Aug. 5, 2015 "Online therapy at your fingertips": I cut out this article by Marilyn Linton in 24 News on Apr. 16, 2012. It's about mental health and helping people, so I'm interested in that.
It's something I have never heard of until I read this article. I only heard of therapy in person either at the office or group therapy:
Abby Linkmoller loves her therapist -- but she doesn't know if he's tall, short, bald or bearded, or lives in Toronto or Timmins. Unlike face-to-face therapy, Linkmoller does weekly online therapy -- on her computer by the toaster in her kitchen. "Yes, by email," says Linkmoller, an elementary school teacher. "And yes, it works!"
Linkmoller (not her real name) started therapy six months ago after a series of failed relationships made her want to examine patterns that seemed entrenched.
"Doing therapy this way means I don't have to take off work, pay for parking, or follow someone else's schedule," she explains. "It suits my life and email allows me to say things I don't think I could say meeting in person."
Guelph's Lawrence Murphy can relate to that. He runs therapyonline.ca, a company whose online therapists counsel Canadians coast to coast. One of the reasons for cyber-counseling's growth, he says, is "time and money." In face-to-face therapy, an $80 session can wind up costing $100 because of time lost at work and travel expenses.
"With online, clients tell us they can get dinner done, take their kids to soccer, finish their house chores, then open up the email on their terms."
Cyber-counselling is the use of the Internet to provide counselling at a distance -- by email, chat or video or voice. Murphy, a psychotherapist who began doing face-to-face work but has cyber-counselled for 18 years, explains that emails from clients are reviewed by a therapist who emails back with questions, some interpretations, and points to consider in the process of establishing a therapeutic relationship.
"Email is an effective way of doing counselling," he says. "As a client, you get to think and ponder and put away and come back, and think and ponder and put away and come back to it.
If I am in a room with a client asking a question, they have to give me the answer right away, but with email you get to slow down the process. A client can spend 11 hours a week (if he so wishes) reviewing an email and thinking about the questions we sent and creating a reply -- whereas if it's face to face, you have 50 minutes for the week and you are done."
If I am in a room with a client asking a question, they have to give me the answer right away, but with email you get to slow down the process. A client can spend 11 hours a week (if he so wishes) reviewing an email and thinking about the questions we sent and creating a reply -- whereas if it's face to face, you have 50 minutes for the week and you are done."
Studies have shown that online counselling works as well as face-to-face. But Murphy admits that in not being able to read body language, therapists can miss tones of voice and non-verbal communication. In their practice, he and co-founder Dan Mitchell have developed techniques they teach their clinicians in order to compensate for the non-verbal.
Their company uses a variety of therapy types, including cognitive behavioral therapy, in what Murphy explains as "trying to understand what's going on in the person's experience, talking a little bit about the past in order to understand the present and future." While cyber-counselling isn't exactly anonymous (names and phone numbers are requested), many clients feel they can open up more because they're not working face-to-face. What they wear, their size, their shape, is not being judged.
But cyber-counselling is currently "buyer beware" territory with too few regulations. And like actress Lisa Kudrow, who plays a self-centred online therapist of questionable training in her hit web series Web Therapy, online therapists in the real world can be as poorly qualified as Kudrow's "Dr." Fiona Wallice.
So what should consumers look for?
"You want someone with qualifications, a graduate degree, past experience with face to face work, actual training in cyber-counselling, and membership in a professional association," says Murphy. Like in-person therapy, the bottom line is that online therapy is about communication and connection. But consumers need to be extra careful that the communication is secure. "Ask what kind of efforts are in place to protect your information."
Not for everyone
Pre-screens are done by online therapists to rule out serious psychiatric disorders such as severe depression, ongoing addiction, and schizophrenia. "If a woman tells me she is 5-feet-9 inches and weighs 80 pounds and thinks she is fat, she should be in therapy face to face.
Someone who says he wears foil on his head to protect from aliens needs to be seen in-person and put on medication," says Lawrence Murphy. "Online counsellors need clinical intuition and knowledge. You need enough experience having worked with people in dire circumstances in order to be able to read an email and say, 'Something is very wrong here "¦'"
Who signs on?
"Gone are the days of three times a week at $200 a session," says Lawrence Murphy. "Most people want a problem solved. They don't want their personality reworked. They want to improve their relationship with their teens, they want to cut down on their drinking or get over their fear of spiders."
An evolving modality
Therapy Online has a research arm and also trains online therapists. The company has also worked to draft guidelines for the growing industry. Until there's an association of cyber-counsellors, consumers should ask their online counsellors who they are accountable to. For instance, many psychologists who don online work are members of the Canadian Psychological Association. "You need credentials to belong to an organization, says Murphy, who adds that it also gives consumers a way to address any complaints.
Buyer beware
Like in Lisa Kudrow's improvisational spoof of online therapists, anyone can set up shop. "Look for someone schooled with a graduate degree as they would have learned about ethical decision making. You don't want someone who has just graduated with a BA and is starting to do counselling," says Lawrence Murphy. "People should say on their website who they are and list their credentials and it should be totally transparent."
