There was a room full of people, looking as scared as me, I was nervous about what I was about to feel, do, say and see. 

As the weeks turned into months, the friendships and bonds grew, we learned about each other, and the things we’d each been through. 

We get into our groups, and each module Gillian would change us round, who knew that we’d learn so much, and the personal growth that would be found. 

Then in March the virus hit, we had to stop the club, but just for a little bit. The structure changed and we were now on zoom, we were worlds  away from our safe cosy room. 

 A world pandemic wouldn’t stop our club,  for nearly every week we all turned up. Even With all the different walks of life, facing sickness, uncertainty, heartache and strife. 

We supported each other on a Tuesday, through the week and in the chat, Gary’s Jokes made us all laugh when we felt flat. 

Now it’s the last week and we

See each other through the screen. How much I wish I could hug you, and show how much to me, you really mean. 

Some weeks have been a challenge, even to get out of bed, but I’m so glad I did, just to feel the love that was so openly spread. 

Now it’s time to say goodbye as we each go out into the world, to show off our knowledge, courage and  new self that this course has unfurled. 

I wish you all so much love and luck, it’s been so amazing being your friend. This club has been my saving grace with my heart now on the mend. 

Thank you for all you’ve done for me, you’ll never really know,  how much the power of our club, has changed me and helped me grow. 

– By Ruth Whyte

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There was a little empath named Sharon, who had witnessed many troubled times as a young girl, teenager, and young woman. She realised at an early age that she had special powers: a desire and the skills to help other people feel better.

Her dream was to reach the top of the Magic Mountain where she would achieve her Diploma in Counselling Skills. From here, she would be able to see far and wide across the land, and she felt she could reach out to help others as a qualified Counsellor. But first, she must climb to the first level of the Magic Mountain by successfully completing the COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills. The little empath set off on her first quest.

The COSCA cave

She found a reputable course provider with excellent reviews and travelled far, into deepest darkest east end Glasgow. There, she was met by her two empath Godmothers, Alison and Claire. They were both very wise in the ways of counselling and they were to be her guides. Through the glass doors, and into the COSCA cave, she met a lovely group of other empaths. She was soon to realise that they too, had the same special powers to help other people. Very soon, the little empath felt right at home.

Lots of learning

For the next ten weeks there was a lot of learning to be done. The little empath thought she had always been a good listener, but, working more intensely with her supportive triad she realised there was much, much more to it. Always the one to give advice, she saw that she must quietly listen with a range of attending and responding skills. She must not ‘fix’ things and instead, must truly be there with her speaker. After all, the answers lie within. It was just her job to help the speaker reveal them. She loved using the Guided Fantasy and has used this back in her own kingdom with the young people she teaches. They were then able to uncover some feelings they had not known were there, and were also able to put a name to an emotion that they were unable to talk about in traditional one to one discussion.

The wise Godmothers

Soon, the wise Godmothers bestowed another gift. In order to reach level one of the quest, the little empath must truly know in her heart the core principles of counselling: Acceptance, Genuineness and Empathy. Luckily her magic powers allowed her to feel empathy for others readily. Sometimes this was a bit too much and she knows she has to protect herself in order to not feel drained and be of more use to her speakers.

Remember to relax

Genuineness was interesting to learn about as the little empath thought she came across as open and interested. However, her study of her recorded video clip revealed a stern face and closed body language. Her supportive triad said she just looked professional and was maybe a little nervous in front of the camera, and that she didn’t look stern to them at all. The little empath was relieved to hear this as she really wanted to look as genuine as she felt inside. She made a decision to remember to relax her body and face and to never cross her legs or lace her fingers again.

Acceptance

Acceptance was the real stumbling block as her deeper judgements of others were revealed. The Godmothers gave out tiny pieces of folded paper, but they held monumental discussion points. Emotive names were inside and this made the little empath shudder. Could she honestly put her triggers to one side and help the horrible trolls or the wicked witches of the world? After all, they have feelings too and someone has to help them. A lot of self-reflection is needed to answer this, and suddenly for the first time, the Diploma at the top of the Magic Mountain seemed out of reach. Would she ever get to the top to achieve something she was once so certain of?

