The CBT'ers Club Newsletter: Autumn 2016 Edition

Mental Health is Everyone’s Business

by Alexandra O’Brien

What: Gathering of The CBT’ers Club When: Saturday 8th October 2016, 11.30am-2pm Where: The Meeting Rooms/The Training Suite, Petal, 4th Floor, The Connal Building, 34 West George Street, Glasgow city centre, Glasgow, G2 1DA What: Working with Self-Esteem in CBT This gathering was fully booked in a day! In the future, if there is a long enough waiting list, we will replicate the gathering within 2 weeks of the initial gathering to ensure that others can attend.

More information: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-cbters-clubmeeting-working-with-self-esteem-in-cbt-therapy-tickets27080045144?ref=estw 1

Summer Social 2016

by Alexandra O’Brien

Thanks to everyone who came along to the informal gathering - our Summer Social - on Saturday 13th August. It was great to see some new and regular Members of The CBT'ers Club there. We had a lovely lunch at Café Fame in the heart of Glasgow city centre. Big thanks to Café Fame for their hospitality and lovely food! Good to have a wee laugh too!

The next Social will be around February 2017, possibly in Ayrshire. We aim to have two Socials per year – summer and winter. If you have any suggestions for future Socials, please get in touch!

BDD Conference 2016

What: Second International Conference on Body Dysmorphic Disorder When: Saturday 26th November 2016, 9am-5pm Where: The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, Brunei Gallery, WC1H 0XG More information and Booking: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/secondinternational-conference-on-body-dysmorphic-disorder-bdd-tickets26137075697 To avoid disappointment, please consider purchasing your ticket early as last year we were sold out in advance.

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Questionnaires: Appearance Anxiety Inventory This questionnaire is designed to be used weekly during therapy to help you and your therapist to decide which processes (e.g. being very selffocused) to target during therapy.

The questionnaire has just 10 items and takes just a few minutes to complete. The range is 0 to 40. Please answer how you have felt about your appearance of a specific feature OVER THE PAST WEEK, INCLUDING TODAY. Question 1 I compare aspects of my appearance to others Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option

Question 2 I check my appearance (e.g. in mirrors, by touching with my fingers, or by taking photos of myself) Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option Question 3 I avoid situations or people because of my appearance Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option Question 4 I brood about past events or reasons to explain why I look the way I do Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option

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Question 5 I think about how to camouflage or alter my appearance Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option Question 6 I’m focussed on how I feel I look, rather than on my surroundings Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option Question 7 I avoid reflective surfaces, photos, or videos of myself Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option Question 8 I discuss my appearance with others or question them about it Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option Question 9 I try to camouflage or alter aspects of my appearance Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option Question 10 I try to prevent people from seeing aspects of my appearance within particular situations (e.g., by changing my posture, avoiding bright lights) Not at all A little Often A lot All the time Choose one option

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COSCA Counselling Supervision Certificate Course 2017 ABOUT THE COURSE Written by COSCA, the course is designed for counselling skills users and qualified counsellors and therapists. It consists of 12 units, each one with elements of theory, supervisions skills, professional development, ethics and supervision practice. The course cost is ÂŁ620. Two levels of certificate are offered: Certificate in Counselling Supervision: participants must have a diploma in counselling, or the equivalent, and substantial counselling experience (at least 2 years post-qualifying). This certificate enables practitioners to provide professional counsellors and therapists with individual supervision.

Certificate in Counselling Supervision Skills: participants must have no less than the COSCA Counselling Skills Certificate or an equivalent.

This certificate enables practitioners to provide supervision to users of counselling skills.

COURSE DATES The course will take place at The Tom Allan Centre, 23 Elmbank Street, Glasgow, G2 4PB between 9.30am and 4.30pm on the following Fridays: 27th January; 10th February; 24th February; 10th March; 24th March; and 21st April For further enquiries please call the office on 0141 221 1535 or e-mail tomallan@crossreach.org.uk

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Stress can be managed more effectively (and we can even thrive on stress) if we manage our time so that recovery periods are built into our everyday lives. These are deliberately planned, fixed points that will help us recover our balance and which we can look forward to when ‘The going gets tough!’

