Whatever the circumstances of loss and grief, there are certain principles and procedures that contribute to the effectiveness of grief counselling. Some of the guidelines adapted from Worden (2005) are listed below. »
While interest in play as a therapeutic intervention has been around since the 1920's, professional interest has grown steadily over the past decade. This has been driven in part by the recognition of the number of children and adolescents who require effective help, counsellors becoming increasingly aware of the seriousness of emotional difficulties often experienced by children and their likely ... »
It is important that children are able to express and understand how they are feeling. Some children feel uncomfortable talking about their feelings, therefore combining discussion with an external activity will often help them open up about their feelings. It is important when working with children to remember to apply the strategies and techniques that work best with the child. For example, a to... »
There is a plethora of information available on the topic of bullying. There are many different types of bullying including; child or school based (schoolyard) bullying; workplace bullying; cyber bullying; military bullying and hazing. The purpose of this article is to focus on child or school-based bullying as opposed to any of the other types of bullying. »
The fundamental approach to motivational interviewing interactions?contains the following four elements: »
Addiction is a plague that affects individuals and society in an adverse manner. It is a very costly illness that has worldwide prevalence. A study conducted in Australia found that $437m was lost in 2001 due to alcohol related absenteeism (Pidd, Berry & Roche, 2006). In the United Kingdom, a study conducted in 2001 found that alcohol related work absenteeism had an economic cost of an average £1.... »
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 dealing with challenging clients. Here are some issues... »
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 is produced), which lessens the pleasurab... »
Cognitive-behaviour therapy aims to help substance-dependent people abstain from using by applying the same learning processes that developed the substance dependence initially. In treating substance dependence, the goal of cognitive behaviour therapy is to teach the person to... »
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 and environmental circumstances. In ... »
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. »
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 Counsellor. They’re always so full of energy, enthusiasm ... »
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. »
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 help people identify, challenge and alter... »
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