Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

Depressive disorders come in different forms, just as is the case with other illnesses such as diabetes, cancer or heart disease. This article briefly describes three of the most common types of depressive disorders.
However, within these types there are also variations in the symptoms, their severity and duration. Major depression causes symptoms i.e. excessive fatigue, relentless pessimism, hopelessness etc. that interfere with your ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy activities that were once pleasurable.
This type of depression can be disabling and may occur once but more commonly occurs several times in a lifetime. A less severe type of depression, dysthymia, generates longer-term, chronic symptoms that do not disable, but prevent you from functioning optimally or feeling enthusiastic when you should.
Many also experience major depressive episodes sometime in their lives. Another form of depression is bipolar disorder.
This serious and often devastating disorder is characterized by mood changes that cycle in and out or on and off- severe highs (mania) and lows (depression). Occasionally, the mood switches are dramatic and rapid, but usually they are slower and gradual.
When in the depressed cycle, one can have any or all of the symptoms of depression. When in the manic cycle,however, you may be overactive, over-talkative and manifest too much energy.
Mania often affects your thinking, judgment, and social behavior in ways that cause serious problems, anger and embarrassment. For example, once in a manic phase you may feel elated and full of grand schemes that might range from unwise business decisions to romantic or promiscuous sprees.
Left untreated, this disorder can literally ruin your life and even cause a deterioration into psychosis. Medical treatments typically used, depending on the condition type and severity, include anti-depressant medications, anti-psychotics, psychotherapy and mood stabilizers.
The best psychotherapeutic treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy which treats how your thinking processes affect your mood and behavior.
Unfortunately, sometimes patients inappropriately drop-out of medication therapy, rather than follow-through because of side effects which could have been ameliorated had they stayed in treatment.
Wonder if you are getting the correct treatment for your depression? The following recommendations are based on a review of the scientific literature regarding the use of psychotherapy, counseling and medication in treating depression.
Take heed:
1. The treatment of first choice for your depression should be cognitive behavioral or interpersonal psychotherapy. This is because of their superior long-term outcomes; they also pose fewer medical risks than using drugs or combined treatments. However, you should consider medications, combined treatment, or other types of psychotherapy if you do not respond appropriately.
2. You should not undergo insight-oriented psychotherapy by itself because studies suggest that it may produce poorer outcomes.
3. It is important that psychotherapy or counseling be included in your treatment program when anti-depressants are prescribed; you are at a higher risk for relapse if you use medication by itself.
Generally, the best results are achieved by the combined use of cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication.
4. Everything else being equal, when starting medication, a single medication administered with psychotherapy should be used.
5. Everything else being equal, when using an anti-depressant, you should use the lowest, safest therapeutic dose for the shortest possible duration. This minimizes the risk that you may experience any possible side effects, cardio-toxicity, potential suicidality or even drop-out of treatment prematurely.
6. If you are hospitalized, antidepressants should be only very cautiously prescribed, especially if you have cardiac vulnerabilities, because of the risk of sudden death.
7. If you have been suicidal, you should take antidepressants only if there is a vigilant monitoring plan in place to prevent over-dose.
8. Everything else being equal, you should be very reluctant to have ant-depressants prescribed for your children because there is no compelling evidence that they are effective for them and little is known about the health risks they pose for this population.
9. Caution should be used in prescribing antidepressants to elderly people because of possible hypotensive and side effect risks.
10. You should avoid taking regular minor tranquilizers alone for your depression because they have resulted in worse outcomes than no treatment at all.
11. It is crucial to hire the right professional for the right task. Clinical psychologists receive most of their training in psychology, counseling and psychotherapy.
Psychiatrists receive most of their training in medicine. Choose a psychologist for counseling and therapy; go to a psychiatrist for medication.

Principles of Optimal Behavior Management for Alzhemeir’s Patient

Most caregivers readily understand the importance of providing ongoing quality health care, nutrition, hygiene, and affection for their dementia patient. The following list of additional concepts will help caregivers minimize the burden presented by secondary symptoms in dementia.

