WCPT-AWP & IAP International

WCPT-AWP & IAP International Physical Therapy Congress

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Visit Your Cognitive Behavioural Therapist Online for Depression, Stress and Anxiety

October 20th, 2011 |

Author: gfmstudio

(PRWEB) September 19, 2006

Anyone feeling depressed, under stress or anxious no longer needs to face the embarrassment of visiting a cognitive behavioural therapist to sort out the problem. Instead they can go online from the comfort of their own home to obtain an interactive therapy service.

Its called ThinkWell and according to its creator Dr McNally the service marks the arrival in Britain of the virtual therapist.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) be one of the preferred routes for treatment of individuals experiencing mild to moderate depression. The reality of mental health service provision across the United Kingdom means, however, that in certain trusts individuals experiencing mild to moderate depression may need to wait months if not years before they are able to see a suitably qualified CBT therapist on the NHS.

ThinkWell is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which says Dr McNally is an effective treatment of depression and other mental health problems.

Unlike face-to-face therapy with a clinical psychologist, ThinkWell is conducted in its entirety between the client and the ThinkWell computer system via the ThinkWell website. The client is taken step-by-step through a CBT programme consisting of a series of themes. Each theme teaches the client techniques for dealing with aspects of their mood such as counteracting negative thoughts, recognising and differentiating feelings, thoughts and behaviours as well as a range of skills such as though counting and cue cards to help improve their mood.

ThinkWell includes a comprehensive progress guide “MyThinkwell” to help the client to follow the course of therapy, track their progress and return to sections for review and to repeat the many interactive exercises, questionnaires and quizzes.

Finally, clients can download material for their own use – these include activity monitoring, thought records and behavioural experiments.

NICE highlighted that extensive research suggested that the delivery of CBT via a computer could be of value in the management of anxiety and depressive disorders. Individuals experiencing mild to moderate degrees of depression and anxiety may gain benefit by working through computer guided CBT packages to determine whether they experience symptom relief before attempting to access live therapists in a stretched NHS.

About ThinkWell (http://www.thinkwell.co.uk)

ThinkWell was founded in 1999 to provide professional cognitive behavioural therapy to clients with mild mental health problems such as depression, stress and anxiety. ThinkWell has pioneered the use of computer and Internet applications to aid and support delivery of effective Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) And Depressive Ruminations

October 8th, 2011 |

Author: gfmstudio

Article by Dr Steve Last, Edinburgh

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, is an effective psychological treatment for a wide range of psychological and emotional problems. As a psychiatrist in Edinburgh I employ CBT techniques to help people recover from depression. A prominent feature of their symptom profile is the presence of “Depressive Ruminations”.

The term “rumination” relates to a repeated cycle of activity – in the case of cows (“ruminants”), this means chewing the cud! In CBT circles, ruminations are the repeated, seemingly endless, “stuck” ways of thinking seen in certain psychological conditions. It is particularly common in depression.

There can be many “themes” to an individuals ruminations, but the most common is a search for some sort of answer to questions such as “Why am I feeling like this?” or “What could I have done to avoid this?”. Another common theme is one of remorse or regret – “If only I had done (whatever) differently I wouldn’t be in this position now” or “I’ve ruined my life”. Depressive ruminations about the future are also seen – “Everything’s going to go wrong”. Ruminations often incorporate what a CBT therapist would call “Thinking Errors”.

What does it feel like to ruminate? Well, I’m sure we’ve all done it at one time or another! It’s like trying to solve an unsolvable riddle – you just go round and round inside your head, examining the same old “clues”, time and time again. If only you’d done this, or said that, or had this, or not had that. You convince yourself that there’s an answer, and that when you find it then you’ll be fine. But of course there is no “answer”. People can ruminate for hours in severe cases, but up to an hour is more usual.

How do you know when you’re ruminating? Because you’ve stopped doing everything else! You haven’t turned the page of your book for the past 20 minutes, or you’re standing in the kitchen with a dishcloth in your hands, gazing off into space. If someone asks you what you’ve been thinking, you can bet it’s the same old depressive thoughts that you’ve been carrying around for ages.

