Health Plus Psychology FAQ's
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What do Psychologists do?
Common problems such as workplace stress, family and relationship
matters, or coping with illness, can seriously affect your quality
of life and relationship with others. In such circumstances it is
important that you do not neglect your mental, emotional and physical
health. Psychologists will assist you by providing you with the skills
necessary to function more effectively in your life and to prevent
ill health and other problems from developing. Psychologists are
generally in the business of assisting mentally healthy people find
ways of functioning better. While they are often only thought of
as providing therapies for people with mental health problems, psychologists
do provide a great deal of help in many other areas. They teach life
skills to assist people increase their self-esteem, better cope with
stress and life’s challenges
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What are the Psychologists qualifications?
Psychologists undergo a minimum of 4 years of university studies
followed by 2 years of professional supervision before they can be
fully registered by the NSW Psychology Registration Board and
allowed to practice in NSW. Psychologists are qualified professionals
with training in human behaviour. They have studied the brain, memory,
learning, human development and the ways people feel, behave and
act.
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What is the difference between a Psychologist and a Psychiatrist?
Psychiatrists are medical practitioners specialising in the treatment
of mental illness. They may prescribe drugs as part of the treatment.
Psychologists are professionals trained in human behaviour. They
explore and develop drug-free strategies and techniques for dealing
with issues. They do not prescribe drugs. Therefore, Psychologists
and Psychiatrists provide different services, although in many cases,
they can work together for the mutual benefit of the client.
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How can Psychologists help?
Psychologists apply their expertise, using valid, reliable and scientifically
based methods, to a broad range of issues and clients including children,
adults, couples, families, organizations and communities. They can
offer a range of supportive therapies to assist you.Psychologists
can help you deal with a variety of issues, for example:
- Stress management
- Self esteem & confidence
- Anger management
- Personal growth
- Attentional problems (ADD/ADHD)
- Learning difficulties
- Behaviour management problems
- Rehabilitation & Pain Management
- Fears and phobias
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Depression
- Marital, family and relationships
- Traumatic experience
- Sexual abuse
- Drug and alcohol addictions
- Sleeping difficulties
- Biofeedback
- Peak performance
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What Happens when you see a Psychologist?
You can talk about your situation with the Psychologist and explore
the issues that are affecting you and causing stress, your relationships
and how you are coping with these issues. You should allow at least
an hour for an interview. There is no set number of interviews – you
can arrange other appointments according to your needs. It’s
entirely up to you. Typically, clients may expect to need only four
to ten sessions with a Psychologist, because of the effectiveness
of short-term treatment procedures. Occasionally a single session
will be sufficient to provide people with appropriate and useful
information. However, some may need long-term support and treatment.
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What therapeutic approaches do psychologists at Health plus
Chiropractic use?
Psycholpgists at Health plus Chiropractic use a variety of therapeutic
interventions including
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
- Eye Movement Desentisazation & Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
- CardioRespiratory Feedback Training (Breath training)
- Biofeedback
- Neurofeedback (Brain wave training)
Neuro- or EEG Biofeedback is a new rapidly growing technique
for the enhancement of brain functioning. It is based on 30 plus
years of scientific research initiated by Professor Sterman at UCLA
School of Medicine. Neurofeedback is a type of operant conditioning
or learning strategy that enables individuals to regulate their own
brain waves, and change their behaviours. It is similar to exercise
for the brain. Who can benefit from Neurofeedback (EEG Biofeedback)?
People who have benefited greatly include those suffering the effects
of the following,
- ADD/ADHD
- Conduct Disorders
- Migraine
- Epilepsy
- Depression
- Emotional Trauma & PTSD
- Head Injury & Stroke
- Anxiety & Panic Disorders
- Chronic Fatigue
- Sleep Disorders
- Memory Dysfunctions
- Hormonal Imbalance & PMS
- Chronic Pain
- Bipolar disorders
More recently, it has been found that normal functioning brains also
benefit from this therapy. Thus, the training has been extended to
include athletes, musicians, executives and people seeking Mental
Fitness or Peak performance.
Training begins after an initial assessment. Sessions last about
1 hour and are conducted from one to three times per week. Training
is painless and non-invasive: nothing penetrates the skin. Sensors
are placed on the scalp and on the ear. Brainwaves are monitored
by means of an amplifier and a computer-based instrument processes
the signal and provides the feedback. This feedback is provided to
the trainee: visually, via a video game, auditorily and/or kinesthetically.
As activity in a desirable frequency band increases, the trainee
is rewarded: the video game moves faster. As activity in an adverse
band increases, the progress in the video game is inhibited. Gradually
the brain responds to the cues that it is being given, and “learning” of
new brainwave patterns takes place. The new pattern is one which
is closer to what is normally observed in individuals without such
disabilities. Thus, with practice the person learns to gain control
over their physical and mental state of health. What are the results?
In the case of ADHD, impulsivity, distractibility, and hyperactivity
may all respond to the training which leads to more successful school
performance. Cognitive functioning may also improve. In controlled
studies, increases of 10-19 points in IQ score were found for a representative
group of ADHD children. Behaviour (temper tantrums, belligerence,
violent & cruel aspects) and mood also improve. In the case of
depression, there can be a gradual recovery of “affect”,
or emotional responsiveness and a reduction of effort fatigue. In
the case of anxiety and panic attacks, there is a gradual improvement
in “regulation”, with a reduction in frequency and severity
of anxiety episodes and panic attacks until the condition normalises.
In the case of epilepsy, a reduction in severity and incidence of
seizures is observed. Furthermore, dosage of anticonvulsant medication
may be reduced and in some cases stopped. Side effects of such medication
may diminish. Why does this training work? The measurement of the
electrical activity of the brain is called electroencephalogram
or EEG. From this EEG the therapist can get an insight on how
the brain is functioning. The brain is amazingly adaptable and capable
of learning. Furthermore, it has the capability to regulate itself.
Hence it can also learn to improve its own performance, when given
information about what to change. Using EEG Biofeedback we make information
available to the brain about how it is functioning, and ask it to
make appropriate adjustments. This is done by rewarding the person
whenever the desired EEG pattern is produced by the brain. Using
this real time information generated by the computer, the brain learns
to self-regulate and maintain the desired mental state (eg, attentive,
calm, relaxed). This process is similar to learning any other skill,
such as driving a car or riding a bicycle.
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How long does training normally take?
EEG training is a learning process, and therefore results are seen
gradually over time. For most conditions, initial progress can be
seen within about ten sessions. Initial training goals may be met
by twenty sessions, at which time a re-assessment is conducted. For
ADHD, training is expected to take between twenty and forty sessions,
more in severe cases. To put this in perspective, in NSW the RTA
recommends that a person should have fifty training sessions before
that person is tested to obtain a driver’s licence.
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How frequent should the training sessions be?
In the initial stages of learning, the sessions should be regular
and frequent, two to three or even more sessions per week. After
learning begins to consolidate, the pace can be reduced. What can
I tell my doctor? Your doctor may not be familiar with this specific
type of biofeedback and probably will maintain a healthy scepticism
about any new approach claiming numerous benefits. Asking him/her
to examine the recent research on the effectiveness of EEG Biofeedback
in treating various disorders such as ADHD and epilepsy is a good
place to start. |
