Mental Health Effects of COVID-19

Pleased to share that our book chapter on Covid-19 and the impact on gambling, sex, pornography use and addictions has been published in the book Mental Health Effects of COVID-19, and is available for purchase.

Dr Anastasia Hronis, founder of the Australian Institute for Human Wellness, co-authored this research with Patrick Dixon, in collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney.

The book can be purchased here:

https://www.elsevier.com/books/mental-health-effects-of-covid-19/moustafa/978-0-12-824289-6

Back after interval: Looking after your mental health as we return to creative work

Founder of the Australian Institute for Human Wellness, Dr Anastasia Hronis, has been working with the Arts Wellbeing Collective and Arts Centre Melbourne to produce mental health resources for those in the performing arts and entertainment industries.

Transitioning back into work after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts industry can be challenging. This resource is design to help performers and creatives with that transition.

Have a read of "Back after interval: Looking after your mental health as we return to creative work and workplaces".

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Mental Health Stigma

It is sadly a ubiquitous trait of our society that there is such stigma surrounding any discussion of mental health, despite its prevalence. This stigma exists in part through a lack of awareness of mental health, but moreover through the general lack of space or sympathy given to conversation about mental health by our society.

The consequences of this stigma for individuals are many, including:
• A reticence to acknowledge one’s situation and reduced inclination to seek help
• A heightened fear of potential judgement and feelings of inadequacy
• Possible perceived blow to one’s self-esteem / increased vulnerability
• Perpetuation of the mental health issue despite possible help

This tumultuous year of 2020 has arguably brought mental health issues further into public conversation and consideration, yet it must not be assumed that these will remain in the spotlight nor that all others – and thus a general reduction in stigma – will be given any attention once the pandemic is well and truly behind us. The struggle for recognition of and consequent empathetic and considered dialogue of all mental health related issues continues.

Dr Anastasia Hronis, founder of the Institute for Human Wellness spoke to the Greek Herald about stigma, and stigma within Greek communities:

https://greekherald.com.au/community/mental-health-australias-greek-community-how-can-we-reduce-stigma/

NAIDOC Week 2020

NAIDOC week has recently come and gone, and for obvious reasons was this year not held in it’s usual yearly slot of the first week of July, but from the 8-15th November. This year’s theme “Always Was, Always Will Be” – which speaks directly to the near timeless and enduring history, resilience and fortitude of our First Nations’ peoples – appropriately highlights the temporal (and general) strength of our indigenous foundation in the face of anything, even a global pandemic.

NAIDOC week is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture, but is also very important in its adding to bringing attention to the critical need to address the still stark inequalities that our First Nations face here in Australia, both practically and in the overall narrative that Australia tells of itself.

One example of this inequality here in Australia, which the government-directed Closing the Gap campaign addresses, is in regard to life expectancy, childhood mortality and general access to education.  Progress since this campaign’s inception has been mixed (according even to the government’s own assessment), and a reaffirmed and more urgent commitment to these aims are required.

This year Pat Turner AM spoke at the Dr Charles Perkins Oration, which is held annually at Sydney University and celebrating this year it’s 20th year anniversary. Charles Perkins is a celebrated figure in the recent history of Australian race relations, who as a student in 1965 organised a bus tour around NSW (called the Freedom Ride) who strived to draw attention to state of race relations in Australia. Ms Turner spoke about the life of Charles Perkins and the inspiration still drawn from him. (Ms Turner’s speech can be viewed here: https://fb.watch/1YaUTaliI4/ )

Now that NAIDOC week has passed, we must remember to continue to take action to work to close the gap and improve indigenous health outcomes.

“Regardless of all the good things that happen to you in your life, never leave anyone behind”

-          Charles Perkins

Gambling Harm in Australia

This week, the Western Sydney Community Forum hosted an important discussion on gambling and gambling related harm in NSW.  On the panel was the founder of the Australian Institute for Human Wellness, Dr Anastasia Hronis, speaking along with Rev Tim Costello, Dr Kate Da Costa and Tim Nance.

Watch the video link below to view the discussion:

What is Co-Dependency?

Co-dependency can make it difficult to have healthy, intimate and loving relationships with other people, and with ourselves. Co-dependency can be described as a condition born of losing connection with our authentic self, thereby losing the ability to share our true self with others and be in healthy intimate relationships.

We may have learned to doubt our perceptions, diminish our feelings, and overlook our own personal needs. We may find ourselves looking to others to tell us what to think, what to feel and how to behave, thus becoming overly dependent on others. For others, co-dependency may present as being overly independent, finding it hard to rely on others, or struggling to trust anyone and allow them to become close.

The book “The Language of Letting Go” by Melody Beattie is a fantastic resource to help reflect on and recover from co-dependency.

The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Today we use this wonderful poem called The Invitation, to reflect on ourselves and on life. This poem calls use to reflect on our ability to navigate the challenges of life, the ability to be with ourselves as difficult as it may sometimes be, and the capability to sit with pain.

Balancing Acceptance and Change

Acceptance is a topic which has been coming up in many client sessions recently, particularly as a result of the COVID19 pandemic.

In Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), we talk about the balance between acceptance and change. That is, that in any given situation, there are elements which we have control and agency over, and that we can change. However, there are also elements of the situation, which are out of our control, and all we can work towards for those, is acceptance.

Acceptance can provide us with that feeling of “letting go”. We all have pain of some sort in life. However, not accepting life and reality for what it is, can lead to additional suffering. It is important to remember that acceptance is not approval. By accepting, I am not saying that I agree, that I approve, or that I like the situation. I am saying, it simply is.