Is there a problem with ruminating? Well, yes. It differs from other forms of thought such as problem-solving, or reflecting, or remembering, in two ways. Firstly, most people find it rather unpleasant. The same old worries getting churned up again and again are bound to make us feel sad or anxious. Secondly, rumination tends to worsen (or at least maintain) depression – if you focus on how bad you feel and how hopeless (you feel) your situation is, then you will ignore opportunities for change.

CBT theory sees depressive ruminations as a major obstacle to recovery from depression, and as such it is important for clients to learn how to deal with them. There are a range of techniques, but the ones I favour as a therapist in Edinburgh are both simple and effective (and almost common sense!).

If you realise you are ruminating, then now’s the time to do something energetic. It’s hard to ruminate when you’re out on a run, or swimming, or doing press-ups. The pain tends to get in the way! Or, if you’re not the exercise type, try refocusing your attention. Focus (really focus hard!) on some aspect of your surroundings – a picture on the wall, a tree, the cat – and examine it for detail, noting each and every irregularity and shade of colour. Pretend that you’re a famous artist and that you’re going to paint the most brilliant, detailed, lifelike picture ever! Really focusing on things outside of you (meaning “outside of your head”!) helps to dislodge your thinking from ruminative patterns. A final tactic – one that some clients swear by and others can’t get the hang of at all – is to “stand-back” (“in your head”, as it were!) and let your thoughts simply churn away to themselves, whilst acknowledging them as pointless symptoms of your depression. By letting them “get on with it”, and refusing to “play with them”, you disarm them of their depression-causing capability – eventually they’ll get bored and go away!

The above techniques are those that I’ve found most effective working as a therapist in Edinburgh. There are a number of other methods out there in the literature, and I don’t claim that these work for everybody. A good thing about the CBT ethos is that it shies away from doctrinal doings – there’s no “You have to do it this way or else!” in CBT. So the bottom line is, use whatever method you find helps you the most, and say “Goodbye!” to those unpleasant ruminations!

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A Dip Into Time – Seizing the Artistic Theme in Your Life

September 4th, 2011 |

Author: gfmstudio

Mode of Cosmic Therapy Esoteric Recovery Method

Various artistic themes run throughout a person’s life. These unique themes generate a designated pattern, conciliatory cycle and regulatory menu of which to choose, digest, participate and assimilate. Unless, you are tuned into the ‘specific’ colored theme filtering your path, you will experience unimaginable boredom, ambiguous dissatisfaction and persistent restlessness. Tis’ true a certain amount of boredom is attached to mortal life, but the amount you will experience by an obvious disconnection to your innate artistic theme will speak for itself. How can such a ‘themed’ force be recognized and gauged? By the level of genuine interest you possess for delving into self-exploration. How much significance do you place in investigating You? It all depends how much you want to know and how receptive you are in discovering, receiving, incorporating and ‘toiling the soil’ to produce, for yourself certain artful/musical/dramatic facets on your blank canvassed life. Do you care?

Unless you are predisposed to growing, evolving, (being opened up) and eventually getting a diploma in self-liberty, don’t set out on a course of esoteric self-study. Many various shade/tint/hue coded aspects contribute to your particular life’s theme. They are not difficult to recognize although some of them may be blatantly surprising. The delineating will require of you to go back a bit and categorize/prioritize several layers in your journey thus far. Although some of the information will be distorted, other information will be more than thoroughly diffused. {Also known as preferred memory} For this experiment to be accurate (in as much as humanly possible), you will have to work at being objective and unbiased in delivery. Agreed? OK, Let us begin.

There are several things involved in this ‘themed’ artistic scavenger hunt. It will require some time, effort and thought. Except for Number 1 and 5, where the answers have to be exact and conclusive or leave blank the rest are to be filled in with the current information available to you. [Begin ONLY when you are ready.] A list of 25 explicit mini assignments will be required. Some of the items are simply questions you answer to the best of your ability. It is vital to the composition of this esoteric exercise to be thoroughly invested.

1. You will have to retrieve a picture of you at 5 years of age. [Just one] Determine the year. IF for any reason, you can not locate one at 5 years of age, it must be one as close to that age as is possible. IF that is still not feasible, leave it blank. Do not try to fill that hole. The fact you can’t find a picture is significant in itself. What are doing in the photograph? Where are you located? Subtract 5 years from your date of birth. What year is it? Who do you know born in THAT year? How is he/she connected to you?

2. You must find a significant/relative news paper article posted in the town you were born in on the day of your birth. Highlight key elements. Record.

