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Counselling Theory & Process

Motivational Interviewing for Allied Health Professionals: Unlocking Client Motivation for Lasting Change

“How can I effectively motivate my patients?” This question resonates throughout the healthcare landscape. Whether you’re a physiotherapist guiding patients through rehabilitation exercises or a dietitian encouraging healthier lifestyle choices, eliciting motivation for sustained adherence can be challenging. The essence of effective motivation lies in recognising that intrinsic motivation—motivation that comes from within—is far more […]

Embracing Neuroaffirming Practice in Counselling: A Guide for Immediate Application

The significance of the mental health crisis among autistic individuals cannot be overstated. A 2019 meta-analysis reviewing 96 studies found that psychiatric conditions are considerably more prevalent among autistic individuals compared to the general population (Lai et al., 2019). This crisis highlights the importance of shifting to a neurodiversity-affirming approach in mental health practices. The […]

Theories of Grief and the Grieving Process

Grief theories provide a conceptual base for understanding grief and loss as a process involving many common characteristics and phases. A general understanding of these will help you understand and anticipate the process that people may go through. This will help you to identify and normalise reactions to loss, and to identify where further help […]

Nurturing Positive Self-Esteem in Children: Empowerment Through Counselling

Positive self-esteem is crucial for a child’s overall well-being and success throughout their lifetime. It serves as the foundation for healthy relationships, academic achievement, and emotional resilience. However, many children struggle with low self-esteem, which can have long-lasting effects on their mental health and self-confidence. While self-esteem can naturally fluctuate during childhood, empowering children through […]

Note Taking and Counselling

To note or not to note? That is the question. Note taking can be a contentious issue in therapy, with some experts advocating not taking notes at all during sessions (because it may break the rapport between a counsellor and client) others take notes sparingly and still others make copious notes. Incredulously, there have even […]

Understanding Client Wellbeing

There are a wide range of factors that can impact how an individual perceives wellbeing, including their culture, and this perception can shift depending on their present circumstances and their life experiences. In other words, this also means that there are many different models and frameworks that attempt to explain the concept of wellbeing and […]

Nature’s Effect on our Mental Health

If you’ve ever been stressed, anxious, or just feeling a little blue, you know that it can be tough to find the motivation to get out of the house and into nature. But check this out: several studies have found that being in nature for even short periods of time can have a positive effect […]

Self-Awareness, Emotional Regulation and Empathy

How accurately can you predict how you come across? Are you good at picking up how you are feeling and how this affects those around you? How well do you consciously know and understand yourself including your feelings, wants, goals, desires and motivations? Self-awareness is paramount to Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Emotional Regulation (ER) and […]

Integrating Your Counselling

Integrated therapy Many experienced counsellors (if not all) don’t use any one single modality of therapy in their counselling but rather use a combination of approaches, techniques and ideas taken from numerous different disciplines. One of the key observations in ‘Effective Psychotherapists’ (Miller and Moyers, 2012) is that, alongside modality, rapport is what produces effective […]

Build Dialectical Behaviour Therapy techniques into your counselling

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a therapeutic approach combining elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with mindfulness and dialectics. Developed by Marsha Linehan, DBT was initially designed to treat individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, it has since been considered effective in addressing a range of other emotional and behavioural challenges. At its core, DBT […]

Use Self Determination Theory to help counsel clients experiencing issues at work

I have previously written about Self Determination theory (SDT) concerning understanding client motivation (Simper, 2023). Here, we consider the potential benefits of applying SDT within counselling interactions and focus primarily on clients with work issues.  Self-determination theory (SDT) is a psychological framework developed by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan that focuses on human […]

Counselling with Chimps

The Chimp Paradox, authored by Steve Peters (2013), presents a compelling exploration of the Human mind and its intricate workings. Peters, a psychiatrist most renowned for his work in elite sports psychology, introduces readers to a captivating model that delves into the complexities of the brain and its impact on emotions, behaviour, and decision-making. The […]

Schema Therapy in Counselling

Unlike other therapeutic approaches that may primarily target surface-level symptoms, Schema Therapy delves into the root causes of emotional and psychological difficulties. It emphasises understanding the origins of maladaptive schemas, often rooted in unmet core emotional needs and early negative experiences. The therapy aims to foster a therapeutic relationship that provides the emotional support and […]

Understanding and Handling Loneliness

Loneliness is often cited as merely being a state of being alone – this is perhaps not accurate, however. Loneliness is not a situation as much as it is a “state of mind characterized by negative emotions regarding the perception of being alone” (Tiwari, 2013). This definition points to one fundamental and overlooked fact about […]

How much should you reveal of yourself in counselling?

Self-disclosure The degree to which a counsellor includes any self-disclosure, i.e., details about themselves, their lives, or their personal experiences and even extending to whether they should have any personal items in the counselling room remain contentious issues. The traditional notion, steeped in the origins of psychoanalysis, is of the therapist as a separate and […]