Fixed recovery periods could be:   

On a daily basis. For example, taking a proper lunch break or having half an hour on your own with no demands made on you; Weekly; On a longer-term basis, such as a holiday or taking a complete break from the usual routine.

Stability zones are the things in your life that you can rely on to make you feel good. Knowing what makes up your stability zones and that they are a reliable, constant source of good feeling makes it easier to withstand stress.

Stability zones:   

Provide a mental retreat and give you the chance to unwind; Are increasingly important in a fast-changing world and help to give us a sense of security when everything else seems unpredictable and unmanageable; At times when life is really chaotic, stressful and changing, stability zones can seem like havens of rest and sanity in an otherwise uncontrollable world.

The most common stability zones are: 1. Places: where you feel at home, feel you belong or have roots.

2. Objects: which give you a good feeling because they are beautiful or evoke happy memories.

3. People: you can rely on.

4. Organisation: to which you belong.

5. Values, beliefs and philosophy.

6. Activities: such as hobbies or sport which help you to take your mind off things.

Alexandra O’Brien, LifeSpring, 2009, 2011, No Bodies Perfect, 2010-2016 and Glasgow Centre for Eating Disorders 2015-2016. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved.

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Activities To Do 1. Plan recovery periods into your daily and weekly life. Honour these for four weeks and record comments at the end of this time.

2. Identify your stability zones. Discuss their relative importance to you as an individual. Draw a circle on a piece of paper. Divide this into 6 segments labelled with the 6 titles of stability zone ‘headings’ above (Places, Objects, People, Organisation, Values/Beliefs/Philosophy, Activities). Write your home and work zones into each section. After 2 weeks, discuss whether or not it helped you to refer to this at stressful times and write up some comments about this.

Alexandra O’Brien, LifeSpring, 2009, 2011, No Bodies Perfect, 2010-2016 and Glasgow Centre for Eating Disorders 2015-2016. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved.

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Turn Down That Voice That Tells You To Binge-Eat Julia experienced bulimia in her early twenties. After recovering, she became a volunteer with an eating disorders charity. She says that clients who binge-eat often tell her about the internal voice that pulls them towards bingeing: it’s persuasive and often deafening loud.

However, by replacing that destructive voice with a much more positive message, people find they can lower its volume and reduce its power.

Here is a sample ‘Recovery Table’. Any time that voice starts saying things like those in the left-hand column, try reading the alternative in the right-hand column. Turn it down, break it down and fight it off. Each time you do it, you’re taking a step towards recovery.

Reason I give myself to binge

Alternative response towards recovery

I’ve started breaking out now; everything’s gone wrong so I may as well have a binge and make a complete mess of everything.

*If I can put the brakes on the binge now, I’ll feel so much better in a couple of hour’s time. It isn’t really true to say that everything is ruined. I can say ‘enough’ now. *Each time I stop myself from bingeing or curtail the binge, I take a step nearer to getting better from my eating disorder.

I am learning to break the addiction.

I haven’t had any treat foods recently and I’m craving their taste.

*Stopping the binge earlier than I would have done in the past is a real success. *I don’t need to deprive myself of these treat foods completely.

If I have a small amount of chocolate/icecream/whatever on a regular basis, *I’ll feel less deprived and less likely to binge on them.

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I’m bored and restless. Food is calling to me. It will make me feel better.

I feel angry/upset/depressed.

Bingeing will numb these difficult feelings so they’ll go away.

*Am I really kidding myself that in a couple of hours I’m going to feel better? In fact I’ll feel physically awful and guilty too. There are other ways to deal with the boredom and restlessness. I’ll make a list of other things I could do (go for a walk, a bath, a DVD, a phone-call to a friend) and do at least one of them before I turn to food. Often when I delay the binge, the craving leaves me. *The feelings probably will go away....just for a while.