Disaster struck

Then, one day, disaster struck! The land was cursed with a virus and all the empaths and the Godmothers were banished to self-isolation and social distancing. What was to become of them? Luckily, the Godmothers found a way to sprinkle magic Zoom dust on all the laptops and the empaths rejoiced as they were reunited by way of digital media. Hurrah!

The little empath misses the energy of her tribe in person, but is thankful for the mystical power of technology to help her continue in her quest.

How things changed…

In the beginning of Module 2 of the Certificate in Counselling Skills, the little empath and her tribe had settled into a ‘stay at home’ routine. She could not believe how quickly the sands of time had passed in the last ten weeks, and she settled down to review how that had been for her.

Having spent fifteen long weeks staying safe at home, the little empath also conducted all of her full time work as a teacher online. In addition to the COSCA course she also committed to another online distance learning course. The amount of screen time was proving to be a challenge for her and left her feeling a little overwhelmed at having to be such an integral part of the digital world. Sometimes she feared that the prophecies were coming true and that human and machine would indeed merge as one. She made a promise to herself to allow more study time for the next module and try new ways of learning to help overcome the intensity she felt around being online so much.

Positive energy…

Her new triad provided a calm and positive energy from the beginning. She loved watching the confidence of her triad grow with each skills practice as she herself even started to feel more relaxed watching her recordings. After consulting the ‘feelings wheel’, she could now identify with a feeling of optimism rather than being critical of herself. Progress already?

The cycle of change…

The middle of Module 2 was proving to be more in-depth in terms of content and discussion. Complex topics around sexuality, feelings, the grief cycle, change, values and ethics sparked lots of interesting discussion for the tribe. The cycle of change and the change curve were insightful tools for the little empath to consider. It helped her see some reasons why she had not been able to make the changes she wanted in her life, and she was eager to try this out for herself, and also within a counselling approach. The little empath likes to think about change from all possible angles and this can sometimes leave her feeling exhausted about all the ‘what if’s. She found the motivation grid very useful for this and has used it to make a decision about looking for another job in a different school. This gave her clarity and more confidence in her decision and she was thankful to her godmothers for bestowing these gifts.

A wave of emotions…

Sexuality was a topic that opened up a wave of emotions for the little empath. She realised that a wicked witch had tried to poison her mind with untruths in the past around what it meant to be a sexual being. By challenging her thoughts, she uncovered deep-rooted feelings that she had forgotten about. While saddened by this at first, she now sees it as a positive as she has been able to look back at her changed attitudes more deeply and this will hopefully help her to be more genuine and empathetic in a counselling approach.

Time to reflect…

The ending of Module 2 was mixed emotions for the little empath as she was invited to consider how to say goodbye to her triad. Following what felt like a more intense part of the course the triad had time to discuss how they felt and what progress they had made. Through this safe space the little empath realised that while she felt on one hand that the module went by so quickly, she also discovered that she had soaked up so much information that it was likely to be slow burner for her as she allowed herself to revisit the theory and reflect on how it has affected her personally as well as in a counselling approach.

Looking forward to a two-week break to recharge, the little empath knows that another beginning is just around the corner in the form of Module 3 and she is eager to explore the content with her tribe and another new triad.

The End

By Sharon Kirman

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

If you are looking for therapists who offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for a range of mental health issues you can read more about it on this page. We offer therapy at Act Counselling and CBT Services and are happy to speak with you today should you wish to find out more and book in with one of our therapists. Get in touch with us today via our online contact form or call us on 0141 554 0838.

