Becoming a couple is one of the most complex relationships in adulthood. It is also well known that being a couple can contribute to personal growth and self awareness (Long & Young, 2007). Romantic couples are a unique type of relationship that is different from friendships and family bonds because it is based on romantic […]
Sign up for your FREE e-newsletter
You’ll regularly recieve powerful strategies for personal development, tips to improve the growth of your counselling practice, the latest industry news and much more.
We’ll keep your information private and never sell, rent, trade or share it with any other organisation. And you can cancel anytime.
Substance Use, Abuse and Dependence
There is a difference between substance use, abuse and dependence. Substance use, as the name implies, refers to the use of substances in low to moderate amounts and does not interfere with social, occupational or educational functioning. Substance abuse on the other hand refers to regular use and it is defined in terms of how […]
- May 11, 2010
- 1
- 7112
- Clinical Mental Health
- Read More
Motivational Interviewing Techniques
The fundamental approach to motivational interviewing interactions?contains the following four elements: Open-ended questions Affirmations Reflective listening Summaries Motivational interviewing creates an acronym OARS from this and the goal in using OARS is to assist the person to move forward, creating change talk and motivation from within. This change talk contains statements that the client may […]
- April 30, 2010
- 0
- 44642
- Counselling Theory & Process, Counselling Therapies
- Read More
The Value of Empathy in Counselling
A requirement for being an effective counsellor is being able to practice and impart the skill of empathy in the client-counsellor interaction. Being empathetic ensures you are listening and dealing with the clients concerns as they present them. You are not judging them. In this post we’ll look at how empathy can assist counsellors when […]
- April 27, 2010
- 0
- 92445
- Counselling Theory & Process
- Read More
The Psychology of Addiction
Almost all substance use affects the “reward mechanism” in the brain. The main chemical messenger involved in the brain’s reward mechanism is dopamine. Each time the person uses a substance they will tend to feel ‘good’, which makes them want to use the substance again. Over time, changes in the brain occur (e.g. less dopamine […]
- April 21, 2010
- 0
- 2922
- Clinical Mental Health, Counselling Theory & Process
- Read More
Classical Conditioning and Social Learning
Learning is a change in behaviour based on previous experience. It may involve processing different types of information. Learning functions can be performed by different brain learning processes, which depend on the mental capacities (of which are dynamic) of learning subject/agent, the type of knowledge which has to be acquitted, as well as on socio-cognitive […]
- April 16, 2010
- 0
- 50937
- Counselling Theory & Process, Counselling Therapies
- Read More
Suicide: Impulsive vs Planned
Suicide is a serious health problem. The World Health Organization estimates that one suicide attempt occurs every three seconds and one completed suicide occurs approximately every minute (WHO, 2000). Each day, approximately 210 Australians attempt to end their life and each year over 2500 will commit suicide. Suicide in Australia kills 8.5 times more people […]
- April 8, 2010
- 0
- 8329
- Self-harming & Suicide
- Read More
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 […]
- April 6, 2010
- 0
- 10437
- Personal Effectiveness, Stress Management, Wellness
- Read More
Graded Exposure with Anxiety
When a person has experienced anxiety in a certain place or situation previously, they are more likely to anticipate the anxiety recurring under similar circumstances. This can lead to avoidance, which further reinforces the anxiety and its association with the particular place or situation where the anxiety initially occurred. The decrease in anxiety, when the […]
- March 29, 2010
- 0
- 7905
- Clinical Mental Health, Counselling Theory & Process
- Read More
Passionate About Helping Others
It’s rare these days to hear people talk about their work with true passion. You hear so many stories of people working to pay the bills; putting up with imperfect situations; and compromising on their true desires. That’s why it’s always so refreshing to hear regular stories from graduates living their dream to be a […]
- March 22, 2010
- 0
- 12225
- Counselling Theory & Process
- Read More
A Counselling Case Study Using CBT
Jocelyn works as a Human Resources Manager for a large international organisation. She is becoming more and more stressed at work as the company is constantly changing and evolving. It is a requirement of her job that she keeps up with this change by implementing new strategies as well as ensuring focus is kept on […]
- March 18, 2010
- 11
- 165516
- Case Studies, Counselling Therapies, Workplace Issues
- Read More
Grief Counselling through Questioning
Questioning is used for therapeutic assessment and to facilitate the client’s expression of emotion, which is a crucial part of the therapeutic process in complicated grief counselling. Examples of questions and their purposes are outlined below. Questions “Can you tell me about the death?” “What happened that day”? “Where were you when you found out […]
- March 16, 2010
- 2
- 111425
- Counselling Theory & Process, Loss & Grief
- Read More
Characteristics of Addiction: Loss of control
Loss of control in its broader sense encompasses both the relative inability of an addict to terminate consumption once initiated and the inability to refrain from substance use following a period of abstinence (Lyvers, 2000). This has been attributed to impairments in the area of the brain that is responsible for executive functions including behavioural […]
- March 12, 2010
- 0
- 8760
- Addictions, Clinical Mental Health
- Read More
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 […]
- March 4, 2010
- 1
- 8016
- Clinical Mental Health, Counselling Theory & Process, Diagnosis & Treatment, Stress Management
- Read More
Beck Depression Inventory
The Beck Depression Inventory is copyrighted by the Psychological Corporation. Material here presented is only for educational purpose because the BDI should be used only by registered professionals. The original version of the BDI was introduced by Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock and Erbaugh in 1961 (cited in Victims’ Web, 2007). The BDI was revised in […]
- February 26, 2010
- 1
- 6356
- Clinical Mental Health, Diagnosis & Treatment
- Read More