But what about afterwards? I’ll feel terrible about having done it again. *And whatever anger, upset, depression or whatever will still be there. Can I start to allow myself to feel the feelings? They may not be comfortable, but at least they’re real.

I feel so fat anyway – I deserve to be even fatter.

Everything’s ruined anyway, so I might as well stuff myself.

(If you make yourself sick) I can always through it all up anyway – that way I can avoid putting on weight.

I’m craving the release and relief of being sick. If I had the binge, then I can get rid of all that food and feel cleansed again.

*What or who is causing these difficult feelings? What am I trying to say to them? Can I start to say it? Can I write it down? Can I allow myself to work out what I really need?

If I start eating 3 proper meals and 3 small snacks spaced though the day my weekly calorie intake will probably be much lower that when I am bingeeating. My weight will stabilise and I will feel much healthier. *WRONG!! I will get rid of much less than half the calories from the binge if I make myself throw up. Self-induced vomiting is not an effective way to control my weight.

It just doesn’t work. In fact, making myself sick or taking laxatives will make me more bloated, so I’ll look fatter. *I have powerful reasons for craving the relief and cleansing feeling of being sick. But my health is suffering from what I am doing – can I really say I feel well? This way of controlling my weight is not working for me. If I don’t binge now, I won’t need to throw up. That could be the start of the end of all this.

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The Foundation level training is designed for practitioners who work with individuals, families and broader interagency systems. In this Association of Family Therapy (AFT) accredited course, trainees are introduced to core theories and key ideas from the literature in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. There is a strong emphasis on developing links between theory, reflexivity, feedback and practice.

A systemic approach explores the network of significant relationships of which each individual is a part of. It considers the beliefs that give meaning to people’s actions and the communication patterns between people as they interact with each other and each other’s ideas. The course builds on the wealth of experience that adults bring to the continuing of their professional development This can be a stand-alone course as part of professional development in working systemically with individuals, families and agencies as well as the beginning of a Pg Diploma / Masters in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice leading to registration as a Systemic (Family). Our Foundation course is professionally accredited by the Association of Family Therapy (AFT).

For more information on this course and other courses, please see http://www.familytherapytrainingnetwork.org/about.aspx or email lynne@familytherapytrainingnetwork.org or call 07545 956950

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Introduction to Art Psychotherapy This course aims to provide: an introduction to the underlying theories, principles and practices of art psychotherapy; a basic introduction to the history and development of Art Therapy as a profession; offer skills and knowledge to individuals and professionals who want to expand their understanding of working with people creatively; a firm foundation for possible progression on the Postgraduate Diploma Training scheme recognised by the British Association of Art Therapists.

Students should be aware that a significant part of the course is given to the hands-on making of artwork. Students will be expected to take part in practical, experimental, directive and non-directive workshops, group discussions and feedback. There will be an opportunity to work with a range of different media i.e. paint, clay, collage. Emphasis is placed on peer group participation and exchange of personal knowledge through experience as a method essential to the process of learning. Details: http://www.gla.ac.uk/coursecatalogue/course/?code=ADED1054E

Online CPD - Traumatic Attachment and Co-Regulation: The Neurobiology of Relationships The programme includes: • • • • • •

Early attachment: an experience without words Couples’ dysregulation and disorganized attachment Resolution of trauma and the neurobiology of mindfulness Evolutionary – determined internal struggles Co-regulation The natural cycle of attachment

The series can be purchased at £115 or £14.95 per month when you subscribe to Psychotherapy Excellence CPD Online http://bit.ly/1J4mXHko http://www.bacp.co.uk/cpd/cpd_details.php?id=475&event=2014

