Discovery and Space to Explore

Posted by: Debbie Grove on July 21, 2011 3:06 pm

The road to a better life can be a winding journey. Self-discovery takes time, life experience, and trying out new approaches to living. There are a myriad of ways we learn, create, and explore our personhood. We do this alone and in the presence of others. Discovery is an ongoing process throughout the course of our lives. Personal discovery can happen when we least expect it or in more purposeful and intentional ways. The process of discovery can feel uncomfortable as we try on for size likes, dislikes, and aspects about ourselves we would like to change. Sometimes discovery means facing fear, disappointment, regret, loss, and finding hope amidst it all. Exploring ourselves in the presence of another, no doubt, takes courage, even more so when self-exploration is particularly uncomfortable and, perhaps, a new experience. A leap of faith into an unknown, uncharted territory is sometimes needed.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

A Great Care Plan Takes Team Work!

Posted by: Debbie Grove on July 8, 2011 2:34 pm

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When we pause to think about it, people have multiple needs – it takes a lot to keep us going. A well-being or personal care plan incorporates health and mental health (emotional, physical, spiritual, and relational), finances, education and career, place of residence, leisure and recreation, and so on.

Counsellors and psychotherapists may be one of many components of a client’s personal well-being team. Like any team, information, open communication, and collaboration are important elements. Other members of the team might include, for example, a physician, physiotherapist, psychiatrist, chiropractor, pastor, school guidance counsellor, life coach, and sports coach. When a client is working with more than one professional or practitioner, there are many benefits; at the same time, however, there are some key tips to keep in mind when counsellors and clients are working together as part of a larger team.

Photo is courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Counselling vs. Psychotherapy

Posted by: Maritza Rodriguez on July 8, 2011 11:54 am

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One of the questions I am often asked is what is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy? The terms are often used interchangeably and synonymously but there is a slight and distinctive difference. Psychotherapy is often treatment based in response to a diagnosable mental health issue such as depression, bi-polar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, adjustment disorder, etc. It is often in-depth and used in conjunction with psychotropic medication, but not necessarily. Counselling tends to be wellness oriented, providing increased insight and learning how to effectively overcome problems and challenges.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Counselling for Midlife Depression

Posted by: Debbie Grove on June 22, 2011 1:59 pm

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Depression during the midlife years tends to be multi-faceted. Not only is it uniquely experienced, but there are individual differences in onset, course, previous treatment, and current contributing factors. While midlife issues differ for the sexes, there are many commonalities (e.g., career transition, loss, grief, health concerns, relational issues, divorce, among other challenges). At the same time, though, gender differences in how women and men manifest depression exist (e.g., anger versus withdrawal).

In other words, there are multiple interacting components at play with midlife depression. Seeking out a counsellor with awareness, knowledge, and skills in the areas depicted below is an important consideration when working with midlife depression.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

The Counsellor’s Personality and Ideology

Posted by: Maritza Rodriguez on June 20, 2011 3:20 pm

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An important matter to consider when choosing a counsellor or psychotherapist is how the professional relates to his or her client(s). Every person’s personality is different and how they manage situations, challenges and blocks that come up in therapy can range significantly. Since the foundation of counselling is based on the therapeutic relationship, this is a major factor to consider.

First, take into account your needs as a client. Here are some questions to consider. Do you need mainly a listening ear with some gentle guidance? Or are you in a place in your life where you are looking for direct feedback? What is your philosophy regarding life, spirituality and relationships? Are you open-minded regarding relationships? Is pre-marital sex and living together acceptable or not? Are you conservatively religious or into new age philosophy?

Each counsellor should ideally be non-judgmental but reality dictates that the professional is still a human being and can at times be biased toward their own beliefs and outlook of life. Most of these issues should be addressed either during an interview before choosing your counsellor or during the first session. It is important as a client to ask questions regarding their style of treatment and their directness and to judge if that approach is suitable for your personality. It should be noted that it is not appropriate for the psychotherapist to delve deeply into their own personal life but a general sharing of beliefs that are significant to them and can influence their interaction with you as a client should be duly noted.

Once these matters have been investigated and you have chosen a compatible counsellor or psychotherapist, a solid therapeutic relationship based on trust and mutual respect can be been established. What follows is a connection with another to assist you to maneuver through life’s challenges and learning opportunities. The outcome can result in changes and insights that can be mind blowing and positively life altering.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Self-Help Resources in the Counselling Context

Posted by: Debbie Grove on June 8, 2011 1:03 pm

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Self-help resources come in many formats; for example, self-help books, motivational videos, on-line discussion forums, and workbooks with specific exercises. Sometimes these resources are accessed before counselling begins; in other instances, they are used in conjunction with counselling. Most often, self-help materials are self-generated, in the absence of a counsellor recommending them.

A common question by clients who are working with a counsellor is whether or not they should continue using their self-help resources while they are engaged in the counselling process. Client-counsellor conversations about self-help resources has many benefits, such as these five: (a) identification of what aspects of the resource are helpful and why; (b) amplifying the changes that the resources are stimulating; (c) building on the momentum of client self-directedness; (d) exploration of how the resources can work in concert with counselling goals; and (e) discussion of additional resources that might be helpful.

Bringing the resource(s) to a counselling session can facilitate goal-setting. For example, a client reading a workbook about self-esteem may have questions about which exercises would be most beneficial to the counselling goal of increased confidence in social situations. In fact, specific sections from the workbook could be used in-session for role-play exercises. This is a great way to empower and engage clients in the change process.

