ANU GUIDANCE & COUNSELING SERVICES

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Offering EMDR Therapy in addition
to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy...

· Find Freedom Over Traumatic Experiences

· Release Trauma Symptoms from the Body and Mind

· Begin Recovery of Addiction/Substance Dependence

Enhance Well-Being, Motivation, and Goal Attainment

  Areas we assist in:

· Anxiety

· Depression/Loss

· Relationships

· Self-Esteem

· Anger

· Chronic Pain

· Stress

 

ANXIETY…

· “I worry and worry about things that later seem unimportant.”

· “I go to sleep but my mind won’t shut off.”

· “I was in a grocery store when suddenly I felt terrified. My heart was racing and I bolted from the store. I have never returned.”

· “I’ve been washing my hand obsessively. I know its silly but I can’t stop myself.”

Anxiety and fear are normal emotions. They evolved to enable us to respond to danger in our environment. They are part of the fight/flight mechanism and are mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. When anxiety and fear are aroused, energy is released in order for us to respond quickly; in moderation, this helps us survive and to escape threatening situations. However, if our response is out of proportion to the threat, these emotions can interfere with normal functioning and can dramatically affect the quality of our lives.

 

DEPRESSION / LOSS…

· “I feel that something is missing. Nothing is wrong. Why does everything feel blah?”

· “Ever since my partner died nothing seems worthwhile.

· “I wake at 3 AM and can’t get back to sleep”

· “I sit around and watch television all day. I don’t feel like doing anything.”

· “I cry at the drop of a hat.”

It is normal to feel sad when unfortunate things happen. However, when the sadness persists and interferes with your sense of happiness, psychotherapy may prove helpful. People who suffer from depression report a loss of motivation for things that previously gave them joy; are easily overwhelmed; feel hopeless or helpless; and, find themselves withdrawing from others. They tend to blame themselves for their illness or figure they should ‘just get over it.”

Depression treatment need not take years of psychotherapy. You can begin to feel better – and more hopeful – often within a few sessions. Coming out of the depression will however take longer. Nonetheless, it’s my experience that with treatment many folks feel better than they felt before their depression hit.

 

RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS…

· “I love my partner but I’m just not happy.”

· “My partner calls me controlling.”

· “We are dealing with the aftermath of an affair. I don’t know if we’ll make it.”

· “Can my relationship improve if my partner refuses to come to therapy?”

 

These are the kinds of concerns that clients bring to therapy. For most of us, our relationships are the primary source of love, joy and warmth. But although our similarities often draw us together; it is our differences that keep us there. Some of the goals that clients seek to achieve are:

· To create a safe haven so differences can be discussed without confrontation.

· To separate sufficiently from one’s family of origin in order to invest fully in the partnership.

· To create togetherness based on mutual respect for each other’s separateness and uniqueness.

· To establish a rich and pleasurable sex life.

To juggle the demands of parenthood without undermining the stability of the relationship.

 

ANGER…

· “I don’t want to admit that I said those things. I know I have hurt her.”

· “When I get upset, my anger has a mind of its own. I can’t control it.”

· “I feel she is somewhat to blame for the way I react. Others tell me I am responsible for my own behaviour. I don’t understand.”

· “I’m fine for a while but then it starts building.”

The fight/flight response to threat is important to our understanding of unregulated anger. When your nervous system is dysregulated from thwarted fight, anger can seethe just below the surface. As the activation builds in your system the last thing, even a small event, can be triggering. Learning to regulate your level of arousal provides stability and a greater means of control. With the resolution of thwarted fight responses, the resiliency of the nervous system returns and energy is freed to enhance and further one’s life.

 

CHRONIC PAIN…

· “I’ve stopped telling my friends about my pain. Now I feel alone all the time.”

· “How can I get on with my life when this pain is with me everyday?”

Pain serves the purpose of keeping us from further injury however sometimes pain loses its purpose. Pain from an old injury that persists beyond the acute illness or when it would normally have healed is called chronic pain. This pain is real and physiologically based. Psychological treatments have proven useful for chronic pain. It has been hypothesized that chronic pain is maintained by the fight/flight mechanism that continually keeps the sympathetic nervous system in heightened arousal. Fibromyalgia and Reflex Sympathetic Dsystrophy are examples of sympathetically maintained chronic pain conditions.

