If you suffer from anxiety, depression or other emotional problems:

Contacts, Links and Resources

This page is under continuous development
Please me to suggest a new entry.

   The single most important web address for any sufferer from emotional problems, and for any therapist, is 'Body-Mind QueenDom', www.queendom.com/. Queendom is an association of psychologists. I have the honour to be a member. Members are required to answer two queries each month, free of charge. You can view past questions and answers, or post your own problem. But there is a great dela more than that to Queendom including inspiring stories, humor, discussion groups, and much more.

Contents Low self-esteem Depression           Books        Resources Anxiety (including Phobias) (see also my panic attacks page)           Books        Mailing lists        Resources Serious Psychiatric Disorders (This is a separate page)          Manic-depressive Disorder          Schizopherenia          Borderline Personality Disorder Post-traumatic Stress Polyamory Addictions Children and families Teenage problems: support and advice    Marital therapy Bodywork for mental health Other Problems           Acne           Eating Disorders           Entrapment by a Cult           Narcissistic Personality Disorder           Menopause Sites of general interest            Help to Psychologists          Therapists                 Lists of Therapy sites          Ecopsychology

This site is listed on an excellent local directory. If you live in Victoria's beautiful Yarra Valley, you need to visit http://www.yarravalleynaturaltherapies.com.au.    Looking for a Therapist in the Yarra Ranges? Then look no further, visit this site for the latest news, information, health services & special offers in the Yarra Ranges…

Low self-esteem

    Chronic emotional problems like depression and anxiety almost always involve feelings like "I am no good", "There is something wrong with me" or the like. A key aim of Narrative Therapy is to change a person's negative self-beliefs. However, this aim is shared by many approaches, and can be achieved in many ways. I think it is fair to say that every contact below aims to improve feelings of self-esteem, particularly sites by fellow sufferers such as Juliet's page at Surf's Edge for Manic-depressive Disorder.

   Shelley Hussey's site: I'm Not OK, You're Not OK (But That's OK With God), seeks to help people shed the shame and blame of mental illness. Shelley and her husband Fred have had life-long experience with anxiety, depression, ADD, as well as various obsessions and compulsions. Yet they've learned to rise above their circumstances, through laughter, humor, faith, friends, medication, and education! In fact, Shelley has made it her goal to put the "fun" back in dys"fun"ctional, yet she has genuine compassion for those hurting. She calls herself a "wounded healer," and has even begun a "cyber" club for people wanting to shed shame, blame, and have fun!. She calls her group "Shameless Husseys," of course! Shameless Husseys will receive a weekly encouraging and humor-filled email from Shelley, and also be clued in to the doings of the Atlanta, GA group meetings of Shameless Husseys. Go the Shameless Husseys page of www.shelleyhussey.com to sign up.

   Ken McIsaac allows you to read online a free book, 32 KEYS A Collection of Ideas About Life. It is full of wisdom, and will lead you to a better, more serene view of the world, and yourself within it.

   Roger Elliott offers a Free 6-Part Low Self Esteem Course for building up low self esteem and increasing self confidence. He has online self-help tips for insecurity and reports on self confidence research.

Books

    "Self-esteem", by M. McKay and P. Fanning, Oakland, CA: New Harbringer, 1987.

    "Prisoners of belief", by M. McKay and P. Fanning, Oakland, CA: New Harbringer, 1991.

    "Reinventing your life: How to break free of negative life patterns" by J. E. Young and J. Klosko, New York: Dutton, 1994.

Depression

Books

    "Depression: Challenge the beast within yourself ... and win" by Cait Irwin. AVI Communications, Inc, 1998.

    "Coping with depression" (rev. ed.) by Aaron Beck and Ruth Greenberg, Bala Cynwid, PA: Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1995 is an excellent self-help resource.

    "Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond" by Judith Beck, New York: Guilford Press, 1995. This book is basically for psychologists wanting to learn the techniques of cognitive therapy, but it is written in plain language and is very useful for a person with a tendency to become severely depressed, or for someone wanting to help a loved one in the grip of depression.

    "Mind over mood: A cognitive therapy treatment manual for clients" by D. Greenberger and C. Padesky, New York: Guilford Press, 1995.

    "Feeling good: the new mood therapy", by D. D. Burns, New York: New American Library, 1980.

    "The feeling good handbook: Using the new mood therapy in everyday life" by D. D. Burns, New York: William Morrow, 1989.

Depression Resources

   Australia's Number 1 mental health site is Depressionet.com.au/. It is a vibrant community full of inspiration, information and companionship.

