Adult Bullying – The Bully’s Strategies

Posted by: Jonathan Delisle on July 9, 2015 8:00 am

Ever wonder why bullies get away with what they do to others? Sometimes they walk away with little or no consequences for their abuse. For those of us who have been on the receiving end of the abuse, how many times have we racked our brains to figure out how we let the abuse happen? The following points are taken once more from Mrs. Hirigoyen’s book, though the author doesn’t lay them out this way explicitly.

Bullying has three essential steps that overlap. Even though they overlap, there’s a progressive emphasis on each of these.

Seduction: This is the first step to get a hold on his victim. The violence hides behind flattery and intimidation. At the onset, its manifestation is passive-aggressive: sarcasm, non-verbal cues, manipulation, ambiguity, lies, etc. The victim comes to question whether the tension or conflict he perceives with the not-yet-obvious abuser is his fault, whether it’s in his imagination, or whether there really is underlying violence in the other’s actions or words.

Paralysis: The bully will do everything to cut-off his prey from any kind of support that could help break his hold (isolation). The observers to the acts of aggression will likely choose to walk away and turn a blind eye to those acts so as not to draw the hostility towards them. Unfortunately, the cowardice can easily be interpreted by both victim and bully as agreement with the abuse. Thus the victim begins to feel isolated and cornered.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Yoga as a Form of Trauma Therapy

Posted by: Andrea Cashman on July 8, 2015 4:00 pm

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There are many trauma therapies that focus on the body such as sensorimotor therapy and EMDR. Exercise itself is a healing modality for depression, anxiety, stress and especially trauma. Many therapists may turn towards CBT or exposure therapy or another form of psychotherapy, forgetting that the body may be a source of healing. I specifically want to talk about the effects of yoga on trauma as this is a great trauma tool to encourage clients to engage in. Yoga therapy has been understudied; however, has been shown to be an effective adjunct treatment for psychiatric disorders (Cabral et al.,)

Trauma and its effects on the body cause disregulation. In PTSD, the fight or flight system is broken causing prolonged symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal. Hyperarousal symptoms are the main embodiment of the physical symptoms within the body of a PTSD client. Clients may feel easily startled, hold tension within their bodies and have difficulty sleeping and exhibit angry outbursts (nimh.com). The body will hold onto that tension and not be able to regulate back to a calm state compared to someone who does not have PTSD.

Yoga has many physical benefits, one of which is retraining the body to be calm. The National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines mind-body interventions as “a variety of techniques designed to enhance the mind’s capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms.”Yoga practice enhances the connection between the mind and body, and it is used as a therapeutic intervention in a variety of diseases. The mechanisms that allow for the potential therapeutic effects of yoga involve the autonomic nervous system, especially a reduction in sympathetic tone, as well as activation of antagonistic neuromuscular systems and stimulation of the limbic system (Cabral et al.,)

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Critical Thinking: A Key Career and Life Skill

Posted by: Denise Hall on July 8, 2015 2:00 pm

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Have you ever said to yourself “What was I thinking?” You realize that you ignored all the red flags at the beginning when you went for the job interview and took the job or you have somehow forgotten that you have tried that route before and now you are here in a similar setting that did not work before. We sometimes do not do the analysis before we agree to a situation or have come to some faulty assumptions that we wonder how we could be so confused and make a poor decision.

Faulty thinking is one of hazards that we, in our humanness are prone, to. What I am meaning is that simply going by our intuition can send us down the wrong track. An article titled the “Pitfalls of Doing What Comes Naturally” by Diane Cole (2011) in the Psychotherapy Networker provides a counter to the “extraordinary influence wielded by the intuitive mind” in current thinking (p. 1). The author references Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell as a popular work that suggests the decision making power of the intuition is stronger than rational and logical reasoning.

Cole (2011) suggests that the cognitive research cited in The Invisible Gorilla by Chabri and Simons (2010) and On Second Thought by Herbert (2010) provide counter arguments to the “overly positive” view of using intuition as a guide. Their take on cognitive psychology is that our intuition is sometimes helpful and sometimes not. What we remember intuitively largely from our unconscious is influenced by heuristics, “hard-wired mental –shortcuts and cognitive “rules of thumb” that we use in our daily decision-making. The study of heuristics is on the forefront of cognitive research today.