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As Therapists or other professionals move further along their journey of personal development, self-awareness and ultimately work towards self-actualisation it might be fair to say that we become less vulnerable. In relation to the vulnerability/stress model this leaves us more predisposed to taking on higher levels of stress, none more so in the stories we hear from our clients. Of course, some client’s stories touch us more than others and what of the ones about abandonment, neglect, abuse, trauma, emotional deprivation? It is our job but also in our nature to empathise with our client’s. With regards to empathy, the paradoxical theory often stands up in that our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness.

Dealing with Vicarious Trauma as a therapist

We empathise with the hard end of human suffering on a consistent basis. For some Therapists/Professionals, this might be daily. This often comes at a price. At ACT Counselling Services we often hear stories from colleagues of ‘taking the client home with me,’ which of course means thinking about the client in one’s own time. We also hear stories of colleagues having nightmares, rescue fantasies etc. A lot of professionals will take issues of vicarious trauma to Clinical Supervision and whilst this might well be helpful there is so much more that can be done.

Can we learn from Buddhism?

Traditional Buddhism has been a long advocate of the ‘suffering’ involved in being a human being, yet Buddhist Monks appear to remain compassionate and optimistic. What is their secret? Furthermore, can we as Therapists/Professionals learn from Buddhist Monks in order to offset Vicarious Trauma? Also, are there more practical steps that can be taken by Therapists/Professionals and their organisations to create a culture that protects us from the impact of Vicarious Trauma?

Do you want to learn more about Vicarious Trauma?

To find out more about the above and answers to the questions posed, visit our CPD Events page on this website and register for the ‘Vicarious Trauma’ CPD event scheduled to be delivered in Dunblane on Friday the 25th of August 2017. You can call us here at ACT Counselling and CBT Services in Glasgowon 0141 554 0838 or contact us online here.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

If you are looking for therapists who offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for a range of mental health issues you can read more about it on this page. We offer therapy at Act Counselling and CBT Services and are happy to speak with you today should you wish to find out more and book in with one of our therapists. Get in touch with us today via our online contact form or call us on 0141 554 0838.

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The ACT Counselling Services Team are looking forward to the delivery of another 1-day ‘Introduction to the Theory and Practise of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)’ short course in the coming week. This is a very popular course with workers from various helping professions nowadays being asked to have a basic understanding of what CBT is and to be able to integrate some of the techniques into the roles that they undertake with their service users. Furthermore, the course is very popular with Counsellors/Psychotherapists from different modalities who wish to add CBT techniques to their practice.

What the course offers…

The course offers participants some profound personal insights as the theory and techniques belonging to CBT are turned on the self throughout the 1 day. This is mostly down to the evincing of beliefs, rules, values and attitudes from the unconscious mind into awareness. The necessity for this is to uncover self-defeating patterns of thinking and behaviours. Every Human Being in this world today is locked in this vicious and often self-destructive cycle. Once participants become aware of their own issues then they can often link the beliefs, rules etc back to their genesis which is often early childhood.

By course participants shining the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy lamp on themselves, we find that they begin to have a tremendous amount of faith in the approach which augurs well for working with other people.

At ACT Counselling Services we are passionate about the above. We believe that the vast majority of people are only living what a client once described as ‘half a life.’ This needn’t be the case. Too much time is spent ruminating or berating oneself over the past or spending time worrying about a future that probably won’t happen. This drags us away from our lives today and in a way switches us into autopilot.

As Fritz Perls said back in 1950:

‘I find it fascinating that whilst in cybernetics they are trying to make robots like people and in everyday life people are trying to make themselves like robots. What are we doing?’

He also said more shockingly:

‘Too much time spent ruminating over the past or worrying about the future means you are dead already.’

Get in touch today to book your place:

Don’t let the above be you or the people you work with. Get in touch today with ACT Counselling and CBT Services and start living. You can call us on 0141 554 0838 or email us via our online contact form here. Alternatively, you can download our online application form here and post it to us.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Furthermore, if you are looking for therapists who offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for a range of mental health issues you can read more about it on this page. We offer therapy at Act Counselling and CBT Services and are happy to speak with you today should you wish to find out more and book in with one of our therapists. Get in touch with us today via our online contact form or call us on 0141 554 0838.