 

SIGNS OF STRESS

· “Even small things stress me out these days.”

· “I can’t prioritize. I resolve it by working harder and finishing everything. But then, there’s little left for me.”

· “Some days my mind feels like mush.”

· “I’m exhausted all the time.”

It is normal to feel stressed when we face difficult events. When your nervous system is working well it will adjust and modulate to a point of rest when we remove ourselves from the stressor or when the event is over. When the resiliency of our nervous system is compromised however the activation stays hyper-aroused. At this time even small stressors are felt more severely. A regulated nervous system in contrast, allows you to react flexibly to stress and changes in your life. You are in control of how you want to respond.

 

POST TRAUMA…

· “My life hasn’t been the same since…”

· “I no longer feel safe.”

· “This has shaken my beliefs. I don’t know what I believe anymore.”

Severe stressors can have a dramatic impact on us physically, emotionally and physiologically. Symptom development occurs when these events overwhelm our ability to cope. These symptoms are characterized by avoidance behaviours, heightened arousal and re-experiencing of the trauma in the form of flashbacks or intrusive memories. Individuals can have extreme reactions to reminders of the traumatic event. Other symptoms include nightmares and sleep disturbances, depression and feelings of hopelessness, headaches, fatigue, memory problems, shock and anger.

 

SELF ESTEEM…

· “People think I’m easy-going but I put on a false front.”

· “It is difficult to think of my own needs when they conflict with the needs of others.”

· “I worry too much what others think of me.”

· “I’m considered successful, but I don’t feel accomplished.”

Low self-esteem profoundly impacts many areas of our lives, our thinking processes, our emotions, our desires and the choices we make. No one can give us self-esteem. The person who depends on others for approval risks further erosion of an already shaky sense of self.

 

A-NU  Counseling Approach

Good therapy identifies problems that are interfering with daily living. It could be anxiety, depression, or even a fear of flying. Once you learn from your therapist how to cope - often through well-defined techniques - you feel "good to go". You have no real interest in any further exploration of yourself.—In effect, therapy means "good enough for now". With better therapy, you eliminate major signs of anxiety, depression, and phobias, not just resign yourself to controlling and managing symptoms.

 

The therapeutic relationship is the means for making this kind of significant change. Within a secure, attuned relationship you learn how to weather the storm of your own fears. Yet, there is no true awakening to greater possibilities. A world without "but's" is still beyond comprehension.

 

 

Great therapy is transformative and your therapist is a key change agent for your own transformation. His or her capacity for feeling alive and curious about personal growth enhances your possibilities for becoming all you can be. You see, you can only go as far as your therapist has gone.

 

Fundamental and long-lasting change requires changing the brain and it takes a powerful experience for this to happen. Transformation emerges through the relationship with your therapist. You literally change "from the inside out". You feel different and you behave differently because you are different!

 

· A-NU Counselling Services psychologists and counsellors believe in the importance of a good connection between the counsellor and the client. We feel a good fit makes the difference between results that are mediocre and relief that's long lasting.

 

· Because the effectiveness of our approach depends on establishing and maintaining a good connection with the client, all the psychologists and counselors at A-NU Counselling Services also believe in the importance of doing our own personal counselling.  We have a unique perspective in this regard. We feel our personal counselling not only enriches our lives but also enhances our ability to be open, resourceful and empathic with our clients. In other words, we know what it’s like to be in the other chair!

 

Helping individuals develop their various potentialities and thereby achieve an optimal level of personal happiness and social usefulness.

Guidance and Counseling is oriented to helping people understand themselves, become self-sufficient in making realistic and positive choices and grow in human relationships and concerns.

God in Every Child

A group for young men and women aged 12-18 that is aimed at addressing relational aggression between girls while building confidence, self worth and positive self identity!

 

 

 

Hard to Cope ? Feeling lost? Need Help ? A -NU Counselling Services can help!

All cases are Confidential  !  

 

Call us at (246)- 420-4788 or 243-0126 9 mobile)