I would like to dispel some misconceptions about counselling and psychotherapy (words that will be used interchangeably here):
1) Going to psychotherapy doesn’t mean that you are psychotic or that you will be diagnosed as a psychopath. “Normal” people go for counselling and psychotherapy to feel supported and get help with their lives.
2) Going for counselling or psychotherapy doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. Sometimes there are obstacles between how your life is now and how brilliantly sane you really are. Then we work to remove those obstacles. Whether or not there are obstacles it also helps, categorically, to have someone to see your brilliant sanity and reflect it back to you.
3) I am not, as a Registered Clinical Counsellor, going to prescribe medications. Although medications are helpful for some peoples’ mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing, you will need to speak to your doctor or psychiatrist if you are seeking pharmacological or medical support. If you feel it would be particularly supportive to see additional healthcare professionals (i.e., acupuncturists, herbalists, massage therapists, chiropractors, naturopaths, etc.), with your written consent I am happy to consult with them and work as part of a team on behalf of your wellbeing. In psychotherapy, the therapeutic relationship is the medicine.
4) Psychotherapy does not have to be about finding what’s wrong with you or your life. Psychopathology is what we, as psychotherapists, call “what’s awry” in peoples’ personalities and moods. Psyche means, “the vital principle or animating force within living beings, and pathology means, “a departure or deviation from a normal condition.” (Normal is more accurately described as “commonly accepted” here). Sometimes there are things awry and we can work to improve those conditions. That doesn’t change the fact that you are fundamentally and brilliantly sane, and that that sanity can justifiably be the focus of psychotherapy.
5) Psychotherapy is most accurately translated as “healing of the mind, spirit, and animating principle.”
Everyone needs support sometimes. It can help to talk to someone who is going to listen and be there just for you. A counselling or psychotherapy session is just that - a time just for you.
It can be equally helpful for you to have a therapist who can be a reliable source of comfort not because then you will have to depend on them, but because then you can depend on them. When you have a counsellor, you can count on having a stable, warm and kind force in your life. You don’t need to do it alone.
What you find has been wounded in relationship can be, and some would say needs to be, healed through relationship. A psychotherapeutic relationship is a healing relationship.
You can use the counselling session to explore your thoughts, feelings, sensations and emotions. This is a time when you can feel your way through your whole life, whether your experiences seem to be positive, negative or neutral. You may just begin to feel as though you are living more fully!
Marlise Meilan, M.A., R.C.C., Contemplative Psychotherapist (Buddhist Mental Health Therapist).
Get Active - Older people can prevent heart flutters with light exerciseA recent study in Circulation Journal found that adults over the age of 65 can prevent atrial fibrillation - an irregular heart rythm- by light exercise.Researchers followed 5,400 adults over 12 years, who entered the study without arrythmia in their heart. Those participants who reported walking at least 60 blocks per week were 45% less likely to be diagnosed with an irregular heart beat compared to those who walked less that 5 blocks per week.Pace also played a role. People who walked at 3-5 kilometere per hour had a lower risk that those who walked more slowly. Interestingly, high intensity exercise didn’t lower the risk of atrial fibrillation.The researchers concluded that walking at least 12 blocks per week at a modest pace (3km/hour) would prevent a quarter of all cases of atrial bibrillation.More incentive for you or the people you love to get active and stay active. If you are considering starting a new exercise program, or feel held back by your current aches or injuries, our chiropractor may be able to help you get back to being active.Happy Walking,Dr. Armstrong, Kiem, Kelly, Peter, Francessca, Dr. Adatya, and Kelsey
By Dr. Robin Armstrong, Vancouver Chiropractor and Active Release Technique Provider
- Keep your feet flat on the floor or on a stool.
- Knees should be parallel to ground or slightly below parallel.
- Your low back should be supported with a cushion or built in support.
- Recline your chair to 100-110 degrees so that the chair starts to work for you, decreasing the work for the postural muscles and decreasing the pressure in the discs of the low back.
- To see if you are the correct distance from your screen, lean back in your chair, hold your right arm out horizontally, your middle finger should almost touch the centre of the computer screen.
- Your eyes should be in line with a point on the screen about 2-3” below the top on the monitor casing (not the screen).
- Elbows bent at, or greater, than 90 degrees.
- Upper arm and elbow are as close to body as possible.
- Wrist is as straight as possible when using mouse (not deviating from side to side).
- Head and neck are as straight as possible, no rotation, flexion, or extension required when in working position.
- Neutral shoulder position (not shrugged near ears).
- Centre yourself to the ‘B’ on the key board .
- And most importantly, take frequent breaks!
Wishing you a healthy workstation,
Your team at Qi Integrated Health: Dr. Armstrong, Kiem, Francessca, Dr. Adatya, Kelly, Peter
Pain is more than a symptom of osteoarthritis. It causes biochemical changes that may contribute to the destruction of joints, a team of U.S. researchers has found.
