Wellness

Motivational Interviewing for Allied Health Professionals: Unlocking Client Motivation for Lasting Change

May 20, 2025

“How can I effectively motivate my patients?” This question resonates throughout the healthcare landscape. Whether you’re a physiotherapist guiding patients through rehabilitation exercises or a dietitian encouraging healthier lifestyle choices, eliciting motivation for sustained adherence can be challenging. The essence of effective motivation lies in recognising that intrinsic motivation—motivat... »

Understanding Client Wellbeing

April 8, 2025

There are a wide range of factors that can impact how an individual perceives wellbeing, including their culture, and this perception can shift depending on their present circumstances and their life experiences. In other words, this also means that there are many different models and frameworks that attempt to explain the concept of wellbeing and its components. One of the models is SEWB model – ... »

Workplace Burnout: Causes, Effects, Solutions

April 1, 2025

In recent times, the lines between work and home life have become increasingly blurred. The pandemic has seen many of us working longer hours, worrying about job security, looking after children during the working day, or experiencing significant changes in our means of social interaction. A study by Gartner (2021) revealed that only 9% of workers are currently considered engaged. Furthermore... »

Understanding Mental Health

March 25, 2025

Mental health can be defined as a wellbeing state whereby individuals realise their own potential. They could also cope with the common stresses of life and able to work in a fruitful and productive manner while contributing to their community in positive manner (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d., as cited in Queensland Health, 2017). It is often viewed as a positive concept related to social ... »

Nature’s Effect on our Mental Health

March 18, 2025

If you’ve ever been stressed, anxious, or just feeling a little blue, you know that it can be tough to find the motivation to get out of the house and into nature. But check this out: several studies have found that being in nature for even short periods of time can have a positive effect on our mental health. For example, one study found that women who looked at pictures of nature for two m... »

Understanding and Handling Loneliness

January 28, 2025

Loneliness is often cited as merely being a state of being alone – this is perhaps not accurate, however. Loneliness is not a situation as much as it is a “state of mind characterized by negative emotions regarding the perception of being alone” (Tiwari, 2013). This definition points to one fundamental and overlooked fact about loneliness: it is not a circumstance; it is a feelin... »

Managing Different Parts of Yourself

July 23, 2024

In this article we will highlight some useful models for working with clients’ ‘Parts’. Numerous psychological theory models seek to describe and explain the functioning of, the different aspects of our neurophysiology/personality and these in turn are used to explain our thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. Examples early on include Freud’s id, ego and super-ego and later on Eric Berne re... »

Encouraging Emotional Intelligence in Counselling

August 8, 2023

For many people, emotional intelligence (EI) is an innate strength; some people can perceive, control, and evaluate their emotions with ease, while others require practice in this area. EI is something that everybody in our society ought to have; it’s the ability to manage emotions effectively and respond accordingly to various situations. This ability is necessary for anyone who wants to fu... »

Grounding for anxiety: evidence based practice and practice-based evidence

February 20, 2023

Clients can, and often do, present for counselling in a mildly, or even highly anxious state and counsellors frequently use ‘grounding techniques’ for the alleviation of both acute and chronic anxiety. Here, we explore the techniques seen as most effective from an evidence-based point of view but additionally consider the thoughts of counsellors in practice i.e., practice-based evidence. »

Self-Awareness, Emotional Regulation and Empathy

October 17, 2022

How accurately can you predict how you come across? Are you good at picking up how you are feeling and how this affects those around you? How well do you consciously know and understand yourself including your feelings, wants, goals, desires and motivations? Self-awareness is paramount to Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Emotional Regulation (ER) and is commonly defined as the understanding of our ... »

Using Mindfulness Techniques in Counselling

May 3, 2022

Whether the approach is highly structured or not, and whether the practices are formal or informal, bringing mindfulness into helping roles has several general principles. This article explores these, along with some of the benefits, limitations and contraindications of mindfulness practices. »

Dealing with the Lockdown Blues

November 25, 2021

Nobody likes being inside on a beautiful sunny day; but lately, as we’re sure you've noticed, some state governments – as well as some other countries – have been mandating people to do so. For some, this situation offers a welcome break from work, more time with their families, and other holiday-esque perks. For others, however, this curb on social interaction is proving to be a significant catal... »

Nature’s Effect On Mental Health

September 15, 2021

If you've ever been stressed, anxious, or just feeling a little blue, you know that it can be tough to find the motivation to get out of the house and into nature. But several studies have found that being in nature for even short periods of time can have a positive effect on our mental health. How is this possible, and how can we most effectively reap the mental health benefits that nature offers... »

Busting Common Myths About Anger

June 7, 2021

Because it is so multi-faceted, misperceptions about anger abound, and the question arises: how shall we regard anger? How do we advise the client to think about it? Folk wisdom often would say that the best thing to do is just let it all out, but is it? Clients complain that they cannot control it, that the tendency to be easily angered is inherited, but again, is there evidence for that? This ar... »

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