   Do you want to know if you qualify for the diagnosis of Depression? (not that labels matter). There is a free test at www.depression-screening.org/. This site is run by the Mental Health Association, and has lots of useful information as well.

   The Depression Alliance is a British charity that lists a great deal of well organised information, and provides support to sufferers.

Phobias and other anxieties

Books

    Check out my book and my ' panic attacks' page. The book teaches you a self-help technique that allows you to conquer your fears.

    "Anxiety disorders and phobias" by Aaron Beck and Gary Emery with Ruth Greenberg, Basic Books, 1985.

    "Panic attacks: How to cope, how to recover" (rev. ed.) by Ruth Greenberg and Aaron Beck, Bala Cynwid, PA: Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1995.

    "Coping with anxiety and panic" (rev. ed.) by Aaron Beck and Gary Emery, Bala Cynwid, PA: Beck Institute for Cognitive Therpay and Research, 1995.

   I often use Aaron Beck's cognitive therapy techniques. Cognitive therapy is based on the concept that you can check the accuracy of your thoughts (eg. fears) by experiment. Any one of these books will show you how to do it for yourself.

Mailing lists

There are literally hundreds of mailing lists and bulletin boards for anxiety problems generally, and for particular phobias. I used Liszt and Lycos to find them. Or you can go to Topica and Yahoogroups to find an existing one, or to start your own. Here are a few friendly, helpful examples:

*Phobias UK, the United Kingdom resource for sufferers of phobias, anxieties, stress and panic attacks allows you to post a cry for help, which is soon answered by owner David Hill and others in a supportive, informative way.

*  Christchurch Social Phobia Support Group - A support group for people with social phobia.

*    Panic Attacks Message board and chat room for people suffering from Panic Attacks, depression, and anxiety.

*    Season of Peace offers freedom from panic attacks, stress, anxiety.

Resources

*    Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

*   'Help for Anxiety, Phobias, OCD and Depression' is a site that offers insight into anxiety-related problems and a self-help approach to begin to deal with them. www.help-for.com

*   Anxiety Network Australia -- www.anxietynetwork.com.au -- loads of useful and 'local' information for Australians living with high levels of anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, generalised anxiety, ocd, ptsd, and specific phobias. Support groups in your area, workshops in your neighbourhood, resources, causes, treatments, where to find a practitioner, poetry, personal stories etc.

*   Visit Rich Presta’s site for Driving Anxiety, home of the Driving Fear Program, a self help program for those suffering from the fear of driving. A forum for the fear of driving can also be found at Fear of Driving Forum.

*    A suitable selection from the Royal College of Psychiatrists' leaflets on common mental health issues (Anxiety & Phobias).

*   Visit the Emetophobia Eraser Program website, which includes a self help program for those suffering from the fear of vomiting.

* Your fear of flying, can be helped with the complimentary guide available from Rich Pantone, who used to be terrified by the thought of getting onto a plane.

*    The Mental Health Association of Ireland.

*    American Psychiatric Association<www. apa.org has a page devoted to phobias: http://www.apa.org/releases/fear.html.

*    www.thepsych.com is a good source of information about anxiety-related problems.

*   Social Anxiety Australia -- www.socialanxiety.com.au -- the first comprehensive site exclusively on Social Anxiety in Australia -- information on the causes, treatments and therapies beneficial for recovery, where to find help, support groups and workshops in your local area, recovery stories, links and resources. Established and maintained by Sue Cleland who lived with Social Anxiety for 20 years before recovering.

*    The Anxiety Panic Internet Resource [TAPIR] is an essential resource. It is full of information, offers support both to sufferers and for people who worry about them, has books for sale, and lists professionals interested in working with sufferers.

*    Dr John Mason runs the Stress Education Center, a very helpful site.

    Phobias and other kinds of chronic anxiety problems are NOT diseases. I don't even like to call them 'disorders'. Just the same, the Lycos Diseases Guide: Phobias is an excellent starting point for a search.

    The search engine GoTo has proven excellent at turning up relevant 'hits' on anxiety, panic and phobias.

Post-traumatic Stress

*   Traumatic Incident Reduction is a brief, one-on-one, non-hypnotic, person-centered, simple and highly structured method for permanently eliminating the negative effects of past traumas. It involves repeated viewing of a traumatic memory under conditions designed to enhance safety and minimize distractions. The TIR Association is a resource for referrals, finding training, and learning whether TIR is right for you.

