Borderline personality disorder, like all other personality disorders is a learned behavior pattern that is deeply ingrained and ongoing. It manifests as an inappropriate deviation from social norms and it is a stable behavioural pattern. Social performance is impeded by the subjective distress the person tends to experience.

People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may to alternate between the extremes of devaluation and idealization, and form unstable but intense relationships. They may make frantic attempts to avoid imagined or real abandonment. There are two types of borderline personality disorders; the impulsive BPD is prone to emotional instability and poor impulse control.

Borderline personality disorder sufferers may tend to act impulsively, without paying attention to the consequences and they have a tendency to experience emotional outbursts and be quarrelsome.

Therapy can be beneficial for people with borderline personality disorder and there are some powerful approaches developed recently that bring great hope to those who would be diagnosed with this disorder. Unlike most family members and friends, a psychologist or counsellor has the appropriate training, as well as patience, to withstand the emotional crises the patient will experience over the course of the relationship. These episodes can cause tremendous damage to a person's interpersonal relationships, but a therapist has the skills to remain even tempered and optimistic and knows how to teach better coping skills. It is important to help the person with borderline personality disorder to develop helpful communication skills as well as the capacity to self-regulate emotions.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who offers therapy to address your borderline personality disorder issues you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

Children today are exposed to much more trauma than we were twenty or thirty years ago, and that's why child trauma counselling is such an important tool to help them cope. Once off events, such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, bullying, life-threatening illnesses, natural disasters, or war can leave a child scarred for life.

Long-term exposure to poverty, verbal abuse or milder types of abuse are traumatic too, in fact that can be as devastating to a child as a single catastrophic event.

As with adults, every child has a different way of dealing with similar circumstances or events. Not every person who experiences the same event will become traumatized, but exposure to trauma can result in a variety of symptoms including nightmares, bedwetting, anxiety, depression, disdain for authority, poor grades, moodswings, substance abuse, and self-harm.

Both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and a range of other therapies can be helpful in treating children who have been exposed to short term trauma. Therapists will usually work with the child on a one-on-one basis to help the child restructure negative thought patterns and self esteem (in the case of abuse, etc.) before calling in the family for family counselling. Family counselling is a great way for the family to find common ground, build problem-solving skills and to help the parents to re-establish themselves as the authority figures in the home.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist with specialized traing in trauma counselling for children you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

Depression is the most common psychological condition, and most people experience it at one point or another in their lives.

Symptoms of depression include lethargy, low self esteem, a feeling of sadness, helplessness, hopelessness, anxiety, dysphoric mood and even suicidal thoughts. People who are depressed usually feel a lack of energy and a lack of pleasure and they may be agitated or irritable.

Since there are so many causes to depression, which boils down to a natural response to life experiences (a defence mechanism), each situation warrants a thorough investigation into the exact catalyst. Depending on what causes a specific incidence of depression, a treatment plan can be developed to help the individual deal with his or her emotions.

Some people are predisposed to depression in that it can run in the family. In many cases, it is learned when someone is constantly exposed to it.

Counselling can help a person to adapt to life changes that are causing grief, particularly with bereavement or marital issues. Systemic therapy is helpful in family therapy, where the efforts of the whole family can help the individual. Psychodynamic therapy helps a person to find the hidden psychological defences that cause problems to manifest. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the problem at hand, providing solutions to day-to-day issues and finding ways to restructure negative thought patterns.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who has training and experience in depression counselling you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.