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My Mental Health
“The secret to change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but building the new” – Socrates
There is a growing awareness of the connection between mental illnesses and substance abuse. A person suffering from both is known to be experiencing a co-occurring disorder or dual diagnosis.
It can be difficult to deal with a single disorder, let alone both. It is crucial that someone experiencing mental health and substance abuse issues be treated for both to ensure their optimal success in recovery.
The relationship between the two is often exacerbated by risk factors associated with each. For example, experiencing a traumatic event, especially in childhood, can trigger a mental health condition like depression. It may also lead to poor coping mechanisms, resulting in early experimentation with substances and often progressing into a full-blown addiction.
Therapeutic Services
As a first step in the recovery process, a comprehensive BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL ASSESSMENT is conducted by Andrew Horne. During this exercise the client is assessed on biological, psychological, and social factors that may be contributing factors to the manifestation of their condition(s).
Following the initial assessment, Andrew may elect to refer clients to a more suitable health professional within his established network, for example, a clinical psychologist. Andrew has vetted and worked with these professionals for a number of years and he has the utmost confidence in their ability and reputable skills. This is based on the clients’ individual requirements to ensure the best chance of their long-term success in beating addiction and healing from past trauma.
Individual counselling (Adults)
“The moment you are ready to quit, is usually the moment when the miracle happens. Do not give up.”
One of the interventions that Pulse has achieved remarkable success with is the provision of individual counselling sessions via face-to-face or virtual counselling.
In these sessions, clients are given a safe and gentle space to talk through their thoughts and feelings, to share and make sense of – and in some cases, reveal, the experiences which may be causing them emotional distress.
It is important to remember that with the right tools and coping mechanisms, clients can overcome almost any adversity and are stronger than they believe.
Individual counselling (Adolescents)
“The biggest gift you can give your teenager, is to bring your calm to their chaos.”
Counselling can be a useful and sometimes essential tool to help adolescents negotiate, navigate, and understand the transitional period of becoming independent individuals and defining their place in the world.
It is safe to say that adolescents often feel misunderstood – frequently, they simply don’t have the life experience to adequately articulate their feelings. As such, they may derive substantial benefit from the assistance of a trained counsellor to work through any issues that may be causing them emotional distress or anxiety. Treatment is offered either as a face-to-face or via a virtual counselling session.
The areas addressed include:
- Dealing with overwhelming feelings and emotions and managing life challenges and adjustments
- Self-development and identity-related concerns
- Identifying and dealing with bullying / peer conflict
- Poor self-esteem and associated relationship difficulties
- Traumatic experiences that may lead to suicidal thoughts and actions
- Grief, bereavement, and mourning
- Substance experimentation and abuse
- Process and behavioural concerns
Couples Therapy and Relationship Counselling
“Happiness is an inside job. Don’t assign anyone that much power over your life.”
Pulse, together with an independent network of trained professionals, provide practical and meaningful assistance for couples at every stage in their relationship-whether they are dating, engaged, or married. Through the implementation and utilisation of a range of techniques, the goal is to resolve difficulties experienced in a relationship.
While collaborating with the counsellor, partners acquire skills to establish open communication that enables successful and mutually empowering problem-solving techniques. The sessions can either be facilitated face-to-face or virtually.
Some of the benefits of couples therapy and relationship counselling:
- Pre-marital and marriage counselling.
- Enhancing emotional connections and promoting effective communication that deals with conflict resolution and ongoing disagreements.
- Addressing and dealing with financial issues.
- Lack of intimacy and managing the difficulties associated with “scheduled” intercourse.
- Persistent feelings of sadness, guilt, or worthlessness.
- Regaining / building trust.
- Navigating the transition to parenthood
- Grief, bereavement, and mourning.
- Managing the challenges presented by infertility and IVF treatment.
- Recovering from divorce.
- Increased use of alcohol and/ or drugs.
Family Counselling
“You can’t control other people. You can only control your reactions to them.”
Dependency and dual diagnosis treatment are significantly more effective when family and close friends participate in the recovery process. These sessions are approached with the highest levels of discretion and only once a client feels emotionally and mentally comfortable and provides their consent.
Family counselling is essential to develop and maintain healthy and functional family relationships. The goal is to identify and address issues or challenges within the family, which may be emotional, psychological, or behavioural or even a combination of these factors.
On-site or remote sessions are facilitated by a trained family therapy specialist who creates a safe space to encourage a calm and constructive family discussion, enabling a comfortable reintegration process. Although family attendance at support groups is encouraged, this remains the clients’ choice.
Clients and their families may benefit from family therapy through:
- A better understanding of healthy boundaries and family patterns and fostering deeper empathy and supportive dynamics.
- Improving family dynamics and relationships through enhanced communication and constructive expression of emotions.
- Improved problem-solving abilities that result in reduced conflict and enhanced anger management skills.
- Defined, appropriate roles within the family.
- Providing strength and coping tools.
- Addressing dysfunctional interactions and sibling conflict.
- Adapting to major changes and dealing with chronic illness or death in the family.
Infertility Counselling
“Even miracles take a little bit of time.”
Infertility is a medical condition that influences and impacts all aspects of a couple’s life. It may affect their relationships with others, their perspective on life, and how they feel about themselves. Infertility can be a lonely and devasting experience, even when it eventually results in a baby.
Andrew has personally experienced infertility and exhaustively investigated this topic for his Masters’ research. As such, he is ideally placed and equipped to navigate this unfamiliar terrain with clients or simply hold space with couples at the beginning, middle, or the end of their journey.