The post An Introduction to CBT appeared first on ACT Counselling and Training Services Ltd.

The ACT Counselling Services Team regularly deliver several 1 day CPD events on ‘Working with Narcissistic Personality Disorder’. Whilst we thoroughly enjoyed delivering the workshops and the feedback received was excellent we did find it a challenge. The challenge lay in attempting to change the public as well as Therapist’s attitudes towards those who are unfortunate enough to have a narcissistic personality type.

They are not ‘monsters’

We found that most workshops at some point became about ridiculing narcissists. This seems to be a very common reaction. In fact, a lot of articles that we have read over the last year in magazines with a psychology focus appear to advocate how awful and damaging narcissists are. Whilst we agree that it may be the case that narcissists can cause a lot of psychological damage, we strongly express that ‘there is no point or value in turning people into monsters.’ Are we not in the profession of care and compassion?

Our conclusion…

Our team discussions have led us to the conclusion that lack of understanding is possibly a large contributor to the attitudes held towards people with narcissistic traits or indeed the disorder. As a result, we hope to provide a little information on what actually lies beneath the disorder with a view to promoting understanding, compassion and a willingness to work with people with NPD or NPD traits.

What lies behind NPD…

The common belief amongst most folks is that people with the way of being associated with NPD have had ‘too much of a good thing,’ or have been ‘repeatedly told how special and wonderful they are,’ furthermore that ‘you are better than others.’ This in our experience is not the case. People with NPD have experienced high levels of emotional deprivation and conditional approval. The reality is actually that they have been given the message by their significant caregivers that they are defective unless they meet with the conditions set by the caregivers. So in other words, ‘you are only acceptable if you are perfect, achieve, gain recognition for the caregiver, be the best, do not show weakness, do not show emotion.’

The reality is that sadness, loneliness, isolation and hollowness sums up the Narcissists existence. We would suggest that this is not something to be mocked and ridiculed but understood and empathised with. A common trait in narcissism is a lack of empathy, unless there is a shift in the public and Therapist’s perception we are treating these people in the same way that we mock them for.

Want to know more?

If this article has been helpful and you want to know more about training or treatment for NPD then please get in touch and we will be delighted to help. You can call us on 0141 554 0838 or email us here.

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The ACT Counselling Services team are currently travelling around Scotland delivering a 1 day training event on John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory and Lifelong Relationships. We are also very fortunate to have an extremely talented Neuroscientist contributing to some of the inputs. Most of our knowledge in relation to Attachment Theory comes directly from John Bowlby’s Son – Richard Bowlby, who members of the ACT team were fortunate to be taught by. These events have been enormously well received and requests to deliver these events have been flooding in.

When writing and delivering the events, as well as in subsequent discussions we never cease to be amazed that the first 2-3 years of one’s life will shape how one thinks, feels and behaves in relationships with others throughout the life cycle. The very brief introduction to Attachment Theory offered below does not even begin to do the theory justice, so if it peaks your interest then, by all means get in touch and we will be happy to advise you of times and places where future deliveries of the 1-day event will take place.

What is Attachment Theory

Basically it is an evolutionary and instinctual necessity for Human Beings to endeavour to form Secure Attachment Styles with significant caregivers. This is a basic aid to human survival. The human brain in 2016 is exactly the same as it was in archaic times (over 50,000 years ago). Our brains (when we are infants) do not realise that it is 2016 and most people in the western world live in comfortable and safe environments. Our brains respond as if we still live in the wild, amongst the animals and if an infant is not close to a larger, older and protective caregiver then one might be eaten for want of a better word.

Forming a secure attachment

As such, infants engage in what is called ‘Attachment Behaviour’ in an attempt to keep the primary caregiver close by and to form a ‘Secure Attachment.’ Babies are born ready and know exactly what to do in order to form a secure attachment and as a result, feel safe. How the primary caregivers respond will actually determine whether a secure or insecure attachment style is formed.

