I hope that you find this useful and look forward to chatting with you. Click here or on the picture to a page with a full welcome to counselling video.
Welcome
Welcome to a new blog that is all about you. My counselling journey is a collection of tools and resources that complement your counselling sessions with your social worker, counsellor or psychologist. Some of the ideas and tools may work for you, some may not. As with any good counselling, its always your choice.
I hope that you find this useful and look forward to chatting with you. Click here or on the picture to a page with a full welcome to counselling video.
I hope that you find this useful and look forward to chatting with you. Click here or on the picture to a page with a full welcome to counselling video.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or CBT as it is often referred to, is a series of tools and exercises designed to help remove the fog and disconnection brought about by a range of challenges. It will involve regular work away from the consulting session and some reflection. CBT helps bring about clarity around the connection between situations, thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Click here to go to the CBT page.
Children and emotional regulation
Often children, just like adults, become overwhelmed with feelings and emotions and can not find the words to describe them. They also can't find actions to communicate or deal with the feelings or emotions in a way which is helpful, not helpful. Assisting a child to find his or her way way is a large part of counselling. Click here to jump to a page with some videos and resources that may be helpful and fun to try.
Domestic and Family Violence (DFV)
Coming to terms with what is Domestic and Family Violence (DFV), its causes and effects is a lifetime's work. Actually that's not true, it could take several lifetimes. Click here to go to a page with a series of YouTube videos and websites that may help build some understanding and vocabulary around its causes and its effects.
Remote counselling
There is no doubt that counselling in person, face-to-face can be very powerful. However there are times when this is not possible; certainly the Corona Virus situation has provided a huge focus on this. On the remote counselling tools page are links, tips, clips and websites to help remote counselling work just that little bit easier. Click here or on the image to jump to the remote counselling page.
Binaural beats
Binaural beats describe a fascinating brain process when our ears are presented with a certain kind of audio stimulus. These measured changes in the brain have led researchers to discover how to use sound to alter our brain waves; a method that provides an opportunity to entrance, relax, stimulate, or concentrate our brains, depending on which frequencies we use.
Binaural beats were discovered in 1839 by physicist Heinrich Willhelm Dove. Dove discovered that when signals of two different frequencies are presented separately, with one to each ear, your brain detects the phase differences between these two signals, and integrates them by producing the sensation of a third “beat”. This third frequency is what is called the “binaural beat”, and it is equal to the difference of the two frequencies being presented in each ear. For example, if the left ear is being presented with 105 Hz, and the right is being presented with 110 Hz, the binaural beat would be 5 Hz, which is the exact difference between the two.
This is a different way to relax, release anxiety and stress for some but not for all. If you would like to try some binaural beats, click here.
Binaural beats were discovered in 1839 by physicist Heinrich Willhelm Dove. Dove discovered that when signals of two different frequencies are presented separately, with one to each ear, your brain detects the phase differences between these two signals, and integrates them by producing the sensation of a third “beat”. This third frequency is what is called the “binaural beat”, and it is equal to the difference of the two frequencies being presented in each ear. For example, if the left ear is being presented with 105 Hz, and the right is being presented with 110 Hz, the binaural beat would be 5 Hz, which is the exact difference between the two.
This is a different way to relax, release anxiety and stress for some but not for all. If you would like to try some binaural beats, click here.
Other resources page
For those of us who would like to know more, we now have a page where the other resources such as websites, books and videos are listed. As at April 2020 it is only just a beginning but the goal is to have a comprehensive lit of tools and resources for you to access, if you wish, at your own pace. Click here to jump to it.
COVID-19
Keeping our children constructively occupied and everyone's sanity in one piece is going to be a challenge. Anxiety over finances, health, mental health and staying connected is a real concern. so perhaps creating a list of resources that help us cope, recover and perhaps even thrive during this challenging time may be a good idea. Click here to connect to the COVID-19 page with a few activities and links to other sites.
Chill out apps
Feel like carrying you own piece of mental health paradise in your pocket? Here are a list of apps that can help you regulate your mind, body and spirit. To jump to the list, click here.
Chill-out meditations
This page has been developed from direct feedback of one of my clients. Sometimes we need a quick break from stressful circumstances, sometimes we need more. On this page I have some of may favorite meditations and calming music found in YouTube or specific websites and are broken down into time slots to help match your day. You can find the chill-out meditations page here.
.
.Emotions jar
Children today will often be used to emotions charts. We can’t have charts lying around everywhere, so how else can we use such a tool and have some fun with it. Why not a jar with emoticons? It can be kept in the kitchen, dining room, lounge room and used whenever you or your children wish too.
Children often struggle with explaining their feelings, and therefore act out inappropriately. All people who have experienced significant trauma may also struggle to identify, name or explain their feelings. There are a lot of ways you can use such a tool to help mention and manage emotions. This is also and Arts & Crafts exercise and so there is a link on that Arts & Crafts page.
Children often struggle with explaining their feelings, and therefore act out inappropriately. All people who have experienced significant trauma may also struggle to identify, name or explain their feelings. There are a lot of ways you can use such a tool to help mention and manage emotions. This is also and Arts & Crafts exercise and so there is a link on that Arts & Crafts page.
Arts & craft page
During counselling sessions I like to involve art and crafts, especially in the early sessions. This allows for a slow and proper building of trust, for the client and I to get to know each other a bit better and to build a safe place to share, listen, hear, witness, validate, recover and heal. Art allows expression, for a story to be told without mastery of verbal language. Art and craft encourages using all senses and a more complete engagement. It also gives a chance for the areas of the brain that hold or are reacting to trauma, past and present to switch off, even if momentarily and allow other parts of the brain that switch on. I also do my best to ensure that each session has fun, failure, success, a therapeutic framework and most of all, connection. Keeping all this in mind, I thought it may be helpful, especially for families who are locked in, to share some of the arts and crafts that they may be able to do at home.
