Glossary of Terms; ‘C’:

Your mental health ‘dictionary’.

Catharsis: This is basically emotional release. From a psychological point of view, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that releasing aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.

Chronic mental illness: This is a mental illness or disorder which is severe in degree and persistent in duration. The symptoms may be either permanent or episodic. There may also be a substantially lowered or diminished level of functioning in the primary aspects of daily living.

Client-Centered Therapy (also known as Person-Centered Therapy): A humanistic therapy which was developed by Carl Rogers. C.C.T. (or P.C.T.) involves the therapist using techniques such as active listening, within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate clients’ growth.

Cognition: this is all mental activities which are associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Cognitive disorder: A disorder in which the person demonstrates/exhibits decreased abilities in memory, problem solving etc.

Cognitive Therapy (C.T.): A therapy which is based on teaching people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting. This is based on the assumption that our thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions.

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (C.B.T.): A popular and widely-used therapy which combines Cognitive Therapy (altering self-defeating thinking) with Behavior Therapy (altering behavior).

Communication disorders: A grouping of disorders involving problems of communication either through difficulties in receiving language or in speech. A general medical condition such as brain injury or stroke, or a developmental problem in children generally relate to such disorders, and such disorders include Expressive Language Disorder, Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder and others.

Compulsive/compulsions: Irresistible impulsive behavior where a person feels compelled to do particular actions (for example, counting to a particular number). These actions are irrational, ritualistic and repetitive in nature. Also, imperative to the definition of compulsions, they are repetitive acts which are clearly excessive AND are performed in order to lessen the discomfort of an obsession.

Conduct Disorder:A repetitive or persistent pattern of aggressive behavior usually recognized in childhood or adolescence and can lead to an impulsive type of personality disorder. As described in the DSM4, the essential feature of Conduct Disorder is a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in where the basic rights of others, or where major age-appropriate societal rules or norms, are violated (they violate rules or norms of behavior as to what is accepted or appropriate for their age as deemed by society).

Consciousness: our awareness of both ourselves and our environment.

Counsellor/counselor: A health professional who helps clients and families evaluate their patterns of problem solving and develop more effective ones.

Crisis: A turning point that results from a stressful event or a perceived threat to one’s well-being that con not be readily solved by methods that have been successful in the past.

Culture: Enduring behaviors, attitudes, ideas, and traditions which are shared by a large group of people and passed on from one generation to another.

Cyclothymic Disorder:A mood disorder with marked swings of mood from cheerfulness (or hypomanic symptoms) to depressive symptoms (these are not as severe as Bipolar Affective Disorder). The hypomanic symptoms are of insufficient number, severity, pervasiveness, or duration to meet a diagnosis of a Manic Episode, and depressive symptoms like-wise are insufficient (severity etc.) to constitute (or meet the full criteria of) a Major Depressive Episode.

References:

A.A.I. : Ashby Allan Institute.

DSM4: Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders.

Hello, it is Paul here (author of this site). I would like to invite any viewer of this site whom may feel that they have something to contribute (for example, a testimonial), to please send me a message. You may have particular expertise in an area such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, treating Anorexia Nervosa or whatever else, or you may know of some great organizations or help out there which others may greatly benefit from, or perhaps you may have some resources which you would like to share; please contribute if you can or if you would like to.

One of the intentions of this site is to develop it as an on-line source of information that may aid the general public or individuals and their loved ones to expand their awareness and understanding of mental health problems in communities and therefore hopefully to foster a little more hope that individuals and their loved ones can better reach their potential or to gain the smallest ray of hope from this site which may assist those who are dealing with mental health problems to even slightly be able to live a more satisfactory life while living with such problems. You may have something very, very valuable that others may benefit from. You can remain completely anonymous if you wish. You may even send me a personal message via my email address at samast8818@yahoo.com if you wish, and be assured that I will only publish what you give full consent for. If so, please just make it clear that you would like something published.

