Richard Taylor |

Oct
05
2008

Use any of the following thoughts as a source of reflection. 

Posted by Richard Taylor in Reconnect. Comments

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Sep
27
2007

Starting today I am going to discuss and illustrate seven foundations for psychological health. You could regard each foundation as an area in which you have to acquire certain skills for coping with the demands of living and for coping with change. What are we trying to achieve? At a general level the objective is to expand your psychological world through building greater flexibility while creating more possibilities for yourself. To achieve this it might involve: building resistance to anxiety and depression; reducing stress; accepting your thoughts, emotions and feelings and being prepared to move on; enhancing your relationships; developing flexibility in your thinking, and working more productively and creatively. Skill One – values. Let us get right into this from the outset. Take a pen and paper and undertake the following assessment in two parts. Step One: Rate on a scale of 1-10 the importance of the following ten valued domains of living, but first take note that not everyone values all of these domains. Some areas may be more important to you than others and some domains or areas of living may be important in different ways and different times at different stages of your life. The 10 areas are: (1) family, other than parenting and intimate relations (2) marriage, partners, couples, intimate relations (3) parenting (4) friendship (5) work (6) education (7) recreation (8) spirituality (9) citizenship and community activities, and (10) physical self-care. Step two: On another page make an estimate, using the same 1-10 rating scale, of how consistently you have lived in accord with those values over the past week. This assessment hopefully puts your whole life back into perspective or helps you to see the ‘big picture’. I often refer to having a helicopter view of your life circumstances as sometimes the experience of stress, anxiety and depression is pervasive and consumes all available energy. Look at the results and ask yourself the following questions: In what areas have I lost the freedom to act?; What are the obstacles to increasing or decreasing your commitment to these domains of your life, and what changes do you wish to make? During this exercise write down any relevant thoughts, memories, emotions, and other aspects of your experience that act as barriers to moving forward in any domain. For example, you may think that your excessive work hours are for your family’s benefit but your quality of life may be compromised. Through identifying your values you are more likely to realise the goals in life that really matter to you. All of this leads to some principles of time management that we will discuss at another time on this web site. The values exercise here asks you to be reflective, to take time out in order to be reflective and not simply be lost in endless activity. David Brazier has noted in his book Zen Therapy ‘When our stock-taking shows that what is revealed by our contact with the environment is in harmony with what we inwardly believe and value, we feel confirmed. When our experience (body) and beliefs (mind) disaffirm one another we feel disturbed’.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Psychological skills. Comments

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Sep
26
2007

The term mindfulness comes from Eastern religious traditions like Zen Buddhism.  Training in mindfulness skills can have many benefits for people suffering from anxiety and depression. Mindfulness involves bringing one's attention to the internal and external experiences occuring in the present moment, and is often approached through different meditation exercises.  We will discuss mindfulness in more detail as we go however this week you are going to learn a simple, quick and easy breathing exercise.  Practice this exercise during the course of the day taking time out betweeen the things that you are doing:
1. Get comfortable lying or sitting, or you can do this exercise while walking slowly. If you are sitting keep your back straight and relax the shoulders, letting them drop.
2. Close your eyes and focus on breathing and pay attention to the feeling of breathing in and out.
3. Feel your belly rise and expand, and fall, as you breathe in and out respectively - 'Ride the waves of your own breathing'.
4. When your mind wanders simply notice what took away your attention and then gently bring your mind back to your breathing.  Do not get discouraged if your mind wanders.  David Brazier noted in his book 'Zen Therapy', 'Mindfulness of breathing is one of the simplest and most profound forms of meditation and everybody can benefit from it'. The breathing exercise can be accompanied by a simple meditation exercise by Zen Master Nhat Hanh which was noted by David Brazier 'Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment. Breathing out, I know it is a wonderful moment'.  Take longer out-breaths and comfortably rest at the bottom before breathing in again.  Make the exercise soft and flowing and let any intruding thoughts pass 'like waves in the sea' as you return your attention to breathing. 
In the next session we will discuss this exercise further.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

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Sep
25
2007

Stress cannot be avoided.  Too many stressors operating for too long creates an overload.  One of the best pieces of advice I have for the stress-laden person is 'simplify your life'.  This can often be the best starting point in helping someone to achieve control . 
If you are having trouble go to the Category Psychological skills

Posted by Richard Taylor in Reconnect. Comments

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Sep
21
2007

Clinical Psychologists are minimally required to do six years of university training including postgraduate work, plus two years of professional supervision to be able to use the specialist title of Clinical Psychologist (minimally eight years full time).  The post-graduate university training, studied in their Masters/Masters Ph.D. programs develop specialist skills in psychological therapies, assessment and research.  During their training program Clinical Psychologists have comprehensively studied the way adults, adolescents and children feel, think, act and interact, and the impact for example, poor family relationships or trauma can have on healthy psychological functioning.  Some Clinical Psychologists also have other qualifications to enhance multidisciplinary expertise, for example, I have a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Western Australia.  All Clinical Psychologists are legally required to register with the Psychologists Board of Western Australian in the same way medical practitioners must be registered.  This means that they must be competent and follow a strict Code of Conduct and ethics.  The titles of “Counsellor”, “Psychotherapist” and “Hypnotherapist” are not registered titles in Western Australia, therefore the training and experience of therapists using these titles needs to be clarified by the consumer.  The title “Psychologist” indicates someone who has completed four years of university training in Psychology and two years supervision, but has not done the specialist training in Clinical Psychology.  Seeing someone who is registered as a Clinical Psychologist ensures that the person is highly trained and that you will receive high quality and ethical treatment.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Clinical Psychology. Comments

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Sep
21
2007

Commencing Friday September 28, 2007 I will share with you many practical step-by-step ideas to improve your quality of life. I will be concerned with fostering understanding, developing skills and strategies that you can apply in your particular life context. Hopefully through observation, insight and lots of practice you can apply these skills across relationships at home and at work. Gradually your life will become more enjoyable as you experience positive gains in terms of your mood, effectiveness and productivity, psychological health and overall wellbeing. I have identified seven basic skills that are the basic building blocks of psychological health.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Psychological skills. Comments

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Sep
20
2007

Many of my clients report the following:
- Thoughts that revolve and repeat.
- Endless thoughts about the past or the future that crowd out everything else.
- Intrusive ideas of a disturbing or irrational nature (for example, obsessions).
- Depressed mood triggered by negative thoughts.
- Thoughts crowding out an ability to concentrate.
- Negative thoughts preventing any appreciation of the immediate environment.
-Thoughts triggering anger.
Starting on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 you can do an online course on mindfulness. Mindfulness can help significantly with these and other problems.  In the first session I will briefly discuss just what mindfulness is with reference to both Eastern religious traditions and psychology.  I will give you a quick and easy mindfulness exercise that is one of the best starting points for the cultivation of the mind.  It is one of the most profound forms of meditation and everyone can benefit from it.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

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