Reward desired behaviors every time. This means simply a kiss, a touch, a smile, a thank you. To the greatest extent possible, ignore undesired or inappropriate behaviors. This means showing no emotion, not making eye contact, and not speaking of the undesired behavior.

Provide daily activities involving movement to music (dancing, marching, exercising, singing and swaying, etc.). A portable tape player and radio will prove very handy.

Foster any and all remaining skills that are appropriately independent. Let the patient help with tasks, however small, that he or she can still do. Avoid routinely doing things that the patient can do. Give no more help than is needed.

Choose some desired behaviors that are too infrequent, and work at increasing them. This is more likely to prove helpful than if you focus on decreasing some frequent, undesirable behaviors. Prompt, invite, and encourage the patient to participate in appropriate activities.

Simplify complex behavioral sequences into small segments. Eating a meal, for example, consists of sitting down at the table, picking up a fork, spearing the food, raising it to the mouth, and so forth.

Decide, based on your observation of the patient, what his optimal level of stimulation is, then try to provide it. Pay attention to lighting, noise, and the number of people around.

Foster routine by maintaining a consistent schedule and consistent way of doing things.

Whenever possible, avoid, delay, limit, minimize, and shorten the use of mechanical restraints, and (with physician approval) sedating medicines.

Provide multiple, redundant sensory cues. For example, to help the patient locate kitchen or bedroom items, cabinet doors and drawers may be labeled with pictures and names of the contents.

Modify the environment to improve the patient’s access to appropriate places and materials, and to reduce his access to inappropriate places and materials. This will increase the probability of appropriate activities and behavior. Use locks or spring latches on doors, drawers, and cabinets to prevent dangerous access; use labels and pictures to encourage access.

Never assume that a behavioral or cognitive symptom is inevitable and irreversible. Always search first for a treatable cause of the symptom. Daily possibilities to watch for include pain, hunger, thirst, and drug side effects.

If you cannot figure out why a certain behavior problem continues, keep a behavioral logbook. Record, each hour, what happened before and after each episode of the behavior. This will help identify hidden links between cues, behaviors, and rewards.

If you still do not know how to master a particular situation, call the appropriate specialist. This may be a psychologist, psychiatrist or other physician, nurse, or social worker. To locate such specialists, contact the appropriate department of the nearest university, major hospital, or medical school. Also, psychological and other professional organizations may be located in the yellow pages.

Caregivers must take good care of themselves, too. They should assertively seek the support, reassurance, and assistance of friends and relatives. Caregivers should educate themselves about dementia through reading and attending Alzheimer support group meetings. They should fully use the skills of knowledgeable professionals who are available to them.

Avoid confrontation with the dementia sufferer over any factual issues. If he or she holds firmly to an inaccurate belief or dislikes some facts which can be grasped accurately, the caregiver should not be drawn into arguments. Instead, the caregiver should –

Be noncommittal about the facts

Show empathy for the patient’s feelings

Principles of Optimal Behavior Management for Alzhemeir’s Patient

Most caregivers readily understand the importance of providing ongoing quality health care, nutrition, hygiene, and affection for their dementia patient. The following list of additional concepts will help caregivers minimize the burden presented by secondary symptoms in dementia.

Reward desired behaviors every time. This means simply a kiss, a touch, a smile, a thank you. To the greatest extent possible, ignore undesired or inappropriate behaviors. This means showing no emotion, not making eye contact, and not speaking of the undesired behavior.

Provide daily activities involving movement to music (dancing, marching, exercising, singing and swaying, etc.). A portable tape player and radio will prove very handy.

Foster any and all remaining skills that are appropriately independent. Let the patient help with tasks, however small, that he or she can still do. Avoid routinely doing things that the patient can do. Give no more help than is needed.

Choose some desired behaviors that are too infrequent, and work at increasing them. This is more likely to prove helpful than if you focus on decreasing some frequent, undesirable behaviors. Prompt, invite, and encourage the patient to participate in appropriate activities.

Simplify complex behavioral sequences into small segments. Eating a meal, for example, consists of sitting down at the table, picking up a fork, spearing the food, raising it to the mouth, and so forth.

Decide, based on your observation of the patient, what his optimal level of stimulation is, then try to provide it. Pay attention to lighting, noise, and the number of people around.

