One of my clients with narcissistic personality traits and impulse control problem initiated psychotherapy by himself when he knew his personality issues and frequent temper outbursts affected the well-being of himself and his family members. After a few sessions, he started to have some insights into his automatic distorted cognitions contributing to his uncontrollable temper …
Continue reading “How long does a course of psychotherapy usually last?”
Interpersonal trauma is one of the most common issues of my clients who come to seek psychological help. Many clinical manifestations, such as clinical perfectionism, attachment issues, poor self-image and self-neglect, may be related to the clients’ traumatic experiences in relationships in childhood and adolescence. A healthy mother-infant relationship will facilitate the development of secure …
Continue reading “Psychotherapy for interpersonal trauma in childhood”
Despite seeking for psychotherapy is becoming more common in Hong Kong, there are still many people who do not understand what psychotherapy is. Many people had asked questions such as “Why do I have to pay for chatting with a stranger?”; “Is it the same as talking to a friend about my problems?”; “Can talking …
Continue reading “What is psychotherapy? Is it just a chit-chat?”
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 drastically increased in recent few weeks. Many people may already know someone who is undergoing COVID-19 testing, compulsory quarantine or is confirmed to have been infected. Even without undergoing such, we all face lots of uncertainty that causing sense of helplessness. For instance, we may worry if we …
Continue reading “Between helplessness and hope: a reflection on the movie “The Life of Pi””
Last week, I talked about symptoms of post-traumatic stress occur when a person cannot release his or her sympathetic response (fight-or-flight response) at the material time of the event. In this case, the person cannot disable the alarm system of the brain and keeps responding as if there is a threat. What are the possible …
In the blog of last week, I mentioned about people with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) frequently experience feared responses as if he or she is re-experiencing the trauma. What happens to their brain during and after the trauma?
