About Cóilín Ó Braonáin

A recent Irish Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (IACP) has confirmed the obvious...a lot of us are anxious about the C19 emergency.  But, what can we do about it.  The good news is that CBT is known to be very effective in allieviating symptoms of anxiety.  Further good news is that CBT is simple to apply and fairly short-term (6-10 sessions are typical).  How does it work?  CBT uses a variety of techniques to teach you how to change the negative thinking that drives anxiety.  Also, once you have learned how to do that, you can be your own therapist when future problems arise.  How is this possible?  CBT used simple common sense, jargon free, methods that everyone can learn.  Why not make an appointment and check it out?  Sessions are booked from week to week, so there is no need to commit to a series of sessions, and you can finish at any time.  

My online therapy page can be accessed directly via the following link. 

https://www.therapyhub.ie/therapist/coilin_o_braon...

The video link and payments are embedded in the site. For availability, please message me through the hub.

Over the last few decades, as the field of psychology has moved toward evidence-based practice, there has been more attention in the media about the increasing adoption of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) over other methods of treatment.

An interesting article in The Guardian newspaper takes some of the shine off Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Copy and paste the link below to read:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/03/why-cbt-is-falling-out-of-favour-oliver-burkeman

On RTÉ Radio 1, on Friday 11th October, 2013 you may listen into Morning Ireland for a article on the importance of hobbies and activities for good mental health.

While the Euro and Grexit have been headline news for some time, a few comments have suggested that the Greeks have been behaving in a childlike way, for example, Leo Varadkar compared the Greek government to a students’ union.

Most of the time, we are happy enough with our lives and with who we are. A crisis can, however, can cause us to question what life is all about.

Unresolved anger is an increasingly common issue in my practice with clients attracted to the concept of ‘managing anger.’ However, should anger be managed as if it were an incurable illness of some kind? Certainly, inappropriate outbursts of anger need to be contained, but in my view anger needs to be resolved more so than managed.

Panic or anxiety attacks are sudden unexplained bouts of fear, which cause the person to perspire, shake and want to escape the immediate environment.

Sometimes depression is caused by an obvious trigger such as bereavement or a relationship break-up. However, there is not always an apparent reason for becoming depressed. Depression can be caused by bottling-up old emotional wounds and by avoiding emotional pain when it is appropriate and necessary to do so.

A recent conference in Dublin hosted by the Children’s Therapy Centre underlined the growing awareness of the use of play in therapy for children. But what is play therapy exactly?

People can despair when times are hard. Sometimes we develop a belief that things will never get better, and that we are trapped in an unhappy life.

The recent scandal concerning child care centres raises some questions about the priorities of Ireland with regards to our children. I’m reminded of the very low turnout for the Children’s Referendum (33%) and the small majority in favour (58% of 33%).