*    You'll find all you need to know at David Baldwin's trauma information pages, which exist at a number of 'mirror sites'.

Polyamory

   Well, actually, Polyamory is NOT a problem. It is a stable, loving relationship between more than two people. The problem is how others react to you, and the fact that those of us brought up in a supposedly monogamous culture are likely to suffer jealousy and other negative emotions.
   I have worked with quite a number of clients who were in polyamorous relationships, or those who were contemplating one. You can find other competent, sympathetic therapists by visiting the links in this web ring:

Addictions

    I have hardly even started to compile information on addictions. Please email me with any links you think should go here.

*    Alcoholics Anonymous is at www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/

*   Bright Eye Counselling is an online counselling and psychology service for people having problems with alcohol or drugs. The service provides extensive cognitive resources to complement the individual or group sessions.

*    The Dual Diagnosis Website, run by Kathleen Sciacca, specifically helps people who have both a psychiatric problem and an addiction, an all too common situation. (This is why addictive substances are NOT good for self-medication. You just end up with two problems.)

*   MyAddiction.com is an online educational and informational website on Addiction and Recovery, which includes information on addiction categories such as nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, prescription drugs, sex, gambling and eating disorders.

Children and families

   The INTERNATIONAL PARENTING NETWORK is the brainchild of Joan Bramsch, experienced familywoman, educator, international author and entrepreneur. Serving Today's Parents is her passion! Her worldwide "Empowered Parenting Ezine" provides timely tips and valuable advice. Parent comment: "Other ezines, I skim; yours, I read every word!" Joan invites you to come over for a visit; she loves company! http://www.JoanBramsch.com

   The RESOURCE CENTER FOR CHILDREN OF ABUSE is a resource where you can find contacts to Hospitals, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Therapists, and Counselors for treatment of DID,(Disassociation Disorder),Child Abuse, incest. Information is provided on request for services by E-mail and/or Web page links. RCCA2000 WEB PAGE

Support and advice for teenagers

   For years now, I have been emailed by quite a few teenagers desperate for help, but unable to pay even my low fees. A colleague told me about the collection of links to Teen Help sites at Ohio State University: http://www.hec.ohio-state.edu/coping/helplinks.htm.

Marital Therapy

   MARRIAGE COUNSELING NEW JERSEY Visit YourMarriageCounselor.com for marriage counseling information by Dr. Marty Tashman, a respected therapist in the field.

* The Marriage Counseling Blog has hundreds of articles about marriage and couples counseling.

Body work for mental health

   The mind is not in the brain, but in the whole body. There are many approaches to using this fact.

   Stewart Kerr is a Remedial Massage Therapist living and practicing in Healesville, heart of the Yarra Valley. Stewart uses a variety of techniques tailored to each client's needs. Remedial Massage, Shiatsu and intuitive energy healing are all part of what you can receive when you make a booking with Stewart at Healesville Massage.

Other Problems

Acne

   At the Acne Resource Center, you will find top quality acne research, clear acne information and tips on becoming acne free. If you have ever struggled with acne or know somebody that does, take a look at this site.

Eating Disorders

*   Eating Disorder Referral and Information Center http://www.edreferral.com/
   The Eating Disorder Referral and Information Center is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. It provides free information and treatment resources for all forms of eating disorders and promotes social attitudes that enhance a healthy body image and self-esteem.

Entrapment by a Cult

*     If you have a relative or friend who, in your opinion, is being brainwashed and exploited by a group or individual, contact AFF Cultic Studies. They can also help victims of such treatment to recover.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder
*   Sam Vaknin runs a very extensive web site devoted to this problem: http://samvak.tripod.com/

Menopause
Menopause can be a thing of the past when you know how to effectively conquer it. Explore the Menopause and Black Cohosh Information Center today and learn everything you can about getting over Menopause. When you arm yourself with information, nothing can get in your way. Visit now!

Sites of General Interest

   Drugwatch.com is a comprehensive Web site featuring extensive information about medications, drug interactions, and drug side effects.

Narraitve Network News is an excellent magazine, full of articles of interest for those practicing Narrative Therapy, or wanting to find out about it. Narrative Therapy is highly effective, and far more fun to do than CBT.

    Dr John Grohol runs Psych Central, a valuable resource both for sufferers and professionals. For example, there are many links, and also immediately helpful information to help those contemplating suicide.

    The Mental Health Mall by PsychScapes is a large data base, among other things listing therapists by location. Mental health conferences and workshops can be listed here.

    The Mental Health Net is a guide to online mental health