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... »
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. »
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 ... »
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 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... »
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... »
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... »
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