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Stress Management

The Aftermath of a Critical Incident

When we experience a threatening event, our bodies automatically respond in a way that allows us to protect ourselves or escape from the situation. This fight or flight involves an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and breathing rate. All these changes help us to physically deal with danger or leave the situation […]

Critical Incident Counselling

Over time, the distinction between the three terms, stress, traumatic stress, and crisis, have become blurred, thus numerous professionals started using these terms synonymously. Some authors specifically indicate that they deal with both stress and developmental crisis, but do not make distinctions between these terms/concepts. Others define their work as dealing with crisis, but take […]

Common Thinking Errors

Below is a list of descriptions that cognitive-behavioural counsellors can use to categorise automatic thoughts. These are descriptions of the common types of faulty thinking. All-or-nothing thinking: You see things in black and white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure. Overgeneralisation: You see a single negative […]

Basic Principles of Time Management

Struggling to find time in your daily life? Consider the following proven time management principles and techniques. The 80/20 rule The 80/20 principle is also known as the Pareto principle. It is based on the ideas of an Italian economist called Vilfredo Pareto. Pareto was a French–Italian economist and philosopher who lived between 1848 and […]

Cognitive Restructuring with Anxiety

Cognitive restructuring, straight thinking or logical reanalysis is based on the belief that the way we feel, behave and respond to situations is based on the way we think. This approach attempts to modify unhelpful thought patterns and beliefs. Cognitive restructuring, also known as cognitive reframing, is a technique drawn from cognitive therapy that can […]

Anxiety and Conditioning

Anxiety that is produced as a result of an actual situation (e.g. being in the dentist’s chair getting a tooth drilled) can become associated to events that surround the incident even when the component that originally activated the fear (a noisy drill that results in pain) is no longer present. For example, just sitting in […]

Understanding Panic Attacks

People with panic disorder suffer severe attacks of anxiety which can make them feel as though they are having a heart attack or are going crazy. Symptoms include heart palpitations, chest pain or discomfort, sweating, trembling, dizziness, difficulty breathing and feelings of losing control. Panic disorder involves at least one of these attacks followed by […]

The General Adaptation Syndrome

General adaptation syndrome describes the body’s short-term and long-term reaction to stress. Originally described by Hans De Solye in the 1920s, the general adaptation syndrome describes a three stage reaction to stress covering our initial reaction to the stressor, our resistance and adaptation to coping with the stressor and our eventual exhaustion after dealing with […]

Unique Needs of the Suddenly Unemployed

Reactions to the news of sudden unemployment, whether through redundancy or dismissal, are as varied as the individuals affected. Emotional reactions can range from shock and disbelief to anger and resentment. Of course, there is no set template for how an individual will react to news of their job loss. Reactions are dependant on an […]

Creating a Relapse Prevention Plan

“Relapse prevention began with the work of Marlatt and Parks (1982) and Marlatt and Gordon (1985) who noted that after success with the treatment of various behavioural problems – such as smoking, drinking, overeating, drug addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder and gambling – clients very often fell back into their old behaviours. In fact, between 50% […]