Self-improvement is paramount to personal success. And it is all about developing positive habits, and eradicating those habits and behaviours that are not conducive to growth. With that objective in mind (of creating “good” habits and eradicating “bad” ones), Benjamin Franklin developed a framework for personal development (which he coined “Plan for Attaining Moral Perfection”) consisting […]
Archives
Positive Psychology and Resilience
What makes one person ‘bounce back’ following adversity and another person seem to ‘crumble in a heap’? This question has always posed a fascination for me. I have often wondered whether individuals are simply born with the skills to cope with the difficulties that life often presents or whether there are a set of stress-coping […]
- May 10, 2012
- 0
- 7314
- Counselling Theory & Process, Wellness
- Read More
How the Mind Works
Over the past two decades scientists have devoted much time to the human brain: how it works, why it works, and how it impacts human and animal behaviour. As a result, it is hard to keep up with the latest research! To help you out, we looked around for websites that publish regular, free, and […]
- April 18, 2012
- 0
- 11466
- Counselling Theory & Process
- Read More
Symptoms and Behaviours of Unresolved Grief
Lindemann (1944), Lazare (1979) and Worden (2005) have identified numerous symptoms and behaviours that indicate unresolved / complicated grief. While many of the symptoms identified can be considered ordinary during the more acute earlier phase of grief, they are considered major signs of unresolved / complicated grief if they remain for unusually prolonged periods of […]
- March 22, 2012
- 2
- 27368
- Counselling Theory & Process, Loss & Grief
- Read More
Book Review: Help for the Helper
Rothschild, B. (2006). Help for the helper. The psychophysiology of compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. New York. W. W. Norton & Company. Burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma are risks that, as therapist we are aware of however whilst many of us have a toolbox full of techniques to assist our clients, we often fall […]
- January 16, 2012
- 1
- 5309
- Book Reviews, Stress Management, Wellness
- Read More
Psychosocial Treatments for Schizophrenia
Successful treatment of schizophrenia depends on a regimen of both drug and psychosocial support therapies. While antipsychotic medication can help control the symptoms of psychosis associated with schizophrenia, it cannot help the person find and maintain a job, establish effective social relationships, increase their coping skills, or teach them to communicate well with others. Poverty, […]
- November 28, 2011
- 0
- 9997
- Clinical Mental Health, Counselling Therapies, Diagnosis & Treatment
- Read More
What Causes School Bullying?
Bullying behaviour is a complex issue and research in the area does not identify the supremacy of any one cause of bullying. Below is a summary overview of key factors that are considered to contribute in various ways, to the likelihood of bullying behaviours. The information below is not a complete list of all factors. […]
- November 3, 2011
- 2
- 120455
- Children & Adolescents, Multicultural Issues, School Counselling
- Read More
Graduate Story: Herb Koenitz
AIPC Graduate Herb Koenitz shares his story… “After 35 years in Corporate Life as a senior executive, I retired at age 55. After doing all the usual things such as travelling overseas and downsizing, I embarked on a period of study. I chose to do a Diploma course in Professional Counselling with the Australian Institute […]
- September 30, 2011
- 1
- 4349
- Graduate Stories, Videos
- Read More
Graduate Story: Lorne Ferster
AIPC Graduate Lorne Ferster shares his story… “Approximately 25 years ago, my life took a turn which led me down a road of marriage breakdown, loss of family, and much heartache. It also took down a new road of growth and learning about me, and what life was really all about. My journey led me […]
- September 23, 2011
- 0
- 2897
- Graduate Stories, Videos
- Read More
Graduate Story: Jane Johnson
AIPC Graduate Jane Johnson shares her story… “Four years ago I sat in a holiday unit staring at a selection of tablets that I, with a solid background in healthcare, was certain would take away all pain, permanently. I remember staring at the telephone in the room for an hour. Even now I do not […]
- September 20, 2011
- 1
- 3515
- Graduate Stories, Videos
- Read More
Communication Problems with Couples
Looking for maladaptive communication patterns is a common form of assessment that therapists use (Long & Young, 2007). Based on John Gottman’s theory popularly known as the “Four Horseman of the Apocalypse”, the following subheadings are common communication problems that most couples experience or participate in. They include; criticism and complaint, defensiveness, contempt, and stone […]
- September 7, 2011
- 1
- 9929
- Relationship & Families
- Read More
Book Review: Back from the Edge
Publisher: Cape Catley Ltd ISBN: 978-1-877340-22-2 Publication: September 2009 Rob Hewitt was drawn from the water after 75 hours at sea. His skin had begun to separate from his body, his mind was barely holding on – but he survived. People said it was like a miracle. How did he do it, how did he […]
- August 8, 2011
- 0
- 3363
- Book Reviews, Personal Effectiveness, Trauma & Disaster Mental Health
- Read More
Play Therapy Activities to Engage Children
In play therapy, children are encouraged to express, through play, all the things they may have difficulty saying or contextualising into words. As a consequence of this primary focus, play therapy has expanded to include most of the expressive art forms including drawing, painting, sculpturing, music, dance, drama, movement, poetry, and storytelling. So while the […]
- July 18, 2011
- 6
- 262367
- Children & Adolescents, Counselling Therapies, Creativity in Counselling
- Read More
School Bullying: Quick Facts and Information
There is no universal accepted definition of bullying. Olweus (1993) defines bullying as repeated, aggressive behaviour involving a power imbalance between the bully (perpetrator) and the intended bully victim (Olweus and Limber, 2010). Rigby (2010) defines bullying as a systematic and repeated abuse of power and identifies three aspects to bullying: 1) a desire to […]
- June 28, 2011
- 3
- 8482
- Children & Adolescents, School Counselling
- Read More
Graduate Story: Jodi-Anne Smith
AIPC Graduate Jodi-Anne Smith shares her story… “My name is Jodi-Anne. I am a 2009 graduate of the AIPC Diploma of Professional Counselling. It took me a lot longer to complete the Diploma than normal as I stopped and started my study several times. I followed my intuition and read in greater depth in the […]
- May 17, 2011
- 1
- 3498
- Graduate Stories
- Read More