For most of the two percent of Australians affected by panic disorder, the onset was during their teens or early twenties. It is twice as common in women as men. Not everyone who has panic attacks will develop panic disorder, as some people will have just one attack and never have a recurrence. The tendency […]
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Clinical Mental Health
Hard-wired to Connect: Mirror Neurons and Empathy
Many people have suspected for a long time that we human beings are designed to be able to experience things happening for another person: in good times or in bad. So we see a stranger clumsily bump their head on a low-hanging branch at the park, and we flinch, too. We hear that a friend […]
- September 29, 2014
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- Clinical Mental Health, Neuroscience
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The Reactions of Grief and Mourning for the Suicide-bereaved
There are perhaps few human events which generate as many emotions and as intense a set of reactions as someone ending their own life. We can divide the reactions into two categories: those which tend to occur early in the grieving, and those which are ongoing. In this post we explore the early reactions of […]
- September 22, 2014
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- Clinical Mental Health, Loss & Grief, Self-harming & Suicide
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WHO Report on Suicide Prevention
Every 40 seconds a person dies by suicide somewhere in the world. “Preventing suicide: a global imperative” is the first WHO report of its kind. It aims to increase awareness of the public health significance of suicide and suicide attempts, to make suicide prevention a higher priority on the global public health agenda, and to […]
- September 12, 2014
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- Clinical Mental Health, Multicultural Issues, Self-harming & Suicide
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DSM-IV and DSM-V Differences: Ending the Confusion
The DSM-5 has been out for a year now and – fourteen years in the making – it has been the subject of seemingly endless discussion. Are you “up with the play” on the changes – or just up to your ears in confusion? One source said that there were 464 changes, although many of […]
- June 30, 2014
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- Clinical Mental Health, Diagnosis & Treatment
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Mindfulness Techniques: Defusion Exercises
Mindfulness (learn more about mindfulness here) interventions have been shown to be beneficial for a wide range of psychological and physical conditions such as anxiety, depression, chronic pain, personality disorders, and addictions. Controlled trials of normal populations have also demonstrated positive changes in brain function and immune response, self-awareness, perceived stress, and increase in self-compassion […]
- June 24, 2014
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- Clinical Mental Health, Counselling Theory & Process, Creativity in Counselling, Wellness
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Common Misconceptions About Suicide
The World Health Organization estimates that about million people die by suicide each year (World Health Organization, 2004). Understanding what drives people to take their own life is not easy for those who are not enmeshed in intolerable pain themselves; thus, myths and misconceptions tend to proliferate about this very final act. It is important […]
- May 6, 2014
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- Clinical Mental Health, Relationship & Families, Trauma & Disaster Mental Health
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OCD vs OCPD
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) are said to affect two to three percent of the population for OCD (that is: more than 500,000 Australians) and one percent for OCPD, although three to ten percent of the psychiatric population is said to have it (Long, 2011). Many cases probably go untreated. Definitions If […]
- August 12, 2013
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- Clinical Mental Health, Diagnosis & Treatment, Stress Management
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Basics of Chronic Pain: Definition and Statistics
Chronic pain affects 29 percent of Australians, which means that at any given time nearly three out of ten people are suffering in some way (Stollznow Research for Pfizer Australia, 2010). When we add the emotional, physical, and financial challenges of the people who care for them, the percentage of lives touched by chronic pain […]
- July 23, 2013
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- Ageing Issues, Clinical Mental Health, Disability Issues, Wellness
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Do You Know a Narcissist?
During the week of pre-wedding festivities and at the wedding itself, Clifford – the groom – was the life and soul of the party. He had agreed that the wedding could be held in the native country of his fiancé, Carlotta. His few family members and friends flew in for the week of gatherings. With […]
- November 2, 2012
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- Clinical Mental Health, Diagnosis & Treatment, Relationship & Families
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Lifestyle Interventions for Depression
Treatments for depression or anxiety, also called “interventions”, fall into one of three categories, and often several are recommended to be taken up at once. These main groupings are: Medical interventions; Psychological interventions; and Lifestyle interventions. In this post we overview a range of lifestyle interventions therapists can suggest when treating depression. Bibliotherapy What is […]
- September 3, 2012
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- Clinical Mental Health, Diagnosis & Treatment, Wellness
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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
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- Clinical Mental Health, Counselling Therapies, Diagnosis & Treatment
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Counselling Dilemma: A Teenager at Risk of Suicide
Chantelle is 14 and in foster care. Chantelle was removed from her parents’ care at the age of seven and has since had several foster placements. Her last care arrangement ended, one month ago, when her foster family relocated interstate. Child protection workers have found a new foster placement for Chantelle and you have been […]
- February 15, 2011
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- Children & Adolescents, Clinical Mental Health, Counselling Dilemmas, Self-harming & Suicide
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Book Review: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders
Eifert, Georg H. Ph. D., and Forsyth, John P. Ph. D. 2005. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications Inc. There are literally hundreds of publications available, both to the counselling practitioner and lay person regarding the understanding and treatment of anxiety. Many focus on behavioural and cognitive behavioural approaches to assist in dealing with anxiety, ‘Acceptance […]
- September 17, 2010
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- Book Reviews, Clinical Mental Health, Counselling Therapies, Diagnosis & Treatment
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Anxiety and Performance
Anxiety is most often considered a problem if it occurs when there is no real threat or when the anxiety response is disproportionate to the threat being faced. However, when there is a real situation or stressor to deal with, the anxiety level might actually be appropriate. Appropriate levels of anxiety activate the organism to […]
- August 5, 2010
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- Clinical Mental Health, Personal Effectiveness, Stress Management, Wellness
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