Foster routine by maintaining a consistent schedule and consistent way of doing things.

Whenever possible, avoid, delay, limit, minimize, and shorten the use of mechanical restraints, and (with physician approval) sedating medicines.

Provide multiple, redundant sensory cues. For example, to help the patient locate kitchen or bedroom items, cabinet doors and drawers may be labeled with pictures and names of the contents.

Modify the environment to improve the patient’s access to appropriate places and materials, and to reduce his access to inappropriate places and materials. This will increase the probability of appropriate activities and behavior. Use locks or spring latches on doors, drawers, and cabinets to prevent dangerous access; use labels and pictures to encourage access.

Never assume that a behavioral or cognitive symptom is inevitable and irreversible. Always search first for a treatable cause of the symptom. Daily possibilities to watch for include pain, hunger, thirst, and drug side effects.

If you cannot figure out why a certain behavior problem continues, keep a behavioral logbook. Record, each hour, what happened before and after each episode of the behavior. This will help identify hidden links between cues, behaviors, and rewards.

If you still do not know how to master a particular situation, call the appropriate specialist. This may be a psychologist, psychiatrist or other physician, nurse, or social worker. To locate such specialists, contact the appropriate department of the nearest university, major hospital, or medical school. Also, psychological and other professional organizations may be located in the yellow pages.

Caregivers must take good care of themselves, too. They should assertively seek the support, reassurance, and assistance of friends and relatives. Caregivers should educate themselves about dementia through reading and attending Alzheimer support group meetings. They should fully use the skills of knowledgeable professionals who are available to them.

Avoid confrontation with the dementia sufferer over any factual issues. If he or she holds firmly to an inaccurate belief or dislikes some facts which can be grasped accurately, the caregiver should not be drawn into arguments. Instead, the caregiver should –

Be noncommittal about the facts

Show empathy for the patient’s feelings

Now that may seem like either an impossible goal or an unlikely outcome, but learning how to deal with panic attacks is doable, and in my view a real, viable way to go about ridding yourself of these terrible attacks, which can rip the very fabric of your life apart, keeping you seemingly hostage to fears and emotions that you feel as though are out of your sphere of control.

The conventional wisdom in dealing with these types of anxiety or panic disorders is to prescribe a treatment course of either powerful drugs , expensive therapy, or both. Neither course works very well very often, leaving you on the hook for continued use of these drugs and doctors, perhaps for very long periods of time. What the outcome of a course of treatment like this usually turns out to be is a combination of more panic and less cash. (Which can cause more panic!)

What’s worse, nobody is certain about the long-term effects of drugs like these, and who needs to roll those dice? Especially when there are alternate methods, none of which involve pharmaceuticals or a full dance card with a psychotherapist. There are more holistic approaches in treating panic attacks, that, when used consistently and with some thought, can not only give you better results, but in a lot shorter time frame and with far less money out of your pocket.

No one is denying that these panic attacks are real, and that they cause actual, physical symptoms that cannot be refuted. What I’m suggesting however, is that you need to look past what modern medicine and its paramour, the pharmaceutical industry, would have you choose to help you learn how to deal with panic attacks. They would have you on these drugs for the rest of your life if they could manage it, and you’d be no closer to being rid of your panic attacks than before.

No, you need to take hold of your own treatment, take responsibility for your own life and help chart your own course. There are many methods out there purporting to teach you you how to deal with panic attacks, but my favorite and one that has helped more than 100,000 people worldwide is by a gentleman named Joe Barry, and is called PanicAway. It helps you overcome panic attacks by counter attacking, and not taking this lying down. You can defeat panic attacks for good; you just need a road map. This is one that will get you there!