What attachment behaviour involves

Attachment Behaviour involves the child crying when separated from the primary caregiver. This is the child’s insurance policy as it is a very difficult (almost impossible) cry to ignore. Attachment behaviour also involves remaining close to the primary caregiver and quickly returning to their clutch when feeling threatened. When the child is confident that it’s needs are being met then a secure base is established from which the child can begin to explore the world, safe in the knowledge that the consistent and loving primary caregivers will be present and available on return.

Do you want to know more?

If you want to find more about attachment theory, a lot more about yourself and more importantly how to improve the quality of life of yourself or others then simply get in touch using one of the various methods available on this site. You can call ACT counselling and CBT services in Glasgow on 0141 554 0838 or email us here.

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The ACT Counselling Services Team will shortly be delivering a 1-day CPD event titled ‘Borderline Personality Disorder, Neuroscience and Psychotherapy.’ This will take place on Saturday the 15^th of October 2016 at Stirling Baptist Church and Family Life Centre, 2^nd Floor, 61-63 Murray Place, Stirling, FK8 1AP. ACT Counselling Services Ltd are a private training provider who’s staff have a huge amount of experience of working with complex cases. Staff members have worked in the most challenging settings with the most severe and enduring types of disorder. We are passionate about sharing our knowledge, experience and conclusions to enable others to understand and/or work with complex cases.

What is Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD for short is one of the most challenging presentations for clinicians to treat. It is, without doubt, the disorder that costs the taxpayer the most money on a yearly basis. Despite these considerations, there is still little training on working with BPD, services available to treat BPD and Clinicians remain reluctant to add the treatment of BPD to their repertoire.

People often ask us ‘what is BPD?’ ‘Can it be treated?’ and ‘how does one even begin to treat it?’ Put very simply, the person who has received a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder constantly flips between different ‘schema modes.’ Modes are considered to be ‘states’ rather than ‘traits’ and are fleeting, short terms ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. Folks with a diagnosis of BPD will frequently ‘flip’ between the ‘vulnerable child,’ ‘Punitive Parent,’ ‘Demanding Parent,’ ‘Angry child,’ and ‘Detached Protector,’ although not necessarily in this order.

What does this mean?

The above means that the person who has been diagnosed with BPD spends very little time in the ‘Healthy Adult,’ ‘Nurturing Parent,’ and ‘Happy Child’ modes and this has a significant impairment on their quality of life.

BPD was for a long time considered to be untreatable but things have changed and it can easily be treated by clinicians with the correct knowledge, skills and attitude. In a universe based on opposites, one need not just ‘be,’ one can ‘become’ the person they were supposed to be.

Get in touch to find out more

If you are interested in finding out more, then please get in touch. You can call ACT Counselling and CBT Services in Glasgow on 0141 554 0838 or email us here.

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With CBT group therapy, where clients are given the opportunity to work with their counsellor on a 1:1 basis regarding the substance and attend a group to address, arguably two of the most common underlying mental health issues associated with substance misuse, anxiety and depression.

Respective anxiety and depression manuals were compiled and given to each group member for them to use on a weekly basis and indeed keep for future reference after the group ended. In true CBT tradition, an inventory was completed on a weekly basis and cross-referenced with the previous week. Examples of other items covered throughout each group are:

-Cognitive distortions

-Automatic thoughts

-Thought records

-Identifying emotions

– Controlling breathing exercises

-Progressive muscle relaxation

-Graded exposure

-Daily achievement journal

-Behavioural activation

-Safe place imagery

-Activity schedule

-Rumination

-Strengths and qualities

Group work and its benefits…

There was always time for group discussion which led to another vital part of any group, that being mutual aid. As a facilitator, it is a privilege to witness catharsis, universality and the installation of hope within each group I have been part of. Indeed bringing each group to an end, listening to the changes that have been made and plans to do more of what has helped is inspiring and motivational to me. There is no better feeling than playing a small part in another human beings recovery.

