Death of William Glasser – Master Therapist

Posted on December 3, 2013 by cathy

Dr William Glasser passed away peacefully in August this year.  The reality therapy he developed has been very helpful for many of my clients as it is focused on the present.  The BPS Psychologist Magazine Vol 26 No. 12 (page 850) describe his therapy very well when they state that the therapy is “based on his contention that a vast array of mental health disorders, behavioural problems was caused or exacerbated by the person’s continued failure and sustained frustration in being unable to meet their essential and innate human needs, and particularly the needs of love and belonging and self-worth”.

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Arbitration 1527

Posted on October 24, 2013 by cathy

There is a very good exhibition in City Hall at the moment called “The Story of the Capital”.  As a mediator, it was interesting to read about an arbitration which occurred in 1527 concerning, among other things, the ordering of the water from the Dodder coming into the city. This is covered in a book called History of the City of Dublin: From the Earliest Accounts Vol. 1 By John Warburton, James Whitelaw, Robert Walsh.

I am sure a lot of people think Mediation\Arbitration is a recent occurrence, when in fact it has a very long history

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Counselling Children and Adolescents

Posted on July 22, 2013 by cathy

“When we love children, we spend time admiring them and caring for them.  We give them our time.  Good discipline requires time.” M. Scott Peck – page 12 The Road Less Travelled  (2006)  All of us parents of adult children know how quickly they grow up, and the time spent with them when they are young will pay dividends when they are adolescents.  If extended family members are aware that a child’s parents are not spending time them with them, for whatever reason, it is good if they can do so.  As a counsellor working with children and adolescents, it is great to hear about extended family members making time for them, trying to guide them and meeting their love and belonging need.

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Culturally appropriate therapeutic interventions

Posted on June 29, 2013 by cathy

When a person is worried, or anxious, about a problem they may turn to counselling in order to talk about their problem in a safe, supportive, non-judgemental and confidential environment.  There are a range of counselling models available.  What I find most helpful with clients is Carl Rogers’ Personal Centred Counselling (PCC) model, showing unconditional positive regard, congruence, empathy and being non-judgemental, with its main belief that the client has an innate ability to know what is best for them. Using this model a person may discover their strengths, move toward finding their own answers.

 

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Coparenting conflict, non-acceptance and depression among divorced adults

Posted on June 4, 2013 by cathy

It was interested to read in this article by Sbarra et al (2005) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2964496/

that “compared with parents who litigated their custody disputes, participants who mediated their settlements reported significantly more feelings of longing for their ex-partner and feeling like the separation was a mistake at the 12-year follow-up.” The authors give various reasons for this.  One is the role of mediation in fostering good relationships between the couple, and the fact that mediation enables couples to work together, and as a result they may wonder why they ever separated.  On the other hand, they suggest that litigation results in such bad feelings between the couple that they are more able to accept the separation.

If there are no children it is easy for both parties to “airbrush” one another out of their lives, but when there are children, it is important that they can remain on good terms as there are so many occasions they will be meeting up, such as Christenings, weddings and funerals.

 

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Counselling for People with Dementia and their Carers

Posted on May 21, 2013 by cathy

Although many people with dementia are not given the opportunity to receive professional counselling, the person-centred counselling approach has been found to enable them to make sense of their lives.

It is very difficult for a spouse when their loved one with dementia does not recognise them, and yet can remember the name of a neighbour.  A recent study called “The experiences of therapy from the perspectives of carers of people with dementia: An exploratory study“by R Elvish, R Cawley, J Keady – Counselling and Psychotherapy …, 2013 – Taylor & Francis looked at counselling for carers.    This study found that attending counselling and/or psychotherapy helped the carer to find a ‘safe space’ to disclose and share concerns

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Mediation for Family Conflicts – Carers

Posted on February 3, 2013 by cathy

When people think of family dispute mediation, they may assume it is only refers to disputes between separating couples, involving maintenance, child access etc.   Some people are surprised that mediation can also be used to resolve disputes around caring for a family member.    The following website gives advice for carers about family conflict and also suggests counselling if caring is causing mental and physical stress.

http://www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/yourself/relationships/Pages/Dealing-with-conflict.aspx

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LOW COST CBT COUNSELLING FOR DEPRESSION

Posted on October 25, 2012 by cathy

It is estimated that in Ireland 200,000 people suffer from depression and in the UK  about 2.6% of adults suffer from depression and 11.4% suffer from a mixture of anxiety and depression. Talk therapy such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can be very helpful as it gives the person skills to handle their depression.

 

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Kate Drew McGann Low Cost Counselling & Psychotherapy

Posted on October 11, 2012 by cathy

Kate Drew McGann Counselling and Psychotherapy offers a low cost counselling service for Carers. Carers have reported that they found counselling very helpful.

Kate has found that Carers often neglect their own health and stop caring for themselves when they are caring for their loved ones.

 When a person has dementia, it may be difficult for neighbours, friends and extended family to remain in contact, as they may not know how to communicate.  Bupa UK have issued a booklet\toolkit which contains great tips on how to communicate with a person with dementia.    Bupa-Dementia-Care-Talking-Toolkit

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Resolve Family Fights through Mediation

Posted on June 26, 2012 by cathy

Drew McGann Mediation have found that Disputes between members of a family not only affect the members of the family involved, but also other family members who may feel they have to take sides.  It can lead to family members not attending weddings,  family celebrations, or even funerals.  Drew McGann Mediation have found that mediation is very helpful in allowing family members to work constructively to heal a family feud.

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