My opinion: I have never tried email- counseling, or video counseling. I would prefer to see someone in person. However, I see it to be convenient.
Dec. 22, 2015 "Click here for online happiness": I cut out this article by Bee Quammie about how we compare ourselves to Facebook and people's lives are so good that we get jealous. I could only find the article on pressreader so I can't copy and paste it. It's about people's lives may look good, but it's only part of it.
Dec. 23, 2015 "Working to feel safe in an insane world": I cut out this article by Cynthia Nixon in the Edmonton Journal on Nov. 20, 2015:
I’m reminded constantly that the world is a scary place. That if I go one block this way I need to be careful, or that I need to pay attention to the weather because there’s a big storm headed my way, and if I’m going to travel I should definitely use Purell. Or that if I don’t pay my credit card bills I’ll be in debt; that if I don’t have kids by x date I may never; and if I do have kids, how will I afford them? Yes, it’s true. There’s a lot that’s scary about the world. The Paris attacks; ISIL; campus shootings, unemployment; climate change, and I could go on.
With so much to worry about it’s no wonder the majority of us are battling anxiety. According to The National Institute of Mental Health anxiety affects 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18% of the population.
It’s easy for us to start in on the worry web, creating one strand and the next, only to end up stuck in the middle. My web was woven tight, but after learning to believe in myself, accept uncertainty, and live in the present I began to break through.
Below are three ways we can help ourselves feel safer in the world.
Believe in Yourself
According to a National Science Foundation report we have about 1,000 thoughts an hour. Think about how many of these thoughts are fearful? Stories we tell ourselves again and again. We could get sick; lose our jobs; never get out of debt or be in a good relationship.
These thoughts take over and keep us running the same track of worry, dilemma, and concern. The more laps we take the more this kind of self-talk makes us feel we’re incapable of handling what life throws our way. And the less we believe we can take care of ourselves, the more harmful the world becomes.
These thoughts take over and keep us running the same track of worry, dilemma, and concern. The more laps we take the more this kind of self-talk makes us feel we’re incapable of handling what life throws our way. And the less we believe we can take care of ourselves, the more harmful the world becomes.
If we want to feel safe in the world we need to believe we can take care of ourselves when things get tough or unexpected situations occur.
“Being grounded in one’s self” says New York City-based psychotherapist Susan Solomon, “leads to a feeling of safety. When we feel balanced, no one or thing has the power to rock our world.”
“Being grounded in one’s self” says New York City-based psychotherapist Susan Solomon, “leads to a feeling of safety. When we feel balanced, no one or thing has the power to rock our world.”
To feel calm and balanced we want to alter the way we speak to ourselves about the world. A 2009 article published in the Psychology of Sport and Exercise examined the effects of motivational self-talk on self-confidence, anxiety, and task performance in young athletes.
The result? Motivational self-talk can enhance self-confidence and reduce cognitive anxiety.
The result? Motivational self-talk can enhance self-confidence and reduce cognitive anxiety.
What is Motivational Self-Talk? Statements like “I can do it” or “I’m okay.” A statement that makes us feel better. A positive.
“Motivational self-talk is probably the best way to enhance one’s self-confidence.” says Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis, Associate Professor at the University of Thessaly in Greece and one of the reports authors.
“When using self-talk as a strategy to improve performance or regulating a behavior, our research has shown that consistency and systematic use is the key to make your self-talk effective.”
“When using self-talk as a strategy to improve performance or regulating a behavior, our research has shown that consistency and systematic use is the key to make your self-talk effective.”
The more we say ‘I can take care of myself’ instead of ‘I’ll never be able to'; or ‘I can handle this’ instead of ‘I can’t deal with this’ the more our confidence increases and our worry decreases.
If we want to feel safe, we need to believe we can handle life’s ups and downs.
To start, try increasing your motivational self-talk and decreasing the negative self-talk.
Accept Uncertainty
I used to hold myself back from expressing myself at work and in relationships because I was scared that what I wanted to happen wouldn’t. Maybe my relationship would end instead of become more intimate or I would get fired instead of get a promotion.
What I didn’t know terrified me, kept me in a state of fearing what was out there. What I feared most wasn’t the uncertainty, as it turned out, but the loss of control I felt.
What I didn’t know terrified me, kept me in a state of fearing what was out there. What I feared most wasn’t the uncertainty, as it turned out, but the loss of control I felt.
“The discomfort associated with groundlessness, with the fundamental ambiguity of being human,” writes American Buddhist Nun Pema Chödrön in her book Living Beautifully, “comes from our attachment to wanting things to be a certain way.”
To feel safe in the world we need to drop our attachment to what’s truly an unknown outcome. Easier said than done, right?
Becoming present can be as easy as slowing down our movements and paying attention to what we’re doing while we’re doing it, taking slow deep breaths, or saying to ourselves, I’m here; I’m safe in this moment.
Another way to practice presence is through meditation.
Focusing on the breath, the inhale and exhale, we anchor our mind. Thoughts come in and out, and if we find ourselves getting stuck in one, we notice it without judgment and let it go.
