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THE TRUTH ABOUT COUNSELLING AND HYPNOTHERAPY HELP WITH ANXIETY PHOBIA & PANIC HELP WITH EATING PROBLEMS AND LOSING WEIGHT HYPNOTHERAPY FOR OTHER PROBLEMS COMPLEX AND DEEP-ROOTED PROBLEMS LOCATION AND FEES: PLYMOUTH, DEVON
| Frequently Asked Questions about Depression.
What exactly is Depression? Depression is best understood, not as an "illness" like
diabetes
Why can't I think clearly when I'm depressed? I'm perfectly intelligent, but I can't Exhaustion prevents the mind from thinking intelligently, causes it to revert to a primitive,
"black or white" type of thinking, in which extreme and even suicidal ideas It is true that some people become severely depressed in response to
comparatively minor problems, while others take terrible disasters in their stride. The How come people got through the Second World War without needing counselling? Are people just weaker nowadays? Not necessarily. Problems which drive individuals in upon themselves are What is the first step to overcoming depression? Learning to relax your mind is the first step to overcoming depression. When we are fearful, furious, or
anxious, we are less intelligent. The intelligent, problem-solving function of our brain becomes disconnected. We are reduced to
animal instincts- dealing with our problems by fleeing from them, fighting
them, or freezing. But our lives are much more complicated than an animal's. Fight, flight, and freezing cannot solve the problems we must deal
with today. You may have had trouble getting off to sleep, or have been waking up too early in the
mornings. Even if you had sufficient hours of sleep, you could have had too much dreaming
Having taught you to relax, and to achieve sufficient natural refreshing sleep, the problem-solving
stage of therapy can begin, Clarifying and agreeing goals is the first step. Imagination is one way in which we are superior to animals. But if it is misused, it can give us problems which no animal would have. People who are anxious or depressed imagine all sorts of horrors and disasters. You can be taught to use your imagination to experiment safely with new ways to behave, going through a situation in your mind, remaining absolutely calm, until it has become familiar and unthreatening to you. The "Fast Phobia and Trauma Cure" is a special application of this method. What therapeutic methods do you use, and how long does it take? Solution Focused Brief Therapy aims to make changes in as few sessions as possible. I use a wide range of
well-researched techniques to achieve this. These include techniques of teaching you to relax, let go of unwanted thoughts and feelings, and use
your imagination constructively to rehearse new behaviour and create the future you would like to have. These techniques could be called mind training,
guided visualisation, meditation, or hypnotherapy. Click on that last link for personal accounts of how clients experience hypnosis, and for an
explanation of the misunderstandings many people have about this natural state of mind. Research has also shown that therapy focusing entirely on feelings is less effective than therapy which
also looks at thought, imagination and behaviour.* Indeed, therapies which In my private practice I assist clients to achieve goals which they have set themselves. I do not direct the client's life, like a guru. I do not make decisions on the client's behalf, but I will help clients to clarify what consequences may follow from their actions.
Like all registered psychotherapists I am required to discuss my work with a small group of What if I feel suicidal? If someone is coming to therapy, I would assume that they basically want to go on * The research referred to is summarised in the Handbook of Psychotherapy and |