Counseling Services

In life the only thing that remains the same - is constant change.  That is why it is not the strongest or smartest species that survives, but the most adaptable. 

There's an art to accepting life's flow - for most, it is learned and doesn't come naturally. To protect us from danger, our brains are designed to think of worst case scenarios. It's why we spend time replaying painful events of the past, it's why we scan the horizon looking for potential offences, and why we worry about things that can go wrong in the future. Our perception is, if we think about it enough - we can prevent or avoid painful experiences. If not checked, this constant state of attempting to protect becomes cyclical, spinning in a never ending loop, robbing us of deep happiness.  

Fortunately, our brains also have a frontal cortex that is able to reason through primitive instincts. By practicing learned mindfulness techniques, your primitive protector can take the day off, and let the parts of your mind that wants to enjoy life take over. 

If you could lay out in a long line, every hour of your life, you would see that the really truly painful moments comprise of only a fraction. The rest of the time is spent thinking of what happened or what if.  

This is why Mindfulness is so beneficial. It teaches you how to observe your thoughts and not participate with them. You cannot run in a race and watch it at the same time - as a spectator, you simply watch it go by, which releases you of all the stress and emotions that participating causes.   

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a short-term therapy technique that can help people find new ways to behave by changing their thought patterns.

Engaging with CBT can help people reduce stress, cope with complicated relationships, deal with grief, and face many other common life challenges.

CBT works on the basis that the way we think and interpret life's events affects how we behave and, ultimately, how we feel. Studies have shown that it is useful in many situations.

More specifically, CBT is a problem-specific, goal-oriented approach that needs the individual's active involvement to succeed. It focuses on their present-day challenges, thoughts, and behaviors.

It is also time-limited, meaning the person knows when a course will end, and they have some idea what to expect. Often, a course will consist of 20 one-to-one sessions, but this is not always the case.

CBT is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on how a person's thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes affect their feelings and behaviors.

The APA note that CBT is based on a number of beliefs, including the following:

↷  Unhelpful ways that people think can lead to psychological problems.

↷  If people learn unhelpful behavior, this, too, can lead to psychological issues.

↷  People can learn more beneficial ways of thinking and behaving.

↷  New habits can relieve symptoms of mental and physical conditions and allow people to act in better ways.

Practitioners base CBT on the theory that problems arise from the meanings people give to events, as well as the events themselves. Unhelpful thoughts can make it difficult for a person to function confidently in different situations.

↷ CBT can have a positive impact on how people feel and act and equip them with coping strategies that help them deal with challenges.

Research shows that CBT can offer support to people with depression, panic disorder, and various other health conditions. There is also growing evidence that it can help to relieve chronic pain.

CBT is a broad concept. Different types of CBT focus on various aspects of life. Some types address specific problems, for example, emotional or social challenges.

A course of CBT consists of a series of sessions, in which a counselor and an individual or group meet regularly and collaborate.

What can you learn?

During a course of CBT, a person can learn to:

↷  identify problems more clearly

↷  develop an awareness of automatic thoughts

↷  challenge underlying assumptions that may be wrong

↷  distinguish between facts and irrational thoughts

↷  understand how past experience can affect present feelings and beliefs

↷  stop fearing the worst

↷  see a situation from a different perspective

↷  better understand other people's actions and motivations

↷  develop a more positive way of thinking and seeing situations

↷  become more aware of their own mood

↷  establish attainable goals

↷  avoid generalizations and all-or-nothing thinking

↷  stop taking the blame for everything

↷  focus on how things are rather than how they think they should be

↷  face their fears rather than avoid them

↷  describe, accept, and understand rather than judge themselves or others

Solution-Focused Therapy

Everyone has solved a problem in their life, actually lots of them. Solution Focused therapists know that solving problems is something that is inherent in all of us, so focusing on that strength is what Solution Focused Therapy is all about.

Sometimes we know where we want to go, we just need a road map and a little assistance to get there. The goal of solution-focused brief therapy is to help people imagine the future they want to create and then create a series of realistic steps to help them get there. As the name implies, solution-focused brief therapy focuses on finding solutions to problems rather than focusing on the problems themselves. While some therapies require clients to think about their past and how they got where they are, solution-focused therapy stays in the present and future. With help from the therapist, clients in solution-focused therapy can identify the skills they need to make changes in their lives. Then the therapist collaborates with the client to make reasonable, practical goals to bring these changes about.

3 Important Facts

↷  Solution-focused therapy is short-term and goal-oriented. On average, a course of treatment is about 8-12 sessions.

↷  Solution-focused therapy was developed in the 1980s in response to too much therapy time being spent on talking about problems rather than solutions to problems.

↷  Solution-focused brief therapists believe clients have the potential and skills to make the changes they want in their lives. They may just need a little help identifying these skills and implementing them.

Signs to Look For

Solution-focused brief therapy is used to treat a variety of mental health disorders. People with eating disorders, relationship problems, anxiety and depression, substance abuse and behavioral problems may respond well to solution-focused therapy.