Coasting along on autopilot making decisions, the authors suggest, can cause serious errors in judgment. In this case the information we remember and use for our decision-making sometimes can be considered a “heuristic distortion”. The article suggests that because our mind simplifies and categorizes information it produces these distortions. The premise of the article is that this sometimes erroneous automatic process must be over-ridden by more conscious processes. We need to “tune-in and decipher our brain chatter” (p. 2). What we remember and attend to gets simplified and categorized into schemas or mental maps and they need to be reprogrammed according to the author. Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Let Me Do My Job and I Will Let You Do Yours

Posted by: Jennifer Morrison on July 8, 2015 12:00 pm

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They are there, all around us, colleagues who do not believe in your profession or your methods of delivery. They have that “get over it and move on” mentality, or “you are too young to have problems” thought process and even “school is for learning not your problems” mindset. In education we see it all the time. Staff who feel they are there to TEACH and students are there to LEARN and nothing should get in the way. Emotional problems need to be left home and not taken into the classroom, as if emotions were something you can turn on and off like a water tap. I think a lot of us have experienced this type of person at some point.

So, what do we do about it? How do we explain the importance of our job and how do we go about explaining how and why life situations effect our everyday functioning? From one day to the next I could have a variety of students stop by just to let something off their chest. A relative is sick, a parent lost a job, friendships fall apart, relationships end. Students are crying, panicking, worrying and getting angry and this is a normal part of life. Yes, I think sometimes they just need a place to go and talk for a few minutes, get some suggestions, vent a little. I also believe one’s ability to cope with life events will determine how they are able to handle situations, whether in or out of school. Either way, we all need to be there in a supportive manner.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Ready, Set, Launch!

Posted by: CC PA on June 19, 2015 10:26 am

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To celebrate CCPA’s 50th Anniversary as a National Association, we are proud to announce that we have launched a brand new website! www.ccpa-accp.ca has a fresh new design, a more organized layout, and a sleek sophisticated feel.

All of the same information will still be readily available:

– Are you thinking about becoming a CCPA member?

– Are you interested in applying for our Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) designation? Download our certification requirements & procedures manual

– Access a list of all of our available forms including (but not limited to):

Proof of Student Status
Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) application
Canadian Certified Counsellor – Supervisor (CCC-S) application
Continuing Education Credits (CEC) application
Awards Nomination
Publication Order

– Want to join a new chapter? View all of our interest based and regional based chapters

– Looking for advertisement options?

– Get the most up-to-date information regarding our Annual Conference

– Learn more about CCPA’s National Board of Directors and National Office staff

– Do you have general questions regarding membership, mention of membership, certification, regulation across Canada, continuing education, accreditation, or ethics? Visit our FAQ section!

– Do you have specific questions for one of our staff? Contact us directly!

We welcome your feedback, so please feel free to leave your comments below.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Employment Adventures for Unemployed Canadian Youth

Posted by: Mark Franklin on June 17, 2015 2:31 pm

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Benjamin Guth loves making a difference so when the rules for Canada’s temporary foreign worker program changed, Benjamin started MobilizeJobs.ca to put unemployed Canadian youth to work. He told Career Buzz listeners (May 27, 2015), “I get to send them on adventures. It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.”

How the clues apply to you: That podcast also featured the fascinating career story of engineer and successful startup co-founder Jon Fishbein, who shifted careers when he became “really bored” with one of his jobs. His question to himself can be your question to yourself: “Is this the contribution I want to be making?” And another question inspired by Ben Guth: “What is the most fun I can have at work?”

Download and enjoy learning from the whole podcast.

Launch — or relaunch — your career adventure or someone’s you care about by investing an exploratory consultation with one of our amazing team of career professionals.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

On Accessing Psychotherapy

Posted by: Trudi Wyatt on June 17, 2015 8:26 am

Open Minds is a recent Globe and Mail series exploring mental health in Canada. One topic is paying for psychotherapy, and one of the articles under this umbrella, “The case for publicly funded therapy”, by Erin Anderssen, is explored and reviewed in this post.

Ms. Anderssen’s case is built on two premises: that psychotherapy is an effective intervention for mental health issues — especially depression and anxiety; and, that because not everyone has the resources to pay for it, it should be paid for with tax dollars.

The first premise is obvious to me, though I admit my bias! As a Psychotherapist, I see on an almost daily basis how helpful this intervention can be. More broadly, as Ms. Anderssen points out, “Research has found that psychotherapy is as effective as medication – and in some cases works better,” “In randomly controlled trials, drugs often perform only marginally better than sugar pills”, and “we have 100 clinical trials [in support of talk therapy] and no one believes us”.

In building the second premise, Ms. Anderssen points out that not everyone is able to afford psychotherapy, or enough psychotherapy. She illustrates a range of scenarios: from people who can’t pay and are on public wait lists, to people with some but limited private insurance coverage, to people with ample coverage (including federal public servants, paid with tax payers’ money).

She also indicates where dollars (about $2-billion annually) are being spent on psychotherapy in Canada: About half are tax-collected dollars and go to physicians, including about $350-million to family physicians who may not be well-trained in psychotherapy, and about $650-million to psychiatrists who may maintain small practices that serve higher-functioning, higher-income patients, perhaps for years. Contrast this with Australia, Britain, and the United States, where publicly-funded psychiatrists serve more as consultants on severe cases (as other specialists do) than as psychotherapy providers.

