by Nancy Paspati
Services
All of us from time to time face various difficulties in our daily lives and experience negative thoughts and feelings such as anxiety, fear, sadness, etc. These feelings are completely normal and we must accept them and treat them as such. But when the intensity, frequency and duration begin to increase so that our daily functioning is disrupted and we feel that our usual strategies and mental reserves are not sufficient, then it is a good opportunity to seek the help of a mental health specialist.
Indicative of some difficulties that can be the trigger for personal therapy are:
◗ inner need for self-knowledge and self-improvement
◗ managing transition and/or traumatic experiences
◗ feelings of loneliness, anxiety, failure, anger, etc.
◗ difficulties in expressing emotions
◗ panic attacks
◗ eating disorders, sleep disorders
◗ low self-confidence, identity crisis
◗ communication difficulties in social, personal or work relationships
◗ psychosomatic symptoms
In any case, seeking help when things get tough is a sign of strength, good self-awareness, and self-care. After all, if we don't help ourselves, who will?
It is a really difficult time when the teenager struggles to manage their transition from childhood to adulthood, resulting in them not being functional in their daily life. This usually disorganizes parents and leads them to feel helpless to help their child. Teenagers may share what they think and feel with their parents, but they may also shut them out and withdraw into themselves. In many cases it is better to give space to the teenager to communicate all that they are experiencing with a specialist and for the parents to be close to them in a supportive role, showing understanding, without pushing them more than they can bear.
Indicative reasons that can be the trigger for a teenager to start psychotherapy:
◗ feelings of loneliness, anxiety, failure, anger, etc.
◗ low self-esteem, low self-confidence
◗ identity search
◗ eating disorders, sleep disorders
◗ no longer spending time with his/hers friends and/or family
◗ self-harming
◗ risky / delinquent behaviour
◗ managing transition and/or traumatic experiences
Parenting counselling is a service that is gaining ground year by year as it responds to the constant need of today's parents for more information and support on how to exercise their parental roles in order to raise children responsibly, happily and fully, but also to come one step closer to personal fulfillment.
Parenting counselling takes place either with both parents or with one parent only and aims to help resolve a parenting issue.
Indicative of some reasons that may be the trigger to start parent counseling:
◗ Setting boundaries
◗ Sibling rivalry or conflict
◗ Grief
◗ Family Communication problems
◗ Child sexuality
◗ How to talk about crisis in children
◗ Fears
◗ School refusal etc.
Couples therapy is an honest "meeting" of the two partners in an effort to reposition their relationship and find a new, healthier balance.
Indicative of some reasons that can be the trigger for a couple to start therapy:
◗ Frequent conflicts
◗ Divorce
◗ Infidelity
◗ Infertility
◗ Birth of a new child
◗ Parenting issues
The goal is:
◗ learning new communication techniques and skills
◗ training in active listening, focusing on emotions and the essence of what is being said
◗ understanding each partner's personal life story, with their experiences and how the potential of each one's "paternal family" affects the couple's relationship
◗ the free expression of the deepest personal needs, thoughts, desires and feelings
◗ the awareness of current problems, but also of non-verbalized interpersonal conflicts
The perspective of a shared perspective of the relationship aims firstly at the mutual respect of the two partners and secondly at their movement into new roles and change.
The family is a system whose members interact continuously so that the behaviour of one influences and shapes the behaviour of the other in a cyclical way.
Often the family may be faced with a change, crisis or transition, which may lead to a destabilization resulting in one of its members, usually one of the children, becoming symptomatic.
Therefore, family therapy, with all family members present, is the most powerful weapon in the therapist's quiver, in order to relieve the suffering member but also to bring out those family dynamics that lead to dysfunctional behavioural patterns, with the ultimate goal of moving towards the differentiation of family members and their free and satisfactory co-existence.
Indicative of some reasons that may be the trigger for a family to start therapy:
◗ Difficulty in communicating or expressing emotions
◗ Conflicts between siblings
◗ Differing parental views on child rearing
◗ Marital problems
◗ Development of a functional and healthy relationship after divorce
◗ Adjusting to a major change
◗ Coping with a chronic illness or death in the family