Considering his lived experience, Andrew understands that infertility can be a very lonely place, filled with guilt, sadness, and blame. He seeks to provide a safe forum for couples to express their emotions whilst providing the vital support required in this particularly challenging and emotionally trying experience.
How couples can benefit from infertility counselling:
- Increase their chances of getting pregnant by reducing anxiety, stress, and depression.
- Save time and money on medical issues by reducing the mood issues that may intensify the issue.
- Get support to process treatment options and complications that arise.
- Improve communication with their partners to manage the ups-and-downs associated with infertility to find a calm place.
- Deal with the stress, pain, and uncertainty of infertility and find a way to manage the tension within relationships, especially with the couples' significant other.
- Manage the hardships that come with infertility and help clients rediscover hope.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
NLP therapy incorporates a set of language- and sensory-based interventions and behaviour-modification techniques intended to help improve our clients’ self-awareness, confidence, communication skills, and social actions.
The objectives of NLP are to help clients understand that very often, how one VIEWS the world affects how one OPERATES in the world and that it is necessary to change thought and behavioural patterns that have NOT worked in their favour in the past.
NLP therapy is provided to clients either via in-person or virtual sessions, to provide a calm and safe space for them to discover their authentic selves for happier, more fulfilled lives.
Andrew, in conjunction with his external network of medical associates, believe that NLP offers clients the following benefits:
- Clarity of vision, purpose, and values.
- Overcoming limiting belief systems, improving self-confidence, and breaking unhealthy behavioural patterns.
- Creating more freedom and choice over an individual's mindset.
- Modelling and recreating excellence.
- Leading and managing clients' emotional state.
- Strengthening leadership capabilities, together with improved improving communication and presentation skills.
- Developing new strategies for problem-solving.
- Dealing with pain, anxiety, and trauma and unexpected situations.
- Developing stronger and healthier relationships.
- Creating more energy and relaxation in an individuals' life.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) continues to be one of the most valued and empirically supported therapeutic options for treating addiction, anxiety, phobias, depression, and sleep disorders.
With CBT, the emphasis is on the present, setting goals and understanding the connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. Dysfunctional thinking patterns become the intervention point, from which Andrew and his select network of associates can develop alternative ways of thinking to increase positive feelings and healthy, helpful behaviours.
There are several types of CBT, and a highly trained therapist is assigned to a client to collaborate with them to customise the techniques to meet their specific needs holistically.
As a therapy, CBT is highly engaging, goal-orientated and problem-focused; that assists in understanding how one’s emotions and thoughts are responsible for how they behave and feel; this can assist clients in altering their thought processes to achieve positive outcomes. In certain instances, this may be as effective as medication in treating some mental health disorders and can be helpful in cases where medication alone has not worked – all completed in a relatively short time compared to other talking” therapies.
The skills taught in CBT are practical and helpful strategies that can be incorporated into everyday life to help clients cope better with future stresses and difficulties, even after the completion of treatment.
CBT is provided to clients either via in person, or virtual sessions, with the areas of focus and benefits of CBT being:
- Focusing on the present.
- Providing support.
- Improve self-esteem.
- Creation of positive thoughts.
- Re-training thoughts and altering behaviours, to positively alter emotional responses.
- Anger management.
- Relapse prevention.
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (M-BCT)
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (M-BCT) is a modified form of cognitive therapy that incorporates mindfulness practices such as meditation and breathing exercises.
Using these tools, M-BCT therapists empower clients with the skills to break away from negative thought patterns that can cause a downward spiral into a depressed state. With these tools, clients can prevent a depressive episode before it escalates.
M-BCT treatments can be provided to adults via face-to-face or virtual sessions.
Some of the benefits of M-BCT include:
- Increased control over thought patterns and improved self-esteem.
- Stress reduction and improved mood control by developing more rational thought processes.
- Relief from a wide range of overwhelming negative emotions and concerns through relaxation and meditation techniques.
- Mindfulness practice in everyday life and present moment focus.
- Learning through embodiment – this is a methodology that focuses on the importance of considering the body and mind in the learning process.
Treatment Programs (Modules)
“Accept what you can’t change. Change what you can’t accept”
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Anxiety Programme
The Pulse Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction for Anxiety programme is a specialised and comprehensive addiction and co-occurring disorder treatment provided on an outpatient basis.
This programme is recommended for individuals suffering from mild-to-moderate substance abuse disorders or substance use disorders that do not necessitate a medically supervised detox, individuals who have already attended inpatient rehabilitation and want a step-down level of care, and people who have daily responsibilities or jobs they choose to maintain.
Some of the benefits provided by this intensive outpatient programme include:
- More affordable compared to inpatient treatment (Rehabilitation).
- Constant contact with, and support from, loved ones.
- Flexibility to maintain daily routine and responsibilities.
- Network of communal support post-treatment.
- Higher level of structure compared to traditional outpatient care.
- Clients own their days and elevate their lives.
Crushing Co-Dependency and Control Issues Programme
The Pulse Crushing Co-dependency and Control Issues Programme has been specifically developed to deal extensively with addiction and co-occurring disorder treatment that is provided on an outpatient basis.
This programme is recommended for individuals suffering from mild-to-moderate substance abuse disorder or substance use disorders that do not necessarily require a medically supervised detox, clients who have already attended inpatient rehab and want a step-down level of care, and people who have daily responsibilities or jobs they seek to maintain.
Some benefits associated with this intensive outpatient programme include:
- More affordable compared to inpatient treatment (Rehabilitation).
- Constant contact with, and support from, loved ones.
- Flexibility to maintain daily routine and responsibilities.
- Network of communal support post-treatment.
- Higher level of structure compared to traditional outpatient care.
- Clients own their days and elevate their lives.