Hypnose (or hypnosis) has been accepted for a long period of time as a mental state which is very similar to sleep. Induced by suggestion, this practice has allowed therapists and other specialists to enter ones subconscious. Today, we know much more facts about hypnosis and hypnotherapy. There is no more room for controversies or prejudice, given how useful hypnose really is.If you are curious about finding out more about this subject, then you should definitely keep on reading. You will be informed about how powerful can suggestions be for a person who is about to be hypnotized, but also how important is to be genuinely relaxed before the hypnose session. The Internet is also a pretty good source of information, with hundreds of specialized websites tackling this very interesting subject. It all depends on how much are you interested in finding out.There is another fascinating fact about hypnose. Even though most people prefer going to a trained hypnotist for a session, there are probably just as many who induce this mental state by themselves. Self-induced hypnose is practiced by people from various corners of the world, starting with a state of relaxation and different suggestions. This is the only way to reach the subconscious mind and experience a unique state where peripheral consciousness is reduced to a very low level.Being under hypnose means that all of your senses will be modified. Memories might be brought back to you. You might experience new thoughts or old emotions. No one can tell for certain what is going to happen while you are hypnotized. Interesting experiments have been made to demonstrate that hypnose can be used to cure various medical conditions, including spastic colon or different skin conditions. In some cases, it has been proved that hypnosis might be used instead of substance-induced anesthesia. As the number of people suffering from different phobias increased, hypnose started to be perceived as one possible treatment. It did not take too long for hypnosis to enter the list of recommended treatments. Nowadays, fobi and other anxiety disorders are successfully treated with hypnose sessions. While they are under the state of hypnosis, phobic persons are instructed to recall any event or situation that may have triggered their fobi. They use their experience to relate these events or happenings to the predispositions of the person. Using all of this information, one might provide the person suffering from a certain phobia with very important suggestions.There are millions of people out there who have been diagnosed as suffering from fobi. Some are afraid of how they will deal in social situations, thus having what is known as a social phobia. Others are terrified of spiders, dogs or flying. Many people will not even dare to go on an elevator or sit on the top of a building, being scared of heights. When such fears prevent them from functioning normally, the term of fobi can be definitely used. Fortunately, there are different types of treatment out there and not only hypnose. Cognitive behavioral therapy is starting to become more and more popular, offering incredible results.Suffering from a fobi can make you change your life. Do not take such a turn and seek out for help. Use the Internet to discover more information about different phobias, search for ways to overcome your fears. Talk with a therapist about your fobi, learn about self-induced hypnosis and you will be alright in no time!

Fear is an innate feeling of danger to a risky or threatening situation. In event of danger or risk, there would be an adrenaline rush into our body muscles so that we can react defensively to protect ourselves in the survival fight. The brain would decide on the better reaction of whether to fight for our survival or to run and hide away from the danger called fight or flight reaction. This emotion is natural instinct of humans and has evolved and ingrained in our daily lives. For some people, there are cases where the state of emotional fear lingers for so long that it cannot be eliminated as a result of the fight or flight reaction that results in what is known as panic attacks.
Panic attacks are an exaggerated condition due to fear. While some fear is healthy, in panic attacks there is an overwhelming amount of fear. The panic attack can come into our lives with no warning at all. There may be no logical reason why we can get into a state of panic, however once a panic attack occurs it is very intense and there is nothing that we can do about it.
Several physical symptoms of panic attacks can be identified which include heart racing, pounding or skipping heartbeat, tightness or discomfort in chest region, choking sensation, sweatiness, shaking and trembling, butterflies and nausea, hot flashes or chills, numbness in certain parts of the body, erratic breathing or shortness of breath, dizziness, light-headedness and so forth. The psychological emotions felt by these victims can be very damaging and frightening that they, who suffer panic attacks, can feel that they are dying or losing their minds. Things seem unreal to them or may even feel that they are detached from their bodies while some are so fearful that they must escape and flee the situation altogether.
In fact, the symptoms mentioned above are the sensations and feelings that one experiences whenever they are facing impending threats or dangers. As reinstated earlier, these symptoms occur to sufferers of panic attacks in circumstances without presence of danger even in safe environment and under no logical explanation. There is no surprise at all that the panic attack can occur even when the victim is at sleep.
Panic attacks cannot or difficult to stop when it attacks and they normally happen without any potential signals or predictions. This is because the excessive level of hormones imbalances and adrenalines that flood the body and muscles causes such extreme terror and desperation that are so beyond the grasp of the actual situation. It is therefore not only necessary but compulsory to attempt to control the exaggerated emotions of fear using different appropriate means of treatments.
The suffering of panic attacks is very dreadful and agonizing according to many victims of the panic attacks. The feelings of extreme fear and overwhelming terror are very intense that they feel like eternity once the attack starts to kick in.
Terror, to the normal people living normal lives, is part and parcel of our lives and the evolution. To victims of panic attacks, they are constantly and relentlessly facing the fear and terror everyday of their lives. There are a great variety of treatment techniques and therapies available in the marketplace for curing the panic attack and disorder. Do not give up on yourself and start visiting professionals to seek treatment and get rid of the panic attack forever for your lifetime.