One final topic for the moment is that I recently had an offer from a kind viewer to make a small donation. With very careful deliberation about this sensitive topic, I have decided to add a page  titled ‘Donate’. Please be aware that this was never the original intention to do this, however, due to the generosity of others and myself wishing not to deprive others the gift of giving with a good heart, I feel it is appropriate to offer an opportunity for those who wish to make a small donation, to be able to do so. Please note, it is most certainly not expected, but simply offered for those who feel that they would like to give just a little back in their own way. I understand how it feels, for me anyway, to be deprived the opportunity to give back, even if it may feel so little.

Yours Faithfully,

Paul Inglis.

Many other types of therapy are practiced and these include therapies such as Family Systems Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Play Therapy, Twelve-Step Programmes, Interpersonal Therapy, Integrative Psychotherapy, Systemic Therapy, Bionomic Psychotherapy and many others. We’ll take a closer look at some of these at a later stage.

An Introduction :

// ]]>
There are numerous types of psychotherapy available for people struggling with a mental health problem. Psychotherapy is employed as a useful helping aid in the field of mental health and has various techniques and approaches structured for use in helping those with emotional, psychological, psychiatric, social and behavioural problems. Therapy comes in different forms or variations and can be employed by various professionals. Some useful professionals that can help who are fully trained in various forms of therapy include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and counsellors ( along with others ). These professionals use different forms of therapy otherwise known as psychotherapy. Psychiatrists and psychologists are trained as competent psychotherapists. Many counsellors have in in-depth knowledge and have experience with psychotherapy, where-as other counsellors may not have quite the expertise as a counsellor specifically trained in psychotherapy. Most counsellors have at least some basic training in and have an understanding of psychotherapy, others are highly qualified and skilled in employing techniques, methods and approaches from various forms of psychotherapy. Psychologists in mental health basically are psychotherapists and are aware of and knowledgeable in such various forms of therapy. Generally, a psychotherapist must not only be trained, but must be certified and licensed to partake in such practice. Psychotherapy is a broad field including specific professional workers and arguably some who are not as professional as perceived by the general public. Competent workers such as psychologists often utilize techniques and methods from more than one approach or specific type of therapy. It can be known as using an Eclectic Approach which is seen by many other professionals as quite necessary to cope with the variations of problems that life entails and the fact that we all respond a little differently to any other person including how differently we may, do or can react to forms os psychotherapy even given the same clinical diagnosis. Psychotherapy can be such a critical part in overcoming mental health problems. There are many different approaches and different therapists will tend to have their chosen or preferred models that they work with and they employ these models to assist people who are struggling with mental health problems. So, whether it is depression, an anxiety problem, phobias or many many other issues such as psychotic illness, so much can be gained by “putting in the hard yards” in working with a therapist to beat the perceived insurmountable world of mental health disorders and illnesses. Sigmund Freud developed Psychoanalytic Therapy focusing on individual clients using very in-depth and specialist forms or techniques. Since Freud, many other therapies have evolved. Fruedian techniques are still very much alive today. However, since Freud there has been continual development of other specific approaches. Whichever approach may be performed by specific individual therapists, it is quite accepted that the practice of psychotherapy can have many short and long-term benefits for those struggling with mental health problems.

But, why else do we really need psychotherapy ? For so many mental health problems medication alone is simply not enough! Medication quite often needs to be administered in conjunction with psychotherapy and quite often this combination of medication and psychotherapy is recommended. Indeed it is so often needed for realistic hope for healing or improvement in various types of psychiatric problems. Speaking from my own experience of the past as a client working with my psychologist, it may have taken years of dedicated, hard work, but the rewards are nothing short of astounding. Psychotherapy can indeed be so helpful, providing it is employed sensitively, appropriately and with other important factors taken into consideration such as respecting your privacy (confidentiality issues) etc. For years I felt as though nothing was happening; no progress, but looking back now, what an amazing difference it has made. If you are battling with a something such as Anorexia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a personality disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Agoraphobia, or something such as a cannabis-induced disorder, or a mood disorder such as Dysthymic Disorder, it may really be worth reaching out and asking for some help.