Another way to practice presence is through meditation.
Focusing on the breath, the inhale and exhale, we anchor our mind. Thoughts come in and out, and if we find ourselves getting stuck in one, we notice it without judgment and let it go.
Noticing our thoughts and coming back to our breath again and again interrupts our compulsive thinking and trains us to focus on what we’re doing in the moment. We keep coming back to the present moment again and again.
Living moment-to-moment we see first hand that, no matter what we have going on in our lives, the moment we’re in is okay.
We’ll never be able to completely erase the worry and anxiety that keep us from feeling safe, but the more we return to these practices, the more quickly we will be able to return to feeling secure faster.
Jul. 7, 2019 Actor Cameron Boyce passed away: I didn't know who he was, but I'm still writing about this:
Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce has died at the age of 20, his family has said.
The actor found stardom as one of the leads on the show Jessie and also appeared in the Descendants films.
The sad news was broken by US outlet ABC, with a spokesperson for Cameron’s family stating: “It is with a profoundly heavy heart that we report that this morning we lost Cameron.
“He passed away in his sleep due to a seizure which was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated.
“The world is now undoubtedly without one of its brightest lights, but his spirit will live on through the kindness and compassion of all who knew and loved him.”
The family added that they are “utterly heartbroken and ask for privacy during this immensely difficult time as we grieve the loss of our precious son and brother”.
Hydraxis Frimon 2 hrs ago
Dark jokes: I was watching the Winnipeg Comedy Festival show called "It' all Relative." It's Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall) hosting. This may be offensive:
Dave: I have a strained relationship with my parents. Now I get along with the exceedingly well, because they're dead.
The audience laughs.
My opinion: I was watching this to cheer myself up. Now I'll file this under my "laughing about death" jokes.
Jul. 8, 2019 "New policy aims to help homeless": Today I found this article by Kashmala Fida in the Star Metro. I can't find it on the internet. It's mainly about LRT stations and buses letting homeless people get on or stay in because of extreme cold. There are recreation centres open later in the summer.
Jul. 9, 2019 Why did you go off your meds?:
Real life example: This was back in 2006, but I was talking to a friend who said that one time she forgot to take it. Then she felt irritable the whole day.
Filmmakers meetup: There was this guy who went off his meds. I don't what his mental illness was. Bipolar disorder? I heard he went out into the winter time and the police later found him. He was in the hospital. Then I did see him after that. He had help to walk like a cane or something. This happened a few years ago.
This Is Us: On the TV show, Toby went off his anti-depressants to get his sperm up so he can have a baby. He did feel the effects of being depressed.
Jul. 10, 2019 Joely Richardson helped save a man's life: I found this in the Edmonton Journal and I looked it up:
Richardson appears in the Starz sci-fi series alongside Emma Greenwell and Olivia Munn. “The Rook,” which is based on the namesake novel by Daniel O’Malley, was originally adapted by Stephanie Meyer of “Twilight” fame. It centers on a young woman (Greenwell) pursued by paranormal adversaries while grappling with shocking abilities of her own.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/joely-richardson-the-rook
Jul. 8, 2019 "New policy aims to help homeless": Today I found this article by Kashmala Fida in the Star Metro. I can't find it on the internet. It's mainly about LRT stations and buses letting homeless people get on or stay in because of extreme cold. There are recreation centres open later in the summer.
Jul. 9, 2019 Why did you go off your meds?:
Real life example: This was back in 2006, but I was talking to a friend who said that one time she forgot to take it. Then she felt irritable the whole day.
Filmmakers meetup: There was this guy who went off his meds. I don't what his mental illness was. Bipolar disorder? I heard he went out into the winter time and the police later found him. He was in the hospital. Then I did see him after that. He had help to walk like a cane or something. This happened a few years ago.
This Is Us: On the TV show, Toby went off his anti-depressants to get his sperm up so he can have a baby. He did feel the effects of being depressed.
Jul. 10, 2019 Joely Richardson helped save a man's life: I found this in the Edmonton Journal and I looked it up:
Joely Richardson said she helped save a man’s life while filming her new series “The Rook” on the River Thames.
The daughter of veteran actress Vanessa Redgrave and sister of late star Natasha Richardson appeared on UK’s “This Morning,” where she made the startling revelation.
“We were filming the entrance and then there was a huge splash and a guy jumped off the bridge,” said the 54-year-old, as reported by UK’s Daily Mail. “And because of our security guys we managed to get him out, but the most terrifying thing is how far he floated down the river.”Richardson appears in the Starz sci-fi series alongside Emma Greenwell and Olivia Munn. “The Rook,” which is based on the namesake novel by Daniel O’Malley, was originally adapted by Stephanie Meyer of “Twilight” fame. It centers on a young woman (Greenwell) pursued by paranormal adversaries while grappling with shocking abilities of her own.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/joely-richardson-the-rook
Jul. 12, 2019 "The helping, hustling priestly happy with his body of work": Today I found this article by Raju Mudhar in the Star Metro:
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