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WHEN: Thursday 22nd September 2016; or Thursday 6th October 2016; or Monday 5th December 2016; or Wednesday 8th January 2017 (four individual dates available). 9.30am-4.30pm WHERE: Health in Mind, Edinburgh MORE INFORMATION AND BOOKING: telephone 0131 225 8508 or email contactus@health-in-mind.org.uk or visit the following link: http://www.health-in-mind.org.uk/training-program/courses/BPD.html OVERVIEW This training will be of interest to those working in the mental health field who wish to understand more about working with individuals who have attracted the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. The aim and objectives are:  To give the participant a greater understanding of the Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis and its causes  To explore how it is to work with individuals who have attracted the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder and how workers can support themselves, including ways of working  Understand the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder in terms of the medical model and from the individual’s point of view  Understand the kind of experiences that may have contributed to the list of symptoms given in the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder.  Discuss how it is to work with individuals who have attracted the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder to include: the effects on the worker, ways that participants can work with individuals and ways that the participants can support themselves The trainer, Jean Budge has worked for Health in Mind’s Trauma Services for nine years, the last four as a Supervisor. Trauma Services is a specialist service providing support to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

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NEW! PEER SUPERVISION GROUP coming soon!

As requested by many of our Members, we now hope to pilot a new Peer Supervision Group in November/December 2016. We previously allocated a slot for peer supervision during our usual 'themed/topic' formal gatherings. However, we have found, as time goes on, that 2.5 hours per gathering does not provide enough time for a 'themed/topic' discussion and peer supervision (as well as news and updates, introductions, etc).

Following a recent survey sent to Registered Members, many of those who completed it suggested a separate Peer Supervision Group. So we shall trial this later in the year.

WHAT IS PEER SUPERVISION? Peer Group Supervision is an effective form of leaderless peer supervision, typically taking place with 6-8 participants per group.

Participants confer with one another by reciprocating key topics of their professional everyday lives, in order to provide solutions for difficult situations or challenges with clients, colleagues, personal concerns or even business matters.

There is no one 'supervisor' in the group, although the group will be facilitated by an experienced facilitator. The aim is for peers to provide supervision. The group will offer a space for participants to present cases, challenges, problems and practical questions related to client-work, personal issues, ethics, business matters and more. Support is peer-topeer and allows the confidential expression and discussion of some of the themes above (and more).

There are many benefits of Peer Supervision including: self-expression; the chance to receive (and offer) other perspectives or viewpoints; problem-solving; emotional expression; personal and professional reflection; generating ideas; exploring options; support with challenges and difficult situations; improved therapist performance/skills; developing new practical skills; sharing knowledge and lots more (as if that isn't enough!!).

More details soon, however, we hope the first, dedicated peer supervision group will trial in November/early December 2016! We are looking forward to piloting this, and hope our Members are too!

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Introduction to Transactional Analysis Transactional Analysis (TA) is a powerful psychological theory that has the surprising quality of being easily accessible for the newcomer, yet with a depth and complexity that can fascinate and satisfy practitioners for a lifetime. TA is a powerful system of psychological models that can be used to understand and work with our personal and interpersonal dynamics in the workplace, in personal relationships, and in educational and training settings. TA enables us to identify quickly and clearly: where breakdowns in communication are taking place; where there are blocks to learning and development; where there are unrealised potentials within a team; how an organisation can maximise opportunities to achieve its potential;  how to increase cooperation, collaboration and productivity within and across teams;  what are our personal blocks to success and happiness;  offers simple tools for making long lasting and far reaching change at a personal level, and across systems and organisations, enabling creativity, problem solving, effective communication and development.    

The 2-day TA101 course will provide you with a dynamic and interactive experience which will:  introduce you to the key theory of personality, communication and development;  enable you to apply the theory to situations in your work and personal relationships;  entitle you to receive the internationally recognised TA101 Certificate which is a prerequisite for anyone wishing to train further in TA. Cost: £139 for the 2-day course. More information: Telephone 0131 514 1068, email info@physistraining.co.uk or see the link below: http://www.physistraining.co.uk/understanding-you-me-and-us-theofficial-ta-101-introduction-to-transactional-analysis/ 14

Thanks!

Thank you for reading the Autumn 2016 Edition of The CBT’ers Club quarterly newsletter. I hope you found it useful! If there is anything you would like to see included in the future or you would like to write a piece, article review, news etc for it, please just let me know!

Best wishes,

Alexandra

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