AIPC, Author at Explore Our Extensive Counselling Article Library - Page 17 of 67's Posts

Emotional Patterns and Procrastination

It’s 10:00 pm on December 24th, and you’re just beginning your Christmas shopping. You lost $1000 in extra taxes because you didn’t prepare or file your documents properly, on time. Your boss is upset because of all your missed deadlines, and your partner is truly “over” all your undone domestic work. If this resonates, you are one of the 20% who chronically procrasti... »

Postnatal Depression: Onset, Prevalence and Consequences

There were 22 filicide cases recorded in Australia between July 2008 and June 2010, or 11 per year on average. Seven involved the death of a child less than one year of age (Chan & Payne, 2013). Postnatal depression, or PND, figures largely in these sad statistics; it has been estimated that at least one in five mothers of full-term infants suffers from it (Priest et al, 2005, in Statewide Obstetr... »

The Best Gifts for Your Mother

Whether you love it or hate it, most people will agree that the mother-child relationship is one of the most significant relationships in a person’s life, affecting your wellbeing throughout your life. »

Counselling Dilemma: A Client’s Sex Reassignment Surgery

Mark, 36 years of age, is directed to counselling by his doctor after Mark decides he wants to transition from male to female, undergo sex reassignment surgery, and change his name to Sonia. Mark reports he has suffered for a long time trying to live as a man when he in fact feels like a woman. »

How to Boost Your Creativity

Your wellbeing can benefit from being more creative. How many different ways can you use a brick? What would happen if dogs could talk? What will our homes and workplaces look like 100 years from now? »

Helping and Stress Management

Stress is any pressure, demand, or threat placed on an organism (say, a human being) that causes a need to re-establish balance or “equilibrium”. The Oxford Dictionary online adds that stress is “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.” In this article, we look at stress management from the perspective of a helper: that is, anyone who is ... »

Essential Steps to a New You

Not feeling like you’re living it up to your full potential? Below are some essential tips to get out of your rut and towards renewal. »

Practicing Unconditional Self-acceptance and Compassion

When discussing happiness, one attitude/belief that deserves special mention is the art of accepting ourselves on an “as is, where is” basis. For us to be peacefully in relationship with our own humanness – our own combination of strengths, growing edges and unique quirks – means to have less stress from the source of our own critical voice. You know the voice: the one that... »

DSM-5 Updates: Assessment Instruments

We’ve previously published an article with information and resources to help you understand the differences between the DSM-IV and its latest version, the DSM 5. In this post, we turn our focus to DSM-5-relevant instruments to assess clients. »

Motivational Interviewing and Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults age 18 and older (18 percent of the U.S. population) (ADAA, 2014). The percentage is similar in Australia, with 14.4 percent of Australians being affected by an anxiety disorder in any 12 month period (Mindframe, 2012). Even though only one-third of those in both countries seek treatment for the ... »

Take Your Happiness to the Next Level

You’ve ticked off all the items on the “Good Life” list: you exercise daily, have a healthy diet with good general health and sufficient sleep, and your interesting job affords you many luxuries. Beyond that, your primary relationship is going well and you enjoy your friends and hobbies. You say you are satisfied, but secretly you know: happiness still eludes you. What has gone w... »

Chronic Pain: Definition, Statistics and Causes

Chronic pain affects 29 percent of Australians, which means that at any given time nearly three out of ten people are suffering in some way (Stollznow Research for Pfizer Australia, 2010). When we add the emotional, physical, and financial challenges of those who care for them, the percentage of lives touched by chronic pain is much higher. In this article, we’ll define chronic pain, and look at s... »

A Healthy Heart is Both Physical and Emotional

We all know that we should exercise, eat sensibly, and generally take care of ourselves for good heart health. What might not be as clear is how good emotional health yields good health for the physical heart. With February being Heart Research month, it’s a great time to take a fresh look at how that happens. »

Suicide: Warning Signs and Prevention Tips

Because most people who die by suicide give warning signals of their intentions, the best way to help prevent suicide is to learn how to recognise – and then respond to – those signs. It may be helpful to think of a continuum, at one end of which is a healthy desire to live life to the fullest, and at the other end of which is a completed suicide. Somewhere on that continuum – possibly in the half... »

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