The other $1-billion is spent by private insurance / workers’ compensation, and individuals directly (“out-of-pocket”). But despite $2-billion being spent ($272 per Canadian if one in five suffers from mental illness) (1,3), not everyone in need is receiving treatment.
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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Back To Basics: Using Distress Kits for Simple Self-Care

Posted by: Anna Coutts on June 16, 2015 12:34 pm

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Where’s your wellness toolbox? This was question that was recently posed to me while attending a Youth Engagement meeting. A few child and youth workers had created a smorgasbord of simple coping tools so the youth could create customized distress tolerance kits.

I was heartened to see my push for putting such kits into practice at our residential programs was paying off. It was inspiring to see both the work the staff put into preparing the event and the youth’s delight in making the kits.

Then one of the staff prompted the clinical team to start making our kits. The suggestion threw the team off-guard. Our kits? Everyone seemed a bit puzzled by the suggestion. And in that moment, I was reminded just how few of us practice what we preach.

Sure, we all have self-care strategies we use, whether it’s yoga or traveling or personal therapy. Yet due to our busy work days, we often dismiss using the simple yet solid strategies we recommend to our clients. This applies not just to therapists as individuals, but mental health organizations in general.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

How Do You Know You’re Awesome???

Posted by: Bhavna Verma on June 16, 2015 8:54 am

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When we know we’re on our “A” game, we totally feel awesome! When a client has their ‘lightbulb’ moment, due to our reframing- we feel awesome! When we advocate on a client’s behalf and they are granted their much deserved rights- we feel awesome! The list continues. But, the question is; what defines awesomeness? Jeff Boss wrote ’14 Signs You’re On The Path To Awesomeness’ for Forbes. I will focus on the areas that resonated with me, however, the link will be provided as well for you to review. The first one that I really gravitated towards was ‘When life curveballs are thrown at you, you take a swing’. For me, this indicates that you are not concerned with how you may be perceived in the eyes of others; you will take that swing no matter what! Which, in our field of work, this means trying new therapeutic approaches and becoming creative in style. The client may comment that the idea is silly, but without trying, you would never know if it worked! Another sign that I felt was important was ‘Top performers are willing to be wrong’. There is no weakness in accepting that you are wrong, so long as you are willing to learn and find out the correct answer. We’re not perfect, and we won’t have all the answers. So why not just let our clients know that we don’t know? Again, so long as we express that we will find out! The third and final sign of awesomeness that struck me was, ‘Top performers love uncertainty’. Why this particular sign resonated with me was because I am not a fortune teller. I can’t possibly know what concern or state of mind a client will walk into my office with. Therefore, why have a plan? By accepting that there are uncertainties, we are better therapists. Why? Because, again, no situation is perfect! And, personally, I enjoy the unknown. It keeps me on my toes and I welcome the challenge. There are 11 other signs of awesomeness that Jeff has on his list. Have a look, and see which resonates with you. These signs are great reminders for when we are feeling burnt out, tired, and fatigued. They remind us that we have the tools to not only support our clients, but also maintain our own self-care. If we have mini pep talks before each session, with a simple, “You are awesome”, the session will go extremely well.

Reference: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffboss/2014/07/26/14-signs-youre-on-the-path-to-awesomeness/

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Looking Inside My Cultural Fabric

Posted by: Priya Senroy on June 15, 2015 8:17 am

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I consider myself to be a global citizen…meaning plant me anywhere, I will assimilate and survive, I will grow my own roots, embrace the culture and thrive as a counsellor….I thought that all clients will seek my professional services and no one will discriminate me because of my accent, my skin color, my ethnicity , my age or how I dress myself in ethic wear…Well….on the contrary, I find myself targeted….by clients who want to come and see me only just because we look the same, we speak the same language and we know where we are coming from. It does not matter to them that I am not an expert in what they are looking for….it’s my accent that comforts them, that assures them that they will be heard and not be marginalized. It’s a sense of belonging which is creating therapeutic space, a therapeutic relationship and ultimately helping the clients to deal with their concerns. So many times I am hearing in a diverse work culture, that what matters is your competency but that’s not the case, it’s about the cultural competence, it’s the connection. Even I see when I burst into the common mother tongue and explain the confidentiality or complex process. It s such an interesting time in my head, when I have to think in English and translate the essence in another language. For me being culturally diverse in my practice is more than just understanding the commonality, it’s about conveying the appropriate message within the context – sometimes translating emotional languages and words which do not exist in my clients. It’s also about recognizing and embracing my own (and sometimes inviting clients) into my cultural diaspora to make that connection.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA