Kaya and Mark have been in a relationship for a little over a year now and are attending couples counselling. Halfway through the session, the therapist asks for more information about the fights they are having. Kaya reports that Mark recently pushed her into a wall, and that he sometimes viciously pulls things like her […]
relationship
Emotion in Motion
If you look at the Oxford Dictionary entry for the word ‘emotion’, you will find it is a noun, a thing, described as follows: A strong feeling deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others: she was attempting to control her emotions: his voice was shaky with emotion. Instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished […]
- October 28, 2014
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- 10549
- Counselling Theory & Process, Counselling Therapies
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Book Review: Introduction to Counseling
Kottler, Jeffrey, A., and Shepard, David, S. (2015). Introduction to Counseling: Voices from the Field. (8th ed). Stamford, USA: Cengage Learning. Introduction to Counseling — Voices from the field (8th edition) by Jeffrey Kottler and David Shepard is an introductory textbook for students beginning the journey to becoming a professional counsellor. Now in its eight […]
- October 14, 2014
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- 5667
- Book Reviews, Counselling Theory & Process, Counselling Therapies
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Hard-wired to Connect: Mirror Neurons and Empathy
Many people have suspected for a long time that we human beings are designed to be able to experience things happening for another person: in good times or in bad. So we see a stranger clumsily bump their head on a low-hanging branch at the park, and we flinch, too. We hear that a friend […]
- September 29, 2014
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- 10486
- Clinical Mental Health, Neuroscience
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Tips to Support the Suicide-bereaved
If you have a friend, family member, or other acquaintance struggling with bereavement of suicide, how can you best offer support? What attitudes, translated into caring actions, can best facilitate the bereaved person’s coping in the immediate and short term, and their healing in the longer term? Because of the remaining societal stigma and also […]
- August 11, 2014
- 0
- 5232
- Loss & Grief, Relationship & Families, Self-harming & Suicide
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Counselling Dilemma: An Issue of Sexuality and Boundaries
A counsellor has been working with a client over a period of 9 months assisting with inner child therapy work. During the period, the client also talks about her relationship issues, sexuality as well as a relationship with another person. The counsellor, who also happens to be in a same sex relationship and going through […]
- July 22, 2014
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- 9699
- Counselling Dilemmas, Counselling Theory & Process, Ethics & Legal Issues, LGBTI Issues, Relationship & Families
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Dealing with Transference in Counselling
Transference is a phenomenon in psychology characterised by “unconscious redirection of feelings of one person to another” (Wiki Answers, n.d.). It can occur both in everyday life and also in the therapy room. One example of how it can happen is when a person mistrusts another because the other resembles, say, an ex-spouse, in manners, […]
- July 4, 2014
- 6
- 177924
- Counselling Theory & Process
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Coping with Bad Memories
Dr Jeremy Dean, a psychologist and author of PsyBlog, recently wrote a blog post exploring a new technique that holds promise for those experiencing disturbing emotional flashbacks. The post offers insightful ideas — particularly for those working with trauma and grief. Here’s an abstract: A better way to deal with recurring negative memories is to […]
- April 24, 2014
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- 2347
- Personal Effectiveness, Stress Management, Wellness
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Transference and Projection
The phenomena of transference and projection, although solidly accepted in the analytical and psychodynamic schools of psychology in which they originated, are nevertheless complex and often misunderstood concepts. Yet some claim that projection is the single most important phenomenon in psychotherapy. In this video, Richard Hill helps you understand what transference and projection are, how […]
- March 27, 2014
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- 9006
- Counselling Theory & Process, Ethics & Legal Issues, Videos
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Guidelines for Developing an Effective Counselling Service Website
A website or blog is one of the most significant investments a counsellor makes in their efforts to advertise their practice. However, all too commonly, basic rules are not followed and shortcuts are taken. The result is usually an underperforming site that could otherwise be an effective client recruitment tool. By applying a little more […]
- January 21, 2014
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- 5015
- Private Practice, Technology & Social Media
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ACT: Definitions, Goals and Underlying Philosophy
Acceptance and commitment therapy (usually pronounced as the word “act” rather than the initials “A-C-T”) is a form of clinical behavioural analysis developed in 1986 by psychologists Steven Hayes, Kelly Wilson, and Kirk Strosahl. Originally called comprehensive distancing, it gets its current name from one of its core messages: the injunction to accept what is […]
- October 11, 2013
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- 12641
- Counselling Therapies, Stress Management
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OCD vs OCPD
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) are said to affect two to three percent of the population for OCD (that is: more than 500,000 Australians) and one percent for OCPD, although three to ten percent of the psychiatric population is said to have it (Long, 2011). Many cases probably go untreated. Definitions If […]
- August 12, 2013
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- 7187
- Clinical Mental Health, Diagnosis & Treatment, Stress Management
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Coaching Scenario: Negative and Pessimistic Thoughts
A client comes to you with a common problem: he cannot find anything positive in his life. “My friends and family complain that my glass is always half empty. My negativity is getting me down. How can I get out of this negative space that seems to occupy my thought, my language and my attitude […]
- March 6, 2013
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- 11705
- Coaching Scenarios, Counselling Theory & Process, Personal Effectiveness, Stress Management, Wellness
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Social Support Development Skills
The saying that “no man is an island” seems not truer anywhere than in the realm of resilience. Happiness author and business coach Alvah Parker lists ten traits of resilient, happy people. In the very first one she notes that resilient people “are strong people who realize the importance of having a good social support […]
- February 28, 2013
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- 3385
- Multicultural Issues, Personal Effectiveness, Relationship & Families, Trauma & Disaster Mental Health
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Understanding Shopping Addiction
Spending too much, too often, goes by several names: “shopping addiction”, “over-shopping” or “overspending”, “compulsive shopping”, and “oniomania”. People even designate themselves as “shopaholics”. Definition Donald Black, a doctor and professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, describes compulsive shopping and spending as “inappropriate, excessive, and out of control. Like other […]
- February 8, 2013
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- 2918
- Addictions
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