Many people live with stress and anxiety based conditions for years with no relief. Maybe they have tried medications which really only camouflage the symptoms and dont really manage to get to the root of the problem. Some have tried the traditional therapies which will work to some extent. Techniques like cognitive-behavioral therapy can work quite well with
some people but there remains a high relapse rate for these approaches. What anxiety and stress sufferers require is a permanent and lasting solutions to these debilitating states of mind that they find themselves having to endure on a sometimes daily basis.
Lets look at some other approaches that although are not mainstream yet are certainly worthy of attention according to reports as they are giving large amounts of people freedom and real relief from their anxiety without the fear of relapse that the traditional methods often do.
The first one that comes to mind is the EMDR method made famous by Francine Shapiro. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing although overly technical sounding in name, integrates elements of many effective psychotherapies in structured protocols that are designed to maximize treatment effects. These include psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, experiential, and body-centered therapies. EMDR is an information processing therapy and uses an external stimulus, usually a finger moving in front of the line of vision, to break up recurring patterns of anxiety. Recent research on EMDR shows
positive benefits and fast removal of anxiety related issues.
The second technique is known as Thought Field Therapy but a revised version of this approach is also known as The Emotional Freedom Technique .It was originally discovered and utilized in treatment by the American clinical psychologist Roger Callahan Ph.D, I can personally vouch for this method because it took my fear of public speaking away in two rounds of treatment.
It actually uses acupuncture points on the body which are tapped (by yourself) with your fingers in specified sequence for a couple of minutes until you try to get the anxious feelings back but you cannot because they have simply vanished. It is actually quite miraculous and is presently undergoing research because it is such a simple method to employ and very cost effective and the client can take the skill away and do it on themselves with all manner of problems anytime they wish.
Another method that is receiving a lot of attention recently is the method devised by Charles Linden, himself an chronic anxiety sufferer, who has a scientifically based technique that allows you to reset the amygdala which is a small gland in the brain that seems to perpetuate the anxiety we have. An American National Mental Health institute even endorsed many of
his findings concerning how anxiety disorders start and then become magnified. His method is known simply as The Linden Method and is performed at home at the clients leisure.
Of course anxiety and stress sufferers should also aim to employ a daily relaxation regime to calm over-arousal whilst they attend to these other treatments. A regular regime of stress management via relaxation works wonders to refresh our nervous system. The technique that I use goes beyond the traditional methods that only take you to a superficial level of calmness and actually involves switching off the brain stress centers that are responsible for causing stress in the first place.
The technique is like an internal massage for your brain and very quickly lowers your arousal in a simple but profound manner.