While self-help resources are not for everyone, choosing to seek out and try different tools is a great way to boost confidence, sense of control, and active engagement. When you discover what works for you, over time, you can build your own resource toolkit – a helpful strategy to stay motivated and maintain change once counselling ends.

The views expressed are mine alone and do not reflect the views of the CCPA.

Dr. Debbie Grove is a therapist working in Edmonton, Alberta. To learn more about her, visit her web site at www.learningtolive.ca

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Short vs Long Term Counselling

Posted by: Maritza Rodriguez on June 8, 2011 12:44 pm

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The trend in the past few years has been a promotion of short term counselling. This has been highly influenced by cost. How many sessions will health insurance cover and for what problems or can I afford this treatment? Additionally, our society is increasingly fast paced and people simply do not have time to spend years in psychotherapy.

Short term therapy is often defined as 12 sessions or less. There has been a debate as to which type of counselling is more appropriate. There are many factors that the individual has to take into consideration when choosing between short and long term therapy. Two of the factors include: chronicity of problem and the extent the problem affects the person seeking help. The following questions are helpful to ask when contemplating the length of therapy. How long has this problem been affecting me? How deeply entrenched am I in negative thinking, bad habits or poor coping skills? How many aspects of my life is this negatively impacting such as work, relationships, health, etc?

Often, short term therapy is appropriate for situational problems such as stress management, conflicts at work, communication, relationship issues, parenting, etc. Twelve sessions or less provide the opportunity to set up a therapeutic relationship and interaction needed to increase awareness and follow through with permanent changes. On the other hand, if the problems are deep seated and/or engrained in the relationship, have to do with any type of abuse or are as a result of a chronic diagnosis, long term therapy will usually be more beneficial.

It is recommended that you speak with your counselor or psychotherapist before hand to get their recommendation and an accompanying explanation as to the rationale behind the decision. In the end, it is the client’s decision as to how much time and financial resources he or she can invest in themselves and solving the problem.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Talk about Homework before Leaving the Counselling Office

Posted by: Debbie Grove on May 24, 2011 1:21 pm

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You are likely familiar with the idea that ‘homework’ between counselling sessions is often suggested by counsellors. Homework comes in many different forms (e.g., reading a self-help book, starting a journal, practising a skill such as stress management, working on communicating with your partner, noticing what triggers depression, and so on). However, homework is not always helpful and effective — below are some key reasons why this is the case.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Types of Psychotherapy: Psychodynamics vs. Cognitive-behavioral

Posted by: Maritza Rodriguez on May 17, 2011 8:54 am

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There are many orientations when it comes to psychotherapy. The psychotherapist’s approach to therapy depends on several factors to include the counsellor’s personality, the main orientation and training of the university attended and any specialization in their professional development over their time of practice. As psychology has matured, the number of orientations has increased but here we will articulate regarding two commonly identified psychotherapeutic approaches: psychodynamics and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Psychodynamics was originated by Sigmund Freud, father of modern psychology and further developed by Carl Jung and Alfred Adler. The primary focus is to reveal the unconscious content of a client’s psyche in an effort to alleviate psychic tension. It is usually a long-term approach to therapy, processing and identifying how maladaptive and unconscious conflicts originating in childhood experiences lead to current psychopathological behavior and thoughts. Major techniques used by psychodynamic therapists include free association, recognizing resistance and transference, working through painful memories and difficult issues, catharsis, and building a strong therapeutic alliance.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Collaborative Counselling – Working Together Toward Change

Posted by: Debbie Grove on May 11, 2011 9:18 am

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How do you conceptualize ‘counselling?’ If you view it as a partnership, a team effort, a meeting of the minds, and an opportunity to work together to achieve change, in all likelihood, collaborative counselling is for you.

What is Collaborative Counselling?

A collaborative therapeutic environment and relationship is a place to explore problems, have candid conversations, brainstorm potential solutions, and reflect on alternatives (Bohart & Tallman, 1999; Duncan & Miller, 2000). Collaboration is about negotiating the goals for counselling and deciding on a pathway to reach them. This also means voicing different opinions, concerns, curiosity, questions, and ideas about the direction of counselling, what has been helpful, and what is missing in counselling and/or not working. In other words, collaboration is not intended to be a perfect alignment, rather, it signifies a partnership that is experienced as open, respectful, energized, and purposeful.

How is Collaborative Counselling Brought to Life?

Collaborative counsellors are flexibly and actively engaged in the change process with their clients (Bachelor, Laverdière, Gamache, & Bordeleau, 2007). Anderson (1996) asked her clients for their feedback and opinions about what was helpful in therapy and how to make it collaborative. For example, from her work as both a researcher and therapist, she highlighted that collaborative practice includes being ‘in sync’ with clients. Synchronization (Anderson, 1996) involves, among other elements, checking-in with clients about the timing and pace of counselling, what seems to be helping, and attentively listening for client-constructed meaning. When clients and counsellors are out-of-sync, this might suggest that counselling is moving too fast (or too slow). It could also indicate that what a client intended was misunderstood by his/her counsellor. A check-in is a great way to open dialogue about meaning and interpretation, getting back on track, changing a therapeutic approach, and/or re-evaluating goals and progress.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA