Welcome to the AIPC Online Article Library. The library includes over 300 articles focusing on counselling, life effectiveness skills and mental health. We invite you to explore our range of articles by clicking the category links above, or using the drop-down menu on your right. To learn more about AIPC, visit www.aipc.net.au

Latest Articles

Mid-life “Crises”: How Should Therapists Think About Them?

AIPC June 13, 2018 Career Issues, Counselling Theory & Practice, Life Coping Skills

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” the client confides. “I’m at the top of my game in my job, my marriage is going ok, and I am healthy. I have achieved a lot of my goals, but my life suddenly feels like it doesn’t fit me anymore.” The client continues, describing a wild desire to quit everything and leave town – or maybe take up drinking to excess as a nightly sport. You perceive anxiety, depression, and something more. What’s clear from the client’s tale of angst is that what seems meaningful and purposive has somehow shifted, and now in the middle years there is an urgent need for re-assessment of what matters. Welcome to mid-life, you think. »

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Dealing with the Stigma of Hearing Impairment

AIPC June 8, 2018 Counselling Theory & Practice, Disability Issues, Loss & Grief

One in six Australians has hearing loss, and the projection is that one in four will have it by 2050, as our population ages (Australian Network on Disability, n.d.). Thus, even if you never have a profoundly deaf client come to your rooms, you are likely to see someone at some stage who is hearing-impaired. If not the client, it may be that the person coming is frustrated because of having to deal with the hearing loss of a loved one. The abundance of hearing aids and other assistive listening devices these days would seem to mean that it’s a “no-brainer” to improve someone’s hearing: just get fitted with an appropriate device, and watch their quality of life take off, right? »

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Building Shame Resilience in Clients

AIPC June 1, 2018 Communication, Communication Skills, Counselling Process, Counselling Theory & Practice, Life Coping Skills, Social Support

Jungian analysts have called it the “swampland of the soul”. Other psychotherapy writers have observed how it originally served to keep us safe; the tendency to shame has been a universal one in which our desire to hide our flaws from others has saved us from being kicked out of the group (the society), which evolutionarily would have meant death (Sholl, 2013). So which is it? Is shame totally pathological, or is it ever helpful to us? And how shall we deal with it in the therapy session, especially when we are faced with a highly self-critical or otherwise shame-prone client? »

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Shame, Guilt, Humiliation, and Embarrassment

AIPC May 29, 2018 Counselling Theory & Practice

Shame, guilt, humiliation, and embarrassment are painful and universal human experiences; the terms are often used interchangeably and do overlap, but are different from one another. Owing to differences in culture, religion, ethics, and personal standards, we experience them differently to even similar others in our social sphere, and certainly to people in other cultures. In this post and a follow-up one, we will be examining these often hidden emotions, with an eye to disentangling them from one another (in this post) and then seeing how we can best respond therapeutically (in a companion article). »

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Case Studies

Counselling with Chimps

AIPC February 11, 2025

The Chimp Paradox, authored by Steve Peters (2013), presents a compelling exploration of the Human mind and its intricate workings. Peters, a psychiatrist most renowned for his work in elite sports psychology, introduces readers to a captivating mode...

A Case Using Brief Psychodynamic Therapy

AIPC November 27, 2014

Wendy is a 54 year old woman who has two adult children and has been married for twenty-nine years. Her husban...

A Case of Lost Direction

AIPC November 25, 2014

Jenny has come to counselling due to strong feelings of dissatisfaction with her life. She is 48 years old, un...

Communication

The Fine Art of Compassion

AIPC May 15, 2019

Imagine this scenario: you are keen to get a particular job and an opportunity for it comes up. You prepare meticulously for the interview, but somehow, it doesn’t go well. The interviewers don’t seem to warm to you, and you know in your heart that y...

Building Shame Resilience in Clients

AIPC June 1, 2018

Jungian analysts have called it the “swampland of the soul”. Other psychotherapy writers have observed how it ...

Strategies for Helping Families to Enhance Resilience

AIPC July 19, 2017

If you are supporting a family in transition, you may perceive huge differences between them and the character...

Counselling Theory & Practice

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

AIPC 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, elic...

Embracing Neuroaffirming Practice in Counselling: A Guide for Immediate Application

AIPC May 13, 2025

The significance of the mental health crisis among autistic individuals cannot be overstated. A 2019 meta-anal...

Theories of Grief and the Grieving Process

AIPC May 6, 2025

Grief theories provide a conceptual base for understanding grief and loss as a process involving many common c...

Life Coping Skills

The Fine Art of Compassion

AIPC May 15, 2019

Imagine this scenario: you are keen to get a particular job and an opportunity for it comes up. You prepare meticulously for the interview, but somehow, it doesn’t go well. The interviewers don’t seem to warm to you, and you know in your heart that y...

The Benefits of Intentional Daydreaming

AIPC January 23, 2019

Your fitness tracker reminds you to walk away from your computer every hour to get needed movement – and then ...

Procrastination: What Your Client Needs to Know

AIPC October 24, 2018

95% of us procrastinate (Steel, 2010) – accruing negative consequences – despite having recognised for 500 yea...