Cancer Care and Support, Chronic Illness, Postpartum Depression Feminist Psychotherapy

Cancer Care and Support, Chronic Illness, Postpartum Depression

Cancer care and support is essential after receiving a diagnosis. Someone who has just received a devastating diagnosis is bound to experience strong emotions and they may or may not be open to talking to friends or family. This can affect interpersonal relationships, as everyone around might feel afraid, directionless, numb and shocked.  A person who has been diagnosed with cancer can find inner strength to face the road ahead by speaking to a counsellor who has experience with cancer.

People with cancer often try to be strong for their loved ones, despite the fear they themselves face. At the same time, relatives tend to be afraid of expressing their own thoughts and feelings. The load can be minimized for both the cancer patient and his or her family by speaking to a psychologist.

The general consensus is that a positive attitude is essential for fighting cancer, and while that is a great tool, it can do more harm than good. It implies that people who lose the battle against cancer were negative. Unfortunately, the positive attitude analogy leaves no room for exploring anxiety and fear, or the grief commonly associated with a diagnosis.

A psychologist or counsellor who is knowledgeable about cancer care and support is the partner of choice for people who have been diagnosed with cancer, as well as for their friends and family. The therapist will help people to understand the impacts of a cancer diagnosis and the treatments. A psychologist will ensure that you have all the emotional tools required to handle the challenges on the road to recovery.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who offers cancer care and support therapy to address your emotional issues related to cancer, you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

Chronic illness has the ability to affect you in more ways than just medically. In fact, it can impact you psychologically. The degree of impact is dependent on the person's personality and the circumstances before the diagnosis. Support structure plays an important role on a person's ability to cope, but oftentimes, a person has to go through various stages of dealing with the condition before they are able to adjust to the realities of the chronic illness.

When a person is diagnosed with a chronic illness, he or she will go through a number of stages similar to the stages of grief. Denial, disbelief and shock are just some of the emotions a person experiences when a diagnosis is made, and it's natural for them to resist major changes. Eventually, they will become exhausted, when all they really want to do is to recover. At that point, fear and anxiety will set in and worry in the face of uncertainty of the future.

Sadness, grief and depression are common emotions when they consider the possibility of lost goals, hopes and dreams. Losing independence is a real fear, which becomes inevitable if an illness progresses and that brings about the fear of being a burden to loved ones, which brings on more anger, resentment and even shame.

Counselling can help a person to deal with the emotions relating to chronic illness and to cope with the stress and anxieties of accepting and coping with life changes. It will help to regain personal control over life and yourself.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who works with in chronically ill individuals you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

Postpartum depression affects nearly a quarter of all new mothers. Pregnant women who feel sad, blue or down, are at an ever greater risk of postpartum depression. Women who are taking anti-depressants before, will have to stop when they fall pregnant, causing increased feelings of depression.

It is common for new mothers to be afraid to discuss postpartum depression and their thoughts and feelings for fear of being judged as bad mothers. Unless these emotions are discussed with a professional, it could escalate to worse problems.

The most common symptoms of baby blues include anger, sadness, numbness, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping and mood swings. However, postpartum depression affects your functioning significantly and symptoms could include too much or too little sleep, lack of motivation and energy, restlessness and mood swings, trouble with decision making, lots of crying, feelings of worthlessness, and memory problems. Feelings of worthlessness may cause you to withdraw from family and friends. Aches, pains and stomach problems may persist, making it hard to take care of a baby. A new mother with postpartum depression may lose interest in activities she used to enjoy.

The dangers of postpartum depression includes thoughts of the mother hurting herself or her baby, or a total lack of interest in the baby. Some mothers are unable to care for themselves or for their babies.

Professional help is essential for women suffering from postpartum depression to change their perceptions about themselves. A therapist will help a new mother adjust to the changes brought about by motherhood and the changes in hormones and lifestyle and the dynamics of being responsible for a new life.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who offers postpartum depression counselling and other women's issues you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

Feminist Psychotherapy, Video Counselling

Feminist Psychotherapy acknowledges the innate differences between men and women, and the fact that typical male psychological approaches may not necessarily work for women. Men and women have different world-views too, and feminist psychotherapy recognizes them from a uniquely feminine perspective.

If a woman wants to reach her goals in the face of sexual bias, then feminist psychotherapy can help her address her issues that involve career, body image, relationships and past sexual abuse. By overcoming past experiences, a woman can  learn to manage conflicting issues within relationships.

If you are looking for a therapist who offers Feminist Psychotherapy, please browse our list of practitioners below..

Video counselling has grown in popularity, as it offers more affordable and convenient therapy for people who would otherwise have difficulty travelling to a therapist. Also, it offers more flexible counselling hours and is not geographically bound.

IMPORTANT: When accessing video counselling make sure you are comfortable with what your counsellor tells you about the security and safety of what they are using to connect with you.  It is their responsibility to make sure your call is secure and private.

Instead of visiting a therapist's offices, Video counselling allows you to connect with your therapist from your own home, or wherever you are. This means that, even if you're travelling for business, you can meet with your therapist, without missing an appointment.

Video counselling works well for many types of psychological intervention, including relationship issues, stress and anxiety, depression, phobias, family counselling and more.

If you are looking for a therapist who offers Video counselling, please browse our list of practitioners below..

Note: You may narrow your search by selecting more than one filter below.

Norma Hoeppner

M.S.W., RSW
In private practice since 2007, Norma has been a dynamic clinical therapist across diverse health settings since 1989. Currently she practices with Clear Counselling Inc. in Vancouver, as well as an office through... Read more