieving financial success is never out of reach if you are willing to put in what it will take to make it happen. The bigger the dream, the more time and effort it will take to achieve, so only take on as much as you are willing to make time fo...

Read more »

How to Maintain a Happy Relationship When Your Partner Gets Laid Off

How to Maintain a Happy Relationship When Your Partner Gets Laid Off By Amanda Ford, eHow Contributor Maintain a Happy Relationship When Your Partner Gets Laid Off Financial issues are some of the biggest points of contention within relationships. With our economy in recession--money worries are high in most households--and when money worries are high--the potential for relationship strain is high too. If your partner loses his or her job, you may need to cultivate some added awareness and sensitivity to ensure that your relationship doesn't head south as well. I hope these tips help you maintain...

Read more »

How to Motivate a "Don't Worry Be Happy" Type

How to Motivate a "Don't Worry Be Happy" Type By Mary Wroblewski, eHow Contributor , last updated June 05, 2011 A "no worries" type usually inspires just that in supervisors. If you're a supervisor, then you know that motivating employees is one of the most difficult tasks that falls under your purview. All employees are different, so a "one-approach-fits-all" style rarely succeeds. You especially have your work cut out for you if you have an employee who frequently espouses the "don't worry; be happy" or the "no worries" retort to your directions. What this kind of employee...

Read more »

How to Not Worry and Be Happy

How to Not Worry and Be Happy By eHow Contributor Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry Be Happy will cheer you up. Keeping a positive attitude makes you a healthier, happier person and easier to be around. Not to mention this is one of the easiest things you can change about yourself and you can do it instantly! Instructions 1 SMILE - Recent studies have shown that smiling causes natural body chemicals to increase that can increase your good health. You receive the same...

Read more »

How to Stop Worrying About What People Think of You

How to Stop Worrying About What People Think of You By eHow Contributor Stop Worrying About What People Think of You I cannot think of anything more psychologically and mentally debilitating than always being overly concerned about what other people think of you. Often referred to as being "in people bondage", it's basically a condition where you live in a constant state of uneasiness due to your thoughts about how other people perceive you. You worry about how you look, how you sound, how you walk, what you say, on and on, for the sake of making sure that everyone likes you or approves of you. I have found ...

Read more »

How to Know If You Need Counseling

How to Know If You Need Counseling By braniac Counseling sometimes has a stigma behind it and some people get uncomfortable with the mention of the very word. Instructions 1 Knowing when you need to actually go and talk to someone else about what your going through in your life or relationships is very important. If you say "I don't need counseling," I am sorry to break the news but you most likely do in fact need counseling. Most of the time the one's who are most resistant to facing a third party are people who genuinely should go but fear,anxiety,denial,selfishness, or pride keep that from happening. One must at least see a need to see a counsel...

Read more »

Penuhi hak jiran, beri kelapangan kepada masyarakat

Penuhi hak jiran, beri kelapangan kepada masyarakatOleh Ibrahim Abdullah2012/05/06 JIRAN atau tetangga adalah orang pertama yang mengetahui dan merasakan kebaikan dan juga gangguan kita. Kerana itu adab mulia berjiran sangat ditekankan dalam syariat Islam. Memenuhi hak jiran yang pintu rumahnya lebih dekat dengan rumah kita diutamakan berbanding yang jauh. Daripada Saidatina Aisyah, dia berkata: “Wahai Rasulullah, saya mempunyai dua jiran, yang manakah lebih aku berikan hadiah terlebih dulu? Baginda menjawab: Yang lebih dekat dengan pintu rumahmu.” (Hadis riwayat Bukhari) Begitu pentingnya memuliakan jiran tetangga sehingga Jibril mewasiatkan secara khusus hal itu. Daripada Saidatina Aisyah, Nabi SAW bersabda yang bermaksud: “Jibril sentiasa mewasiatkanku untuk berbuat...

Read more »

Ubat kerinduan orang tua sebelum ajal menjemput

Ubat kerinduan orang tua sebelum ajal menjemputOleh Hizbur Rahman2012/05/13 ISLAM amat memuliakan ibu dan kemuliaan ibu menduduki tempat kedua selepas mentaati Allah SWT. Justeru, Allah SWT mewajibkan anak memuliakan dan menghormati ibu sekalipun berlainan pegangan agama. Allah SWT juga secara tegas mengharamkan segala bentuk penderhakaan kepada kedua-dua orang tua selagi ibu bapa berada atas landasan syarak. Ini ditegaskan dalam firman-Nya yang bermaksud: “Dan Tuhanmu telah perintahkan, supaya engkau tidak menyembah melainkan kepada-Nya, dan hendaklah engkau berbuat baik kepada kedua ibu bapa. Jika salah seorang dari keduanya, atau kedua-duanya sekali, sampai kepada umur tua dalam jagaan dan peliharaanmu, maka janganlah engkau berkata kepada keduanya sekalipun...

