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.

Cross cultural issues affect the way in which we experience life. Our culture is determined by more than our food, music and language. Family relationships, gender roles, sexual expression, concept of time, humour, politeness and common sense are just some of the elements that are influenced by our spiritual and religious background, ethnicity and race.

Cross cultural issues usually become more pronounced when we move or immigrate and become exposed to people from other races and religions. It's common to feel different, and to lose your sense of self-esteem. Being bicultural or multicultural means that you may be confused about your allegiance to more than one community.  

Relationships can also bring out the worst of cross cultural issues. Behaviours that are normal in one culture can seem insensitive, unkind and even obnoxious to the other partner. This can cause serious family, marital or social issues. It has been shown that cross cultural issues can lead to domestic violence, as well as victimization in the community.

If you feel that you don't fit in, lonely, anxious, or even victimized, you should consider getting help. People in cross cultural relationships who feel that their partners are intrusive, removed or unkind can benefit from counselling, too.

Cross cultural issues counselling offers a safe environment for people to explore their own history and the identities that they have developed to survive emotionally in a multicultural society. Therapy is a great tool for multicultural families to find common ground and reshape an identity for the family as individual members and as a family unit. Done individually or in a group setting, there are many ways in which to help a person to keep their own identities in a multicultural world.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who can help address your cross cultural issues you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.
 

Premarital counselling is the one aspect that most couples overlook during their wedding preparations. The wedding often takes precedence over the marriage, and couples fail to plan for their developing marriages. Premarital counselling can be a very helpful investment in a happy, loving married life.

People who come from different family backgrounds, experiences and mindsets deal with issues differently. Our different temperaments, values and personalities, as well as emotional baggage can play a major role in how we treat our partners and potential relationship issues. Premarital counselling provides a toolkit to help manage potentially harmful issues that stem from our differences. A good marriage requires not only trust and commitment, but partners should also be willing to assess their own processes, rather than laying the blame on their partner.

The purpose of premarital counselling is to prepare couples for the changing dynamics of married life. While a partner's quirks may be cute and adorable during the courting days, it may become irritating as time goes by. Premarital counselling provides an ideal opportunity for a couple to explore their relationship dynamics and to explore areas of potential conflict or issues. It will help them to develop the essential communication skills they will need to negotiate conflict.

Premarital counselling will help a couple to resolve their differences in a way that empowers the individuals while strengthening their emotional connection. Therapists use a number of strategies to help develop healthy and strong relationships by laying a firm foundation for a solid relationship. Premarital counselling helps to build a thriving marriage on the foundation of two healthy, conscious partners.

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