Anxiety isn’t necessarily a problem. But when it becomes persistent, powerful and interferes with daily life, it’s called an anxiety disorder. It can affect about one in 20 people. But sadly, only a tiny proportion of sufferers will seek treatment.Anxiety disorders are the most common of all the mental disorders. At the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Federal agency that conducts and supports research related to mental disorders, mental health, and the brain, scientists are learning more and more about the nature of anxiety disorders, their causes, and how to alleviate them. NIMH also conducts educational outreach activities about anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses.Causes of anxiety disorderGenetic predisposition. Anxiety disorders tend to run in families, suggesting there’s a genetic factor involved in the cause. Studies show that if one identical twin has an anxiety disorder, the second twin is more likely to have an anxiety disorder than if they were unrelated.Personal characteristics. Researchers believe that people who have low self-esteem and poor coping skills may be prone to anxiety disorders.What Are the Types of Anxiety Disorders?Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)  – OCD is characterized by unwanted thoughts or behaviors that seem impossible to stop or control. You may be troubled by obsessions, such as a recurring worry that you forgot to turn off the oven or that you might hurt someone. You may also suffer from uncontrollable compulsions, such as washing your hands over and over. Post-traumatic stress disorder: PTSD is a condition that can develop following a traumatic and/or terrifying event, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, or a natural disaster. People with PTSD often have lasting and frightening thoughts and memories of the event, and tend to be emotionally numb.Symptoms of Anxiety mood and other emotional problems, eating pattern changes, sleep pattern changes, mental changes, social problems, physical problems, childhood or adolescent depressionThe anxiety and worry are associated with three (or more) of the following six symptoms (with at least some symptoms present for more days than not for the past 6 months; children don’t need to meet as many criteria).Treatment of anxiety disorderThe choices of treatment include cognitive behavioral therapy, lifestyle changes, and/or pharmaceutical therapy (medications). Mainstream treatment for anxiety consists of the prescription of anxiolytic agents and/or antidepressants and/or referral to a Psychologist/cognitive-behavioral therapist. Treatment controversy arises because some studies indicate that a combination of the medications and behavioral therapy can be more effective than either one alone, however others studies suggest pharmacological interventions are largely just pallative, and can actually interfere with the mechanisms of successful therapy.It’s important to understand what anxiety treatment can and can’t do. An accurate diagnosis and proper treatment increase the odds that your symptoms will lessen significantly or disappear altogether. Once symptoms are under control, treatment can keep them from flaring up again and can help prevent a second anxiety disorder from developing. Treatment often improves or controls the problems caused by anxiety. For example, if anxiety is impairing your ability to work or creating friction between you and your family and friends, treatment can help you function better and improve your relationships.

Alternative medicine can be defined as any form of therapy, practice or treatment which is outside the mainstream or beyond the realm of the conventional.
More generally it can be defined as any approach or medicine which differs from conventional Western forms. Alternative medicine is often talked about in conjunction with Complementary Therapy and the umbrella term Complementary & Alternative Medicine or CAM is used.
As a general guide some of the more mainstream CAMs are acupuncture, acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal medicine, homoeopathy, hypnotherapy, massage therapy, naturopathy, reiki, reflexology & Yoga.
Alternative medicine in the UK is growing year on year and in 2006 it generated expenditure of 1.6 billion pounds. Large numbers of people choose to seek out alternative forms of medicine subsequent to a diagnosis from their GP or other traditional route. However in the main, research shows that people tend to use CAMs in parallel with conventional medicine. There is often resistance from GPs to recommend or refer a patient to an alternative therapy where they consider empirical evidence to be limited or non-conclusive and the research methods are not always standardised as with traditional medicine. There are also often funding issues relating to onward referrals within the NHS.
However, the CAM sector is responding to this criticism by adopting the standard research methods & evidence provision in line with the medical establishments traditional methods. This is largely assisting with the rapid growth of this multi-layered industry, alongside the continually growing wealth of positive empirical evidence.
Generally speaking CAM’s can be organised into five key areas, although it should be noted that there are number of areas where these overlap. These areas are -
Whole Medical Systems (WMS)
WHMS have been developed in the West – often with it roots in other medicine systems. Examples of this type of system are Naturopathy – helping or stimulating the body’s own in-built healing system by improving diet & lifestyle in conjunction with other CAMs such as acupuncture and massage. A good non Western parallel to this system is Chinese Medicine as is Ayurveda which hails from India and takes the holistic approach of treating the mind body & spirit via massage, yoga, herbs & meditation.
Another WMS which developed in recent years in the West is Homeopathy the practice of stimulating the healing system of the body by delivering minute amounts of certain elements or substances which in much higher doses would be detrimental or dangerous to a patient’s health.
Mind-Body Medicine (MBM)
MBM can call upon a number of techniques which are aimed at improving the symptoms & functions of the body e.g. meditation, Yoga etc. A number of therapies which historically where thought to be CAMs are now firmly placed in the mainstream such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming).
Biologically Based Practices (BBP)
BBP are derived from elements and materials which are found naturally such as vitamins for supplements, healthy foods for well being & detoxification and herbs helping with everything from pain relief to stress & weight loss. Biologically based practices in CAM use substances found in nature, such as herbs, foods, and vitamins. Some examples include dietary supplements, herbal products, and the use of other so-called natural but as yet scientifically unproven therapies (for example, using shark cartilage to treat cancer).
Manipulative and Body-Based Practices (MBBP)
MBBP work by manipulation, pressure and rubbing of soft tissues and muscles aimed at promoting repair, better health & flexibility. These type of therapy work by removing scar tissue, promoting oxygen flow and helping the removal of toxins and acids.
A number are further examples of therapies which are becoming less and less alternative and more mainstream. These include Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Massage & other body work such as Shiatsu and Sports Massage.
Energy Medicine Therapies (EMT)
EMT are believed to help the patient by tapping into the energy fields which cloak the human body and restoring balance, improving energy flow and clearing blockages. Examples of these type of therapies are Reiki, Chinese Medicine and Energy Healing.
So, why the growth in CAMs? Well, in recent years patients have gradually taken more accountability & responsibility for their health and are not as happy as maybe they once were to be told what to do or how to live. As a result they are becoming more autonomous and seeking out their own alternatives and solutions.
It is important to note they don’t side step mainstream traditional medicine but seek help from CAMs to complement their treatment. Part of the reason for this empowerment is the growth of the internet and the ease of access to swathes of information, research, forums and feedback available at a click on the World Wide Web. Recent research has shown that over 60% of internet users use the web to provide answers on health related issues.
In addition to the ground swell of the general public embracing CAMs, areas of traditional medicine are adopting and recommending alternative therapies. The NHS now has as 5 hospitals offering CAMs for patients and more and more health professionals such as doctors, nurses and mid wives are training in alternative therapies to offer within their mainstream practice.