Read more »

Budaya penagih di tempat kerja

Budaya penagih di tempat kerja SUMBER manusia adalah aset terpenting dalam menentukan kemajuan sesebuah organisasi. Oleh itu setiap pengambilan pekerja perlulah dilakukan dengan teliti agar ia menepati kehendak majikan dalam melaksanakan tugas yang akan diamanahkan. Bagaimanapun, bukan semua kakitangan yang diambil mencapai tahap prestasi yang memuaskan. Adakalanya sesetengah majikan terpaksa berhadapan dengan beberapa tingkah laku kakitangan yang kelihatannya seperti tidak masuk akal, cuai atau menyusahkan. Di Malaysia, penagihan dadah bukanlah satu masalah baru. Kemunculan dadah sintetik yang popular dalam kalangan remaja dan awal dewasa memburukkan keadaan kerana mereka adalah majoriti kepada kumpulan pekerja....

Read more »

Penurunan testosteron akibatkan kemurungan

SAYA bagaikan mendapat kehidupan baru yang lebih indah," ulas Andrew Ooi Kuan Jim, 45, individu yang mengalami penurunan testosteron tatkala diajukan soalan bagaimana kehidupannya hari ini. Tanpa berselindung, Andrew menceritakan perubahan dirinya berlaku sekitar penghujung tahun lalu di mana tahap kemarahan tidak lagi dapat dikawal dan individu yang sering menjadi mangsa ialah anak bongsuny...

Read more »

Menangani tekanan

FENOMENA stres atau tekanan bukanlah perkara baru yang terjadi dalam masyarakat. Stres amat berkait rapat dengan gaya hidup, perwatakan seseorang, faktor keluarga, tekanan pekerjaan dan kejutan budaya. Sekiranya tekanan gagal dikawal, ia akan memberikan kesan yang negatif kepada kesihatan emosi, mental dan fizikal. Orang yang tidak mampu mengawal tekanan, ditambah pula dengan iman yang kurang akan cenderung untuk berputus asa dan kecewa....

Read more »

Memperkasa minda remaja

MINDA atau akal adalah sesuatu yang amat penting bagi remaja. Ia adalah alat berfikir mendapatkan maklumat. Ia adalah sumber penting menjana ilmu. Dari minda ia memiliki upaya kognitif melakukan sesuatu dengan rasional dan logik. Berfikir rasional yang dipandu dengan etika yang baik bakal memperkasa jalur berfikir remaja. Al-Quran memberi pedoman tentang pentingnya minda itu diperkasakan. Al-Quran menyebut tentang afala ta'qilun (tidakkah kamu menggunakan akal), juga afala tatafakkarun (tidakkah kamu mempunyai daya fikir) serta afala yatadabbarun (tidakkah kamu kaji selidik). Asas-asas ini penting bagi remaja kerana berfikir itu tidak sahaja suatu aktiviti minda tetapi ia dipedoman dengan etik...

Read more »

Elak serangan jantung

Rashid yang berusia lewat 30-an sentiasa sibuk dengan tugasnya sebagai ketua pegawai eksekutif di sebuah syarikat. Terlalu sibuk hinggakan tidak mempunyai masa untuk menjaga kesihatan diri. Pada suatu pagi, sewaktu Rashid hendak ke pejabat, dia mengalami rasa sakit dada yang amat sangat. Rasa sakit itu menyebabkan dia sukar bernafas dan tiba-tiba pitam. Apabila Rashid pulih dan sedar semula, dia mendapati dirinya berada di hospital. Apakah yang telah berlaku? "Rashid, anda telah mengalami serangan jantung . Saya dapati serangan jantung berpunca daripada tabiat merokok anda," terang doktor. Kisah Rashid adalah lazim bagi kebanyakan penghidap sakit jantung tetapi belum lagi didiagnosis. Orang seperti Rashid menjalani kehidupan harian tanpa menyedari bahawa mereka sedang menghidap...

