The following page is designed to provide some introductory information for those interested in looking for more information and self-help. Selection is therefore personal and partial and not a comprehensive introduction to the field…under 3 headings
1. On-line apps and web pages
2. Reading resources
3. Client feedback
1. On-line apps and web pages
Advice on well-being
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/improve-mental-wellbeing.aspx
This is an NHS England webpage offering very general advice on ‘steps to well-being’, as well as self-help advice and resources
Alcohol issues
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/register
The MyDrinkaware app provides a dashboard and personalised tips and feedback to help you cut down your drinking
Anxiety and stress
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/mindfulness.aspx
This is link to the NHS England pages on Mindfulness, a technique that is used successfully to help with stress, anxiety and chronic pain symptoms. There is a link below to a book which offers an 8 week introductory programme to mindfulness techniques.
….more to follow
2. Reading resources
General introduction to well-being issues
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35371246
this is a link to a BBC briefing on mental health providing a basic overview of definitions, presentations and treatments, together with links for further information and agencies.
Trauma and Recovery
http://www.somatictraumatherapy.com/8-keys-self-help-series/
this link is to the website of Babette Rothschild, trauma therapist, trainer and author who has produced a number of well-respected books on trauma and recovery. The 8 keys series is intended as a readable set of books on familiar, problematic areas of emotional well-being
Controlling and abusive relationships
http://acelebrationofwomen.org/2012/09/women-who-love-too-much-robin-norwood/
this is a link to a review of Robin Norwood’s book ‘Women who Love Too Much’ – as a review it is therefore partial, but it is a good way into the material in my opinion – a book written first in the 1980s in the U.S.A. but as relevant to the topic of abusive and controlling relationships that women and men find themselves in as if it had been written last year.
Affairs and how to manage the aftermath
http://www.amazon.co.uk/After-Affair-Janis-Abrahms-Spring/dp/0060928174
a link to a book now only available it seems as remaindered – I cant imagine why – first published in 2004 looking at issues arising before, during and after a relationship breach. You can look inside the Amazon version on the website
Anxiety and Mindfulness
Mindulness comprises, at bottom, a set of meditation techniques which are found helpful in the management of anxiety and low mood. The link is to a book entitled Mindfulness (helpfully) by authors Mark Williams and Danny Penman closely associated with the development of the approach in the U.S.. Includes a cd/download and 8 week practical Mindfulness programme.
……more to follow
3. Client feedback
No counselling or therapy can provide a guarantee of success. But clients often feel genuinely helped by the process. Here are some examples of client feedback gathered from some of my clients at the end of short and long term work….quotations are with permission. Please note these are not included as testimonials.
……about anxiety and depression
‘for me, managing anxiety has been about noticing helpful and unhelpful states of mind and understanding how to work with them so they lose their power’
‘I have (come to see) depression as a burnout place from anxiety, I have come to see managing anxiety as the problem instead, and working with strategies to do this’
……about managing obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviour
‘the main thing is being able to think again…about nice things, what I want to do rather than ruminating…getting more space in my head than I had for a long time…for now and the future
…..about managing past events and trauma
‘a knowledge of trauma helped me to ‘normalise’ and understand what I was experiencing….which made me feel more able to move forward with something I had felt a bit stuck on such as patterns of thinking that had become unhelpful’
….about working in a counselling/therapy environment
‘(one of) the main positives for me was the safe and compassionate space for me to feel relaxed and able to talk frankly’
….about what counselling/therapy can offer
‘I have come to think about the process as a way of getting to know the old me – which had a tool kit which was slightly out of date – so coming to counselling has helped me in updating the tool kit to manage the day to day better’