The Arts & Crafts page can be found by clicking here.
The Arts & Crafts page can be found by clicking here.
Boundaries page
Have you ever felt that another person (or persons) were just trampling on you? Voiceless or resentful over not being able to stop a partner from overstepping your boundaries? Often trauma and life long experiences stop us from just saying NO. they also stop us from asking for what we want, need and as human beings deserve and have a right to. Identifying, setting and maintaining healthy boundaries is one of the foundations of a good relationship and quality attachments. So the boundaries page is up and you can find that here.
Window of tolerance and the brain page
Ever felt that you were ready to explode. Not just now or then but all the time? Or perhaps the opposite, where it is struggle to find the energy to do anything? as human beings we all have ups and downs in life, that is part of everyday life. But when those ups or downs begin to dominate every day life and debilitate us from living, well, that's not OK.
Its a real thing, its not just you or not just in your head.
People in mental health have developed terms for those longer terms ups and downs. The long term up, the always walking on eggshells is sometimes called hyper-arousal; too much arousal. The long term downer is sometimes called hypo-arousal; not enough arousal. The two are linked tightly together. Quite often, hyper-arousal starts first and consumes your energy. adrenaline and cortisol rages through your body for long periods of time. Unfortunately though, the body was never designed to have these chemicals pump through your body forever, just short periods of time when you need that extra burst of energy to save yourself or others. So eventually, your body cries ENOUGH, and you crash. These extreme ups and down are also called living outside your window of tolerance. So we've started a page on this to help your understanding of what may be happening for your or your children and your can find it here.
Its a real thing, its not just you or not just in your head.
People in mental health have developed terms for those longer terms ups and downs. The long term up, the always walking on eggshells is sometimes called hyper-arousal; too much arousal. The long term downer is sometimes called hypo-arousal; not enough arousal. The two are linked tightly together. Quite often, hyper-arousal starts first and consumes your energy. adrenaline and cortisol rages through your body for long periods of time. Unfortunately though, the body was never designed to have these chemicals pump through your body forever, just short periods of time when you need that extra burst of energy to save yourself or others. So eventually, your body cries ENOUGH, and you crash. These extreme ups and down are also called living outside your window of tolerance. So we've started a page on this to help your understanding of what may be happening for your or your children and your can find it here.
Helpful links page
Whilst checking emails from this morning and yesterday, I found one from a work colleague with a link to the Immigrant Women's Support Service that has a lot of information about domestic violence and power and control in a large range of languages. As knowledge is power, it struck me that we needed to have a page for helpful links. So now we do. and you can find it here.
At the bottom of the page is a feedback area. Feel free to provide feedback, including suggestions of websites that you have found helpful and may be of help to others.
At the bottom of the page is a feedback area. Feel free to provide feedback, including suggestions of websites that you have found helpful and may be of help to others.
Percussion discussion
Using music can be an effective form of therapy on so many levels. Different types of music affects our bodies in different ways; some helps calm the mind, allowing the amygdala to release its grip on the body. Some music excites us and gets the heart to pump blood faster.
Percussion is a great way to change the way we do counselling. It can be used to return the heart beat to a steady, slower rhythm, as a tool for communication and even just for a good laugh. On our Percussion discussion page I will put up some ideas on how to make and use percussion instruments in your own home so that you can use them at your own pace or we can use them together during remote sessions. You can click here or on the drum picture to jump to the page.
Percussion is a great way to change the way we do counselling. It can be used to return the heart beat to a steady, slower rhythm, as a tool for communication and even just for a good laugh. On our Percussion discussion page I will put up some ideas on how to make and use percussion instruments in your own home so that you can use them at your own pace or we can use them together during remote sessions. You can click here or on the drum picture to jump to the page.
Documentation and Domestic and Family Violence
Whilst travelling to work today I was thinking about clients who have been going through various court processes and the successes and failures they have faced.
One common theme is the importance of documentation. This is different to journalling. Journalling is all about your journey, your healing, your release from oppression and being held back and eventually, your freedom. Documentation is about the other party, specifically two things:
One common theme is the importance of documentation. This is different to journalling. Journalling is all about your journey, your healing, your release from oppression and being held back and eventually, your freedom. Documentation is about the other party, specifically two things:
- Identifying patterns of behaviour and their effects on yourself and your family. Reviewing documentation can often provide a lot of understanding and insight into the other party's behaviour.
- Gathering evidence that is sound and support you in your understanding as well as court proceedings.
Contacting Queensland Police Service
Domestic Violence services across Queensland have been asked to advise these options for contacting the Queensland Police Service about domestic and family violence:
- ‘If you can safely call, do not use the online/SMS options.
- If the offence is happening now or if you or someone else is in danger dial triple zero.
- If you have information about domestic and family violence and if the offence is not happening now and the person is safe then contact Policelink on 131 444.
- If the safest way for you to contact the QPS is online or SMS, then use the online options;
- Make sure you give clear details about what is happening, tell us if there are weapons involved and any other information that will assist with officer safety and your safety.
- Download the Emergency + (Plus) App https://emergencyapp.triplezero.gov.au/ and the Queensland Police Service Policelink App https://www.police.qld.gov.au/units/policelink-131-444 on your phone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)