Clear Thinking Out Loud

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Easy Psychotherapy Techniques That Make Your Difficult Client More Receptive. Why do some clients seem difficult? It can be because they’re conditioned to respond negatively to their situation and simply can’t engage in a positive or solution-focused approach. The technique of  ‘priming’ – the art of getting clients ready for change and optimistic goal setting – can get them on the right track and engaging with therapy. In this episode I talk about: How to prime clients psychologically by talking about universal examples of the response they want to have. Ways to steer the conversation towards topics they feel resourceful about. How to pepper your language with positive words and why this can help. Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article How to Help Your Client Beat ‘Learned Helplessness’. Feeling helpless when you’re not is often a central psychological aspect of depression. Here are some ways you can go about helping your client be more confident in the amount of control they can exert over their situation. In this episode I talk about: How to use metaphor to alleviate learned helplessness Why you should draw out the differences How to encourage active problem solving in your client Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Hypnotherapy Techniques That Help Your Clients Let Go of the Past. Amnesia is a natural process, we forget things all the time and never recall them again. But when a memory gets ‘stuck’ and doesn’t age, a client may need a little help allowing it to fade into the background. Hypnotic amnesia is a simple process of using the natural forgetting process to give a client more distance on a memory. In this episode I talk about: Casebook example: “I just can’t get my ex-boyfriend out of my head!” How to prime the mind with examples of natural amnesia Invite contemplation of what it will be like not to notice [X] so much Why completely changing the subject induces amnesia. Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article Working with Resistant Clients: 3 Tried and Tested Tips. Every therapist, counsellor, psychologist and psychiatrist has experienced how it feels to be at loggerheads with a client. The idea of ‘resistance’ is deeply embedded in psychotherapy, but how you approach a recalcitrant client can greatly effect how they respond to you and your suggestions. In this episode I talk about: The concept of therapeutic martial arts How to avoid taking it personally Remember to see what’s behind resistance How to use the resistance to your (and your client’s) therapeutic advantage Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Ways To Spot Trauma In Your Clients. As a therapist, counsellor or psychologist, once you learn about PTSD and how it manifests, it can be easy to see trauma everywhere. But out of every 100 people who experience a traumatic event, only 20-25 will go on to develop symptoms of PTSD. But it’s not too difficult to tell whether a client is traumatized or not. In this episode I talk about: The incredible shrinking memory Trance – the double edged sword Test 1: Can they actually talk about it? Test 2: Does it still feel recent? Test 3: Do even nebulous ‘reminders’ set off flashbacks? Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below: References/Notes: Wilson, J.P and Keane, T.M (1997) Assessing Psychological Trauma and PTSD. The Guilford Press. Yard, S.S., DuHamel, K.N., Galynker, I.I. (2008) Hypnotizability as a potential risk factor for posttraumatic stress: a review of quantitative studies. The International Journal of Clinical and Expe

This podcast is the narrated version of my article Why Telling People How Wonderful They Are Isn’t Always A Good Idea. The habit of praising people has got out of hand in recent decades and little attention has been paid to its unintended side-effects. There is a way to praise children that will encourage them and increase their self belief, and a way that is more likely to inhibit them and cause anxiety. The self esteem movement has not tended to distinguish between the two. In this episode I talk about: Praise and self esteem The unintended consequences of excessive praise The dangers of exceptionalism Counterproductive results from poorly directed praise How positive labels can do as much damage as negative ones How to handle praise elegantly Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below: References/Notes: Can the promise of reward increase creativity? Eisenberger, Robert; Armeli, Stephen; Pretz, Jean. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 74(3), Mar 1998, 704-714. The Perils an

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Healing Ways To Help A Client Manage Their Toxic Mother. Toxic people can severely disrupt the quality of a client’s life if not dealt with properly. Handling toxic people can be difficult, so a good therapist needs to show their clients how to go about it. In this episode I talk about: The toxic fallout from Mommie Dearest Feeding the mouth that bites you Abuse from the narcissist You can only get what there is to get How to plan a ‘detox’ How to deal with the fears behind it Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below: References/Notes: An Ohio State University study found that people were more likely to vote in the 2004 presidential election after visualizing themselves voting from the perspective of an outside observer. The study found that 90 per cent of those who had visualized themselves from an outsider’s perspective reported voting, while only 72 per cent of those who imagined voting from a first-person perspecti