3. Add 9 years to your birth year. Whatever that date is, you must find a picture of a car for the year. The make and model is your choice; color too.

4. You must write down the name of your best friend at the age of 13. (Full name, please) Describe him or her in as much as you can honestly remember.

5. At the age of 17, what was one of your most favorite songs? {Do not make something up! Leave it blank if you don’t know.}Who sung it?

6. During the first 21 years of your life, when were you the sickest? What age? What was wrong with you? Be specific.

7. Who was your first true love? (Entire name) Where is he or she now? Occupation/career?

8. *How old were you when you had your first sexual experience? *{IF, you don’t answer this question truthfully, it renders the rest of the experiment null and void.} What was the season of the year? Weather? Night or day? Physical circumstances? Emotional barometer? Mental conditions? Who with? Pleasure or pain? Safe or violated?

9. Up until the age of 30, where was the ‘furtherest’ place you had traveled from the origin of your birth? Name the place and for what reason did you go? This must be a destination you traveled to before 30 years of age.

10. What is your grandfather’s whole name on your mother’s side? {Entire name. What does/did he do for a living?} What is your least appealing food?

11. Describe in full detail the exact clothes you have on this moment. (From head to toe. Must include color, texture and style.) Shoes are the most important feature! How long you’ve had the various articles and where did you acquire them?

12. In your most favorite restaurant, describe a piece of art work that you are familiar with. Where does it hang? Who is the artist? And, what are the closest words that can be visibly seen in the vicinity of the painting or sculpture?

13. What is you all time favorite movie? Who are the female and male stars?

14. When is the first time you ever went to a beach? Where? How old were you? Who went with you? Describe you most favorite bathing suit you ever owned.

15. When was the first time you ever saw a dead person? How old were you? Who was it? What was the name of the Funeral Home? On what street was it located?

16. What is the scariest thing that ever happened to you when you were with someone else? No more than one other person but it has to be at least one other than you.

17. Name your favorite or worst 7th grade teacher’s name. What did she do that made such an impact on you?

18. What is your father’s mother’s maiden name? Was she the oldest in her family. If not, who was; the name. What did he/she (the oldest) do for a living? What color was her hair and eyes? Her temperament?

19. You may choose one from five jewels: diamond, ruby, emerald, pearl, or sapphire. What hurricane are you personally familiar with? Name your favorite planet.

20. Make up an entire name at random: first, last, middle. You can not know this person, or have ever heard the name to the best of your recollection. It matters not if the name is male of female. Choose an instrument this person plays from the following: piano, saxophone, or guitar.

21. Name your favorite book or sport. [Favorite team or author.] Where is the residence?

22. When I say the word MONEY; write the first word that comes to mind. When I say RAIN: how do you feel?

23. How much did your mother weigh at 22 years of age? What time of day were you born?

24. If you were to drive exactly 5. 7 miles to the west of your home what will be the first words you see?

25. What Christmas/Birthday present did you get when you were 15 years old that you really wanted and where were you living at the time? [The specific address] What is the year when you turned 15? Who was the governor of your state? How far do you live from school? Did you ride a bus? Who do you believe lied, disappointed, embarrassed or betrayed you in that year? {During the 12 months covering your 15th birthday until your next birthday} What grade are you in at school? What is your favorite subject? What two year period of time does it cover? What’s important to you at this time of your life that no one knows about? (The secret) IF you didn’t get what you really wanted, name the item. Did you ever get it? If so, what happened to it?

By compiling this pertinent information, you will sense a certain theme arising out of what appears to be mish mash. The remainder of the test involves your placing the information in a story type form. Starting from the bottom up, you will title your story from the words located on the bill board or whatever displays them and end with the picture of the five year old. You can not skip one single question in succession (meaning: you can’t skip around) unless it was left blank. In that case, you must write the words: “There is a huge gap, here.” Afterwards, read the story aloud until you see/hear the theme glaring/blaring at you. This M.O.D.E. of Cosmic Therapy esoteric recovery experiment, although very entertaining and amusing, is not a game. The information you receive is relevant and vital to your creative purpose for being alive, while fulfilling your soul’s intent. Self-study is the most valuable research you will ever invest yourself in. You are an artist in search of his/her art. Find it where you sit/stand.

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