You are working with a 65-year-old female client, Mary, who has been coming to see you for six months as she had grief and loss issues around having lost her only sibling, her brother and her husband in a space of a month apart (a year ago). She has a daughter and son who are both married and have two children each. They live in Sydney whilst she is in Brisbane. She has three close girlfriends who... »
The plethora of studies evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) over the last few decades has shown generally solid results for CBT as a treatment for depression (and many other disorders) with different groups, in different modes of delivery, and in manifold settings. There is no controversy on one fundamental finding: there is a vast amount of evidence show... »
What can a therapist do in session to make any therapy more intellectually attainable, or user-friendly, to someone who has at least cognitive limitations, but who also may be struggling with communicative deficits, sensory impairment, and/or psychological conditions? Morasky (2007) proposes a series of dimensions along which strategies can be evolved to adapt counselling and therapy (and he says,... »
You gaze with disgust at the mountains of dirty laundry, tossed casually next to the half-unpacked suitcase. You feel fidgety – unable to settle into your normal routines – life seems grey, and you are dreading work. Chances are you have a condition that hits most eager travellers: the post-holiday blues. Today is about how to move past them to get back into the swing of regular life. »
It’s that time of year again: the end-of-year project deadlines are looming, you’ve just found out when the in-laws will be visiting, and your inbox is clogged with ads flogging fares to everywhere from Madagascar to London. Yep, the holidays are coming. »
We can broadly define CBT as a combination of cognitive and behavioural therapeutic approaches used to help clients modify limiting, maladaptive thoughts and behaviours, ones that are often inconsistent with consensual reality (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). The basic premise of CBT is that troublesome emotions are difficult to change directly, so CBT targets emotions by changing the though... »
Right from an early age, we get a clear message from the world around us that being old isn’t so great, at least in Western society. Our mothers worry about getting wrinkles and use day creams, night creams, vitamin creams and highly scientific, or perhaps natural and organic, concoctions to cover up the visible signs of ageing. Our fathers often resist retirement. I remember my Nana once sa... »
If you have even a small track record of helping people change, you are familiar with the dynamics regarding change: client presents with problem (often precipitated by a crisis), becomes aware of compelling reasons to adopt a healthier lifestyle or cease harmful behaviours, and then hems and haws, straddling the fence with incomprehensible ambivalence. Persuading the client with logic, browbea... »
Interpersonal psychotherapy has been defined as a time-limited, dynamically-informed psychotherapy which aims to alleviate clients’ suffering while improving their interpersonal functioning. It is concerned with the interpersonal context: the relational factors that predispose, precipitate, and perpetuate the client’s distress. It is widely, but not exclusively, used to treat mood disorders. Rathe... »
As a counsellor/therapist, doctor, allied health professional (or just a caregiver) of a depressed older adult, you are undoubtedly wondering what you can do to encourage them to help themselves. The following list is a compilation of strategies and tips culled from sites specialising in caring for the depressed elderly. You may wish to discuss the options named with your client and generate furth... »
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 has gotten some good news about a medical diagnosis, and we are genuinely happier. Yet although we have suspect... »
Wendy is a 54 year old woman who has two adult children and has been married for twenty-nine years. Her husband, Steve, has recently and unexpectedly informed her that he no longer loves her and that he wants a divorce. Wendy was shocked to hear this, and she now reports that she is constantly crying and feels extremely anxious. Wendy has not told anyone about this situation, although she and Stev... »
Jenny has come to counselling due to strong feelings of dissatisfaction with her life. She is 48 years old, unemployed and does not hold much hope of employment in the future. She has worked in the past at restaurants, in pubs and as a cleaner at a Motel. She said that she could not see any positive changes in her future and was concerned that she would live out her days caring for her son, having... »
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