As with any therapeutic/psychoeducational setting, without the core conditions of genuineness, acceptance and empathy, neither groups nor 1:1 settings would have very little chance of building rapport, therapeutic alliance, working alliance, call it what you will, between the presenter/facilitator and attendees. Effective psychotherapy in any setting requires an effective therapeutic alliance between client(s) and therapist/facilitator.

Diploma Course…

The ACT Counselling Services PG Dip Level Diploma in CBT and Groupwork is the ideal course on which to learn and develop the knowledge, skills and attitude to become an effective group facilitator.

To find out more get in touch on 0141 554 0838 or contact us here.

By Mark Vance (PG Dip CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

If you are looking for therapists who offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for a range of mental health issues you can read more about it on this page. We offer therapy at Act Counselling and CBT Services and are happy to speak with you today should you wish to find out more and book in with one of our therapists. Get in touch with us today via our online contact form or call us on 0141 554 0838.

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The ACT Counselling Services team have had 2 insightful weeks delivering inputs 6 and 7 of the ‘Practising Schema Focused Therapy’ course. The themes have all been about perpetuation and ‘Repetition Compulsion’ (Freud, S), or ‘Schema Chemistry’ (Young, J). We think it is absolutely incredible that we, as human beings continue, albeit unconsciously, continue to play out very specific childhood experiences over and over again. This perpetuation causes us significant problems and distress, but we keep on doing it. The hardest part to come to terms with is that is actually our attempts to cope that continue to cause the problems. This often leads people to approach ACT for relationship advice.

What went wrong…?

We pick our parents as partners. If you don’t believe this, then you are most likely in denial. No parents are perfect and we unconsciously choose partners who we hope will provide us with the opportunity of correcting what went wrong. As a result of parental deficiencies we, at some point, experienced anger, sadness or despair as a result of our unmet needs. Children, however, cannot tolerate these feelings and instead cling to hope. We perceive that the problem actually lies with ourselves and continue, throughout our lives to seek the corrective experience.

Want to find out more or get some relationship advice, get in touch to discuss signing up for the next course, beginning 04/05/16. See more information here in our Services section.

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The ACT Counselling Services Team have been developing and delivering a new input as part of the PG Diploma on Personal Construct Psychology (PCP). The first thing that we must remind ourselves of is that PCP is a philosophy as opposed to a theory. It is our opinion that it is crucial for CBT Practitioners to have an understanding of PCP as it enhances our understanding of CBT’s philosophical underpinnings.

What is Personal Construct Psychology?

So what is PCP all about and why are we so excitable about it. I suppose the place to begin is perception and PCP is all about perception and making sense of things. As human beings, we are meaning-making creatures and our minds are just meaning-making machines. We are driven to make sense of things. This translates into a therapeutic context as we attempt to make sense and find explanations for our client’s thoughts, feelings, behaviours and motivations etc.

The CBT Practitioners role

The trap that one must never fall into as a CBT Practitioner is to impose our sense of meaning-making onto our client. If we do, we run the risk of not understanding our client or their issues in the fullest sense. So for example, when the client states they are anxious or depressed, how do we know what this is like for them. Unless we specifically ask then we are imposing our own understanding of what anxiety or depression is like for us, or indeed how we have heard other people describe what it is like for them. This is not representative of an individual’s uniqueness. Think about how other people’s feelings, behaviours and motivations etc are explained away in day to day life: ‘He/She obviously did that because……………,’ ‘You are feeling like that because……,’ so on and so forth.

Sign up today

The technique used to gain an understanding of what another’s experience is like is called ‘Suspension.’ How to use this can be discovered by enrolling on the ACT Counselling Services PG Dip Level Diploma in CBT and Groupwork.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

If you are looking for therapists who offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for a range of mental health issues you can read more about it on this page. We offer therapy at Act Counselling and CBT Services and are happy to speak with you today should you wish to find out more and book in with one of our therapists. Get in touch with us today via our online contact form or call us on 0141 554 0838.

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