Keeping Gratitude Front of Mind

With the current Coronavirus pandemic dominating our lives, news, conversations and social media, it can sometimes be difficult to keep the positive aspects of life at the forefront of our minds. Practicing gratitude is a great way to practice psychological flexibility, and turn own mind away from what isn’t going well in our lives, and towards what is.

Gratitude helps reminds us all of the things in our lives and in the words that we have to be thankful for. Imagine how much more difficult this pandemic would be if we didn’t have friends, family, running water, electricity, home deliveries, Uber Eats and Netflix!?

We encourage you all to start to practice using a gratitude journal, or keep a gratitude list, either to start or end of the day. By practicing this, we practice being more flexible in the way we think about things, the perspectives we take, and the actions we engage in.

Collaboration in Therapy

What is therapy all about?

This image has been shared around on social media recently, as a way of explaining what the therapy process is like. A client comes in, shares their situations, their struggles, their emotions, and their lives. The clinician, then tries to answer key questions:

Why is it, that this person is presenting, at this time, with these concerns and experiences?

Furthermore, what are the experiences this person has had, that are shaping their belief system and the lens through which they see the world?

If we could add another image to create a sequence to the picture, it would be of the therapist, holding their thoughts of what the client has shared with them, out for the person to see.

Therapy should be a collaborative process. Part of the job of a psychologist to be able to feed this information back to a person, and have a collaborative discussion with them about it. Collaboration is key.

As clinicians, we are the so called “experts” in psychological theory and principles, but people are always the experts in knowing themselves. It takes the clinician and client to work together, to figure out what might be going on for a person, and the best way to move forward.

What Does it Mean to Gamble Responsibly

Clinical Psychologist and Founder of the Australian Institute for Human Wellness, Anastasia Hronis, was featured on the radio this morning speaking about "responsible gambling" and how consumers can ensure their gambling behaviour stays within healthy limits without escalating to becoming a problem.

“Responsible gambling” means exercising control and informed choice to ensure that gambling is kept within affordable limits of money and time. It remains enjoyable, it’s in balance with other leisure activities and responsibilities, and it does create harm in the person’s life.

Practical strategies to gambling responsibly include:

• setting limits on time and money spent gambling

• avoiding gambling with heavy gamblers

• avoiding gambling under the influence of drugs or alcohol

• don’t gamble with money you need for necessities

• don’t borrow money to gamble or put it on credit cards

• don’t gamble as a way of regulating emotions (e.g. anxiety or depression)

• set maximum bet sizes

• use online websites that allow you to set daily limits

• avoid having multiple online accounts

• avoid increasing your bet sizes when you are winning or loosing.

Gambling may be causing a problem in your life if you have tried unsuccessful to quit or reduce your gambling, if you find you are spending increasing amounts of money, if you spend a lot of time thinking about gambling, id you are being secretive about your gambling and if it is jeopardising other areas of your life such as relationships, career and opportunities.

Listen to the full interview here: https://2ser.com/the-myth-of-gambling-responsibly/

Spotlight on Schema Therapy: for Personality Disorders & Chronic Conditions

As humans we all have basic, fundamental needs. The need for food, the need for shelter, for safety and for clothing. However, in order for a person to grow, develop and flourish, there are a number of core emotional needs which also must be met. These include the need for secure attachments with others people, the need for safety and predictability, for autonomy and a sense of identity, for acceptance and empathy, the need for freedom of expression and the need for spontaneity.

When some or all of these core emotional needs are not met throughout childhood (e.g. due to difficult childhood experiences or abuse), individuals can develop unhelpful and self-defeating emotional and cognitive patterns that are called schemas. Schemas encompass beliefs about oneself, others and the world, which develop during childhood and can continue into a person’s adult life. These schemas are often rigid and the individual accepts the beliefs and feelings without question. These can include beliefs such as “I’m not good enough”, “I’m unlovable” and “people will leave me”. Such beliefs can lead to significant dysfunction in a person’s life, problematic relationships and chronic mood difficulties.

How does Schema Therapy work?

Schema Therapy is an evidence-based treatment. It incorporates elements from a number of other therapeutic frameworks, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychoanalytic Therapy, Attachment Theory and Gestalt Therapy. Schema Therapy looks at core themes within a person’s life to help them break negative, rigid and unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. 

To help a person break these unhelpful patterns, Schema Therapy uses a combination of cognitive, experiential and behavioural strategies, while also engaging the therapeutic relationship to foster change. A person’s schemas and unhelpful patterns develop over the course of their lifetime and can be very rigid. For this reason, Schema Therapy is a longer-term treatment option (e.g. 15 or more sessions), as it focusses on the core dysfunctional themes in a person’s life as well as symptom reduction.

Who would benefit from Schema Therapy?

Schema therapy is particularly effective for people presenting with diagnoses or features of personality disorders, including Borderline Personality Disorder. In addition, individuals with chronic mood disorders who relapse or have failed to respond to other therapies may benefit from a Schema Therapy approach. It can also be helpful for people with childhood traumas, eating disorders and addictions, to address underlying schemas driving these issues.

If you would like to know more about how Schema Therapy could be of benefit, please contact us.

Clinical Research Published in the Handbook of Intellectual Disabilities

We are very pleased to announce that clinical research conducted by AIHW founder, Anastasia Hronis, was recently published in the “Handbook of Intellectual Disabilities”. Anastasia was the lead researcher in designing, developing and evaluating a mental health program specifically for children with intellectual disabilities. This was the first of it’s kind, as the program involved face to face sessions as well as an online intervention.