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.
 

Phobias are classified as irrational fears that impede on normal daily life. While everyone has one or two irrational fears, they are minor. However, if irrational fears become so intense that they cause extreme anxiety that interferes with normal life, it is time to get therapy to help overcome these fears.

The most important thing people should understand is that phobias can be controlled and even cured. Between self-help strategies and professional phobia therapy, anyone can overcome irrational fears and start to live a life of freedom from phobias.

Phobias can interfere with life when you are forced to face them on a regular basis. People with phobias are generally afraid of things that pose little to no real danger at all. People with phobias generally fear heights, clowns, flying, driving, insects, small spaces, wide open spaces or needles.However, phobias are not limited to this, but to anything about which the fear is highly exaggerated.

While phobias are usually developed during childhood, adults may also develop new phobias. People will go to extreme lengths to avoid exposure to whatever they are phobic about.

The good news is that phobias are easily treated using a range of therapies. Cognitive behavioural therapy can help a person recognize their phobias and find different ways to react to their exposure to the things they fear. Desensitization therapy helps a person to learn how to manage being exposed to what they fear in a safe environment. A therapist will help the person understand that their fears are unfounded and as such, manage and eventually cure the phobia.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who offers phobias and related issues you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

A positive self-esteem is an essential tool to help someone function as a productive member of society. Our basic sense of worth determines how well we are able to deal with situations and how well we perform in the family, at school, at work and in life.

Having a healthy self-esteem means that we have a sense of self-worth, self-respect and the ability to find the good in yourself. On the contrary, a negative self image can lead to social anxiety, loneliness, self-criticism, shame and even anger. A person with low self-esteem often feels isolated.

Self-esteem issues are usually created in childhood when negative experiences and poor influences and reactions from caregivers stunt the development of a positive self esteem. Self-esteem can also be affected by abuse, or by being different. A person may be stigmatized for his or her social identity, race, social class, behaviors or appearance.

However, a person's self-esteem can also be challenged during adulthood when one experiences marital issues, financial problems, career glitches or legal challenges.

Therapy can help a person come to terms with self-esteem issues. A therapist will help identify the causes of self-esteem issues and help the individual to regain control over circumstances through goal-directed therapy.

It can help someone with low self-esteem to separate who they are from what they have, or how they look in order to overcome low self-esteem issues. Discovering one's worth is a great way to take control of situations and to learn to feel adequate.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who offers goal directed therapy to address your self-esteem issues, you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.