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Building Transactional Analysis Into Your Counselling Practice

Some counsellors will be familiar with the work of Eric Berne and his seminal text: The Games People Play (1968) or I’m Ok, You’re Ok (Harris, 1967) and Staying Ok (Harris, 1985). Berne developed transactional analysis, based upon the ideas of Freud and Jung, but also developed an approach that is distinctly different, as he focussed on patients social ‘transactions’. Berne translated […]

Managing Different Parts of Yourself

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 […]

Encouraging Emotional Intelligence in Counselling

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 […]

Strategies for Career Counselling

As a counsellor, you will likely encounter clients who are anxious about career-related concerns. They may be kids, teenagers, or adults, and may come from any number of social or economic strata; vocational pressure effects people of all demographics, and there is a robust literature that suggests strategies that counsellors can use to attend to […]

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

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 […]

How does being a counsellor affect your mental health?

Compassion Fatigue (CF), Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and Vicarious Trauma (VT) have all been highlighted in the research literature as risks for counsellors, psychologists, and other mental health professionals (Sutton, et al, 2022). In the current post-pandemic era, burnout amongst mental health workers is a subject more prevalent than ever and subsequently has been studied […]

An Introduction to Case Management

Many clients who access counselling have multiple services assisting them with their ongoing living, health, and social needs. In some cases, clients are supported by a case manager (or a case management service) who coordinates these services to make sure that clients’ needs and goals are met in an efficient and effective manner (Summers, 2016).

Self-Awareness, Emotional Regulation and Empathy

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 […]

An Introduction to Expressive Therapies

Expressive therapies involve the use of various creative arts techniques to facilitate the counselling process. While there are a range of different modalities encompassed under the umbrella of expressive therapies, in a nutshell, expressive therapies are those that use creative expression as a therapeutic device. Activities such as drawing, painting, sculpture, music, writing, creative movement, […]

Understanding Mental Health

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 […]

Influences on Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing

There are many things that influence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing including poverty, racism and disregard for traditional practices. The ongoing effects of colonisation have created a burden that extends across generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, families and communities. The determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing are complex and interrelated.