Read more »

Kesedaran lelaki tentang barah payu dara

Kesedaran lelaki tentang barah payu dara SALAH satu kebimbangan utama wanita Malaysia jika disahkan menghidap kanser payu dara ialah kemungkinan mereka ditinggalkan atau diabaikan oleh suami mereka. Kebimbangan ini lazimnya menyebabkan mereka keberatan untuk menjalani pemeriksaan kanser payu dara secara berkala. Justeru, diagnosis dibuat hanya di peringkat akhir di mana dalam keadaan ini, kejahilan nyata membawa kemudaratan sedangkan kanser payu dara terus menjadi kanser paling utama di kalangan wanita di Malaysia....

Read more »

Crisis Intervention in Counseling (Part 2)

Crisis intervention is the most widely applied form of brief treatment used by mental health practitioners. All crisis intervention and trauma treatment specialists are in agreement that before intervening, a full assessment of the individual and the situation must take place. In a previous article we introduced the concept of crisis intervention and looked at two approaches: Faberow & Gordon Model of Crisis Intervention and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. In this article we explore Robert’s Seven Stage Crisis Intervention Model and overview the role of counsellors in facilitating family and community adaptatio...

Read more »

Group Therapeutic Factors for Change

It is important to recognise that the success of individual group members is intimately linked to the group as a whole.  Effective group therapy can help clients enhance self responsibility, increase readiness for change and establish authentic support for recovery and change. There are a number of therapeutic factors that influence the efficacy of group therapy. Yalom and Leszcz (2005) have categorised a number of factors. They are listed below: Installation of hope Universality Imparting of information Altruism The corrective recapitulation of the primary family group Development of socialising techniq...

Read more »

Pluralism: Towards a New Paradigm for Therapy

How can we move beyond ‘schoolism’ towards a paradigm that embraces the full diversity of effective therapeutic methods and perspectives? Mick Cooper and John McLeod propose a ‘pluralistic’ approach. Increasingly, counsellors and psychotherapists are becoming concerned that we are moving towards a therapeutic ‘monoculture’ in which cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) dominates; and in which other therapeutic orientations – such as psychodynamic, person-centred and integrative – are marginalised: freely-available only for clients who actively decline CBT, (1) or in the private and voluntary sector...

Read more »

The Important Role of Mental Healthc Social Supprt

The mental health social supporter’s roles and responsibilities that you have identified in our previous article may be only a part of the full role. When providing social support it is also critically important to understand how your support may effectively be delivered in a community which includes professional counselling, medical services, and other care and support systems. The mental health social supporter as a resource to the professional How can professional and “natural” support systems collaborate with one another? One study noted that people get lots of help for personal mental-health-linked problems but not all of it from mental health professionals. Rather, people may turn to those “helping agents” with whom they have contact in everyday lives (such as the community...

Read more »

Bahaviour and Solution Focused Couple Therapy

The practice of couple therapy has been encouraged to incorporate a more scientific model of practice and the use of research to inform the style of therapy most appropriate to use (Whiting & Crane, 2003). As a result, the discipline of couple and family counselling is moving to an evidence based focus. A number of theoretical frameworks have attempted to conceptualise dyadic relationships. Some of these theories have become foundations for the interventions that have become common in couple’s therapy today. Some of the models and theories include the strategic model, emotion focused therapy, solution focused therapy, behaviour theory and attachment theory. In this article we overview two of these approache...

Read more »

Symptoms and Behaviours of Unresolved Grief

Symptoms and Behaviours of Unresolved Grief Lindemann (1944), Lazare (1979) and Worden (2005) have identified numerous symptoms and behaviours that indicate unresolved / complicated grief. While many of the symptoms identified can be considered ordinary during the more acute earlier phase of grief, they are considered major signs of unresolved / complicated grief if they remain for unusually prolonged periods of time. Also, the more symptoms an individual exhibits, the more likely they are experiencing unresolved grief (Worden, 2005; Freeman, 2005). Some of the symptoms are listed belo...

Read more »

Managing Challenging Client

Within a counselling environment, the need may arise for a counsellor to work with clients who appear resistant to change or unhappy with external assistance. Some clients, who are attending counselling due to a mandated requirement, may resent the fact that they feel coerced into attending. Such clients may cite benefits such as meeting parole conditions or court orders as their only motivation for attendance. Consequently, many individuals can view a counsellor’s involvement in this process as an imposition of their rights and they take the view that what is happening to them is in some way the counsellor’s faul...

Read more »