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Reframing Techniques to Improve Your Therapeutic Success Rate. In this episode I talk about: Why all effective therapy involves reframing Why I don’t argue, and what I do instead Why I think it’s essential to remember that reframes are more than just ‘cognitive’ How I open the ‘attention gates’ before delivering a reframe and why this helps Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Techniques For Treating Jealousy. A jealous person can make life miserable not only for their partner, but for themselves. In this episode I talk about: So just what is jealousy, exactly? Why, in this case, it’s a good idea to ‘explore the past’ How to help your client separate past from present How to encourage the ‘good’ use of the imagination Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article “My Client Won’t Talk!”. In this episode I talk about: How to get the ‘clammed-up’ client to start opening up Technique one: Why to ask open ended questions – then answer them yourself Technique two: The value of using a little misrepresentation (getting it ‘wrong’ on purpose) Technique three: Get the unconscious mind talking Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article How To End Therapy With Your Clients. In this episode I talk about: Why terminating therapy isn’t about throwing clients out. It’s about setting clear guidelines and helping them be emotionally ready for it. Why it’s essential to ensure clients’ emotional needs are met outside of the therapy room. How and why to draw their attention back to their original therapy goals. The essential step of making it clear from the start that therapy will be finite. Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below: References/Notes: Diagnosis, Vol. 2 Treatment Aspect. United States Public Health Service Agency.

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 4 Great Therapy Techniques For Treating OCD. In this episode I talk about: How OCD can be seen as an attempt to stave off anxiety Why I use the Rewind Technique and why detraumatisation helps OCD Why it’s important to separate OCD from core identity How to interrupt the patterns that drive OCD How to use therapeutic hypnosis to fight the ‘hypnosis of OCD’ Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below: References/Notes: Andrew Luescher, director of Purdue’s Animal Behavior Clinic and one of about 30 board certified animal behaviourists in the USA, estimates that 2 percent of the dog population has canine compulsive disorder. Dogs with the condition often display compulsive behaviours such as tail chasing, snapping the air, licking excessively, chewing with an empty mouth and barking monotonously without any change in volume or intonation.

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 5 Tips for Treating Inferiority Complex. In this episode I talk about: What it means to never feeling good enough The anatomy of the inferiority complex How our World helps us feel inadequate The danger of peeking at the lives of others Dealing with emotional memories that support inferiority complex Dropping the mime in life Getting specific about the problem and goals Daring to be different, to be you Watching out for hidden Utopian assumptions Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below: References/Notes: http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2015/september/headline_419871_en.htm http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.2006.9.584

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Techniques for Good Grief Counselling. A bereaved client may be feeling they can’t have any meaningful existence without their deceased loved one. Our job as therapists, counsellors and psychologists is to help reduce the impact their grief is having on them so they can begin to participate in life again. In this episode I talk about: Why it’s important to let them talk about the deceased How to distinguish grief from trauma and what to do about trauma Helping the client deal with guilt and organize their grief so it isn’t so all-encompassing Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Scaling Questions From Solution Focused Therapy. Sometimes we need to help our clients find the shades of grey so they can build on the more subtle improvements in their situation. In this episode I talk about: Why is it that scaling is effective, and when to use it Phrasing scaling questions: “So on a scale of 1 to 10…?” Asking questions that precipitate change How to extend your questions about numbers into real life Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 10 Therapy Questions to Get to the Root of the Problem. The idea here is that before assuming something’s seriously wrong with our client, we should assess they are meeting the Primal Human Needs we all share. When we find what needs aren’t being met properly, that can guide us in our therapeutic strategy. In this episode I talk about: To function well, certain basic needs have to be met, and there are other needs than just the obvious ones How to check your clients’ fuel levels, and what to do if they’re low Why ‘small talk’ can yield big discoveries and what to do with those Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below:

This podcast is the narrated version of my article 3 Instantly Calming CBT Techniques For Anxiety. When treating less severe anxiety conditions, CBT techniques can be useful when used with approaches that work directly to calm the emotions. These are 3 simple ways we can help the client take back control. In this episode I talk about: The shaky theory of changing thoughts to change feelings CBT technique 1: Focus on how the feelings will change CBT technique 2: Chew it over and act normal CBT technique 3: Catch the underlying assumption and chase down logical conclusions Or watch this episode of the podcast on video below: References/Notes: http://www.busmanagement.com/issue-16/what-was-i-thinking-handling-the-hijack/ http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6790306&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fxpls%2Fabs_all.jsp%3Farnumber%3D6790306