Grief and loss is a multifaceted counselling field based on the loss of someone or something. “Grief is our response to loss, particularly the death of a loved one. Grief can affect our thoughts, feelings, behaviours and beliefs, and our relationships with others. Many people experience feelings of sadness and anxiety.

The experience of grief can sometimes feel wave-like; a person may feel that their grief is behind them, but are then surprised when their grief suddenly comes back. It is important to recognise that grief is a normal experience and that the process of grieving does require experiencing the pain of the loss. Grief is a process and not an event. Most people will continue to grieve in subtle ways for the rest of their lives”. (Grief explained, 2006).Another Perspective on Grief & Loss

The assumption that grief is a normal and inevitable process in life has induced some theorists to affirm that all psychological problems result from one or more grief-related processes. In this context, the concept of loss can be re-constructed: it is a condition in life, which could be disturbed equally by the lack of a desired element (such as the presence of a beloved one) or the presence of an undesired element (such as the memory of a traumatic event).The Origins of Grief

Grief has its roots in the development of society. Humans are social beings, and therefore, have a need to relate to others in their social environment. When this need in not fulfilled a sense of loss and grief is experienced.Dealing with Grief

Individuals should not try to combat grief, as this will normally lead to frustration and negative behaviour. Grief is a natural and practically inevitable process in our lives. However, dealing with grief is not only practical, but necessary in order to invoke happiness and fulfilment.

Person centred therapy is the first approach used in a case of grief and loss. The counsellor, or mental health professional, will create a supportive environment conducive to expressing emotions.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is commonly used in cases of unresolved grief. CBT’s approach is based on the theoretical rationale that the way people feel and behave is determined by how they perceive and structure their experience. This therapy proposes that change comes about by changing the client’s thinking about the situation. Once the client has perceived loss in a productive way, he or she will be able to control their emotions and deal with grief.

Another strategy to deal with grief is by substitution. The client will develop a set of ’substitute needs’ which will serve to fulfil the losses experienced in different areas of life. If the substitute needs are in place, the perception of loss will not exist, and therefore grief will not be as conducive to negative behaviour.

References:

Better Health Channel (2006) Grief explained. Retrieved 20 July 2006 from the World Wide Web: www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Grief_explained?OpenDocumentSubscribe to our FREE eZine.