I wish you the very best, and thank you for visiting www.depressionmentalhealth.com.

Mental Illness- It’s Not Your Fault :

From my own point of view, I remember when I was first diagnosed with an anxiety disorder (later to become severe), it was a relief to be told that it was not my fault. My brother who is a doctor told me this, and coming from a professional, I felt quite relieved in that I knew that I was not responsible for being born with a biochemical imbalance.

There are theories that state that situational or circumstantial elements can lead to a disorder such as depression. Many argue though that in many or even all cases of a mental health disorder (such as depression), numerous elements may contribute to the cause. However, in disorders (whether it is OCD, depression, dementia, schizophrenia or practically any disorder or illness) there is quite proven medical evidence that there are biological or neurobiological contributions or causes in relation to mental illness. So, by no means is acquiring a disorder anybody’s fault, and certainly not yours if you are battling with a psychiatric problem.

Genetic factors can strongly relate to any given person developing a mental disorder or illness. Are genetic factors anybody’s fault? Just as you were born with brown or blue eyes (or other, of course), or that you were born a baby girl or boy, so too did you have no choice as to genetic factors you received which can correlate with the chances of developing a mental health problem such as Schizophrenia.  There are odds of 1 on 100 that any person may have Schizophrenia, and this becomes 1 in 10 where the person has a sibling or parent with Schizophrenia, and close to 1 in 2  when one has an afflicted identical twin. Some may argue justifiably that life-choices can lead to particular illnesses such as how using cannabis may lead to psychosis, but there are also other factors involved where so often the development of a mental disorder or illness has nothing what-so-ever to do with any person’s choices.

According to the learning perspective, it explains particular disorders such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder from principles of conditioning and observational learning (how anxiety is formed). Therefore, according to the learning perspective, factors such as fear can be learnt, but is this still anybody’s fault? A mental health diagnosis is not a sign of ‘personal weakness’. Unfortunately, still in today’s society, there are significant problems such as stigmatization, yet mental health problems completely surround us. Ten years ago, 450 million people in the world suffered psychological disorders according to the World Health Organization (WHO). On top of this, mental disorders accounted for 15.4% of the years of lost life due to death or disability, and this was only slightly below cardiovascular conditions, and it was actually slightly above cancer (Ref E.P.).

Mental health problems or disorders/illnesses are so often no ‘fault’ of the sufferer just as nobody (generally speaking, at least) would chose to develop a cardiovascular condition. Is anybody normally to blame for the development of a mental disorder? This may pose different opinions or points of view, however, there is clear evidence that factors such as genetics can influence mental health problems. Speaking along the lines of a particular disorder in OCD, it is now no longer doubted that it (OCD) is a distinct medical disorder. MRI ( magnetic resonance imaging) has proven this beyond doubt. MRI can depict brain structure in great detail, and in OCD, investigators have clearly observed anatomical irregularities in the brain ( the ventricular system, frontal cortex, and basal ganglia) in a person with OCD (Ref. TTSR, p 179,180).

Again, one may justifiably argue that people can make life-choices which can lead to or contribute to particular disorders, but there is also overwhelming evidence that in many cases, life-choices have nothing to do with one developing a mental health problem. Personally, I have distinct memories as a four or five year old child of symptoms of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) in where I had battles with obsessions from such an early age. There is absolutely no way in the world that I learnt such things (for example, my counting compulsions which stemmed from obsessions); it was due to imbalances of serotonin ( a neuro-transmitter) in my brain; that was not my fault, and chances are that if you or somebody you know has a mental health diagnosis, it is not your or their fault either!

Thank you for visiting www.depressionmentalhealth.com

Anxiety; The Cool Way/Anxiety Secrets.  Have fun overcoming anxiety and depression. $39.00-$59.00. Click Here!

Cure Anxiety and Panic Attacks Fast. Regain control of your life. Click Here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~