The work,done in mice, show that compounds produced when mice process pain signals from injured joints may damage cartilage, the tough elastic material that covers and protects the ends of bones.
Until relatively recently, doctors and researchers believed the breakdown of cartilage that causes osteoarthritis was solely the result of wear and tear and part of the aging process.
Researchers used genetically engineered mice to learn more about the interleukin 1 beta chemical’s role in osteoarthritis. When they turned up the production of the chemical in the jaws of animals with the disease, they found higher levels in the pain processing centre of the spinal chord as well.
When they turned up levels of the chemical in their spines, they detected a corresponding spike in the injured joints. This suggests there is “crosstalk” between the spine and the joint.
When the researchers shut down this signalling pathway with drugs, both the pain and the arthritis went away, perhaps because pain normally triggers the release of other chemicals that cause inflammation. If inflammation had continued unabated, it might have led to further joint damage, researchers speculated.
With the inflammatory process halted “the joint had a chance to heal.”
Early pain treatment could have a beneficial effect and perhaps limit damage in potentially arthritic joints. Chiropractic, accupuncture, massage therapy, and natural remedies can all help you deal with pain and inflammation naturally. You can avoid the long term side effects of pain on the joint, and know that you are using safe, non-invasive treatments to achieve it.
Healthy News from your Qi Interated Health Team,
Dr.Armstrong, Kiem, Peter, Francesca, Kelly and Dr.Adatya.
*Only stretch when you are warm - either after your run or after a warm up of 5-10 minutes. Hold each stretch for at least thirty seconds, and always stretch both sides.*
The Gas Pedal
To stretch the calf muscles (gastrocnemius, soleus, tibialis posterior, flexor hallucis, and flexor digitorum), go to a wall. Lift your toes up and move your heel closer to the wall so that your fore foot is pressing into the wall like you press into a gas pedal, keeping your leg straight. Let the acceleration take hold and lean your body into the wall until you feel a stretch in the back of your calf. The gastocnemius muscle is the largest of the calf muscles, the closest to the surface and the only muscle to cross the knee. To take the gastrocnemius out of the equation and go deeper into the calf, bend your knee with your foot and body in the same position.
The Curler
In many of us, our hip flexor muscles (namely psoas major and minor, rectus femoris of the quadriceps, and sartorius) become quite tight due to all of the sitting during our days. If we are also runners, the hip flexors come into play with every stride as we bring one leg forward, and the other must extend back. If we have limitations in our hip flexors, we may have limitations in the length of our stride. To stretch the hip flexor group step forward into a lunge with one leg, allowing the rear leg to trail, imagining gliding along the ice as you throw your curling rock (my apologies to readers outside of Canada, for more information on what the heck I am talking about see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling). Allow your pelvis to sink towards the earth but keep the hip points of your pelvis pointing forward.
Thread the Needle
In runners, the muscles of gluteus area (buttock) have a very important function. Since running requires you to repeatedly stand on one leg during the stride, the glute group provides stability to the hip joint and pelvis, enabling the pelvis to stay level and provide balance to your stride. Lying on your back with both knees bent, feet flat on the floor, pick up your left foot and cross it over the right thigh just below the knee (when looking at your thigh). Using your hands or a strap/belt/tie reach through the hole, like thread through a needle eye, wrapping around the right thigh and pull the thigh towards you. Keep your head relaxed on the earth and energetically (i.e. without using your hands) imagine your left hip opening and your shin moving towards perpendicular to your right thigh.
The ITB Curtsey
The Iliotibial Band (ITB) is a band of connective tissue that runs from your hip to your knee. It has a close relationship with the outside quadricep muscle of the thigh as well as the gluteus muscles of the hip. In runners, the ITB can come under tesion due to the repeated flexion and extension of the knee and hip, which can sometimes lead to friction between the ITB and the underlying muscles or bone. To lengthen the right ITB, begin your curtsey by stepping your right leg behind your left. Hitch your right hip out to the right to deepen the stretch. You may also incorporate a side stretch by reaching overhead with your right hand, away from your right hip, opening into the Quadratus Lumborum muscle of the trunk.
The Rubber Ankle
There are a number of muscles in the front and side of the shin that are involved in the running gait. As we run our foot moves from eversion (outward facing of the sole) to inversion (inward facing of the sole) as well as pronation (ankle shifting inward) to supination (ankle shifting outward). To stretch into the outside of the shin, sitting with legs extended, reach down from the inside of the foot and wrap your fingers around the outside of your foot. Using your hand, move the foot so that the sole is facing inward stretching into the outside of the shin. To add a stretch into the front of the shin, point the toes lengthening the muscles of the front compartment (tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum, extensor hallucis).
Happy Running! - From Dr. Armstrong, Kiem, Peter, Kelly, Dr. Adataya, and Francessca - your team at Qi Integrated Health.