My approach to coping skills for emotional pain
Working with thoughts, emotions, behaviours and sensations of the body, (TEBS), is the approach I use in therapy. The client is encouraged to identify how thoughts drive our emotions and physical sensations.
To reduce or learn to live with our emotional stress is done by practicing alternative positive thoughts. These thoughts have to be supported by associated behaviours.
Suicide: Can Counselling help?
How therapy can help a suicidal person. First assessment of risk. Help the client identify reasons to live. Developing long term skills in wanting to stay alive. Four therapeutic approaches that maybe used are highlighted.
Anxiety; Where fear takes over
Anxiety is one of the most common topics raised in therapy. It is a debilitating condition that prevents a person from engaging with life. It is closely associated with depression and often co-exist.
There is a strong medical connection with anxiety, therfore medication is often a first stage of treatment. Medication however can become a near permanent part of persons life. Many people do not want this and will prefer to resolve their anxiety through psychological work. Such work identifies the triggers and helps to delope coping mechanisims to lessen their impact.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT is a combination of two psychological theories. Cognitive and Behavioural theories. CBT proposes that emotional change happens by changing the underlying thoughts that support them. To effectively change our thoughts, we utilise the behaviours that correlate with them.
This approach can be a trial and error, and is greatly helped by having a good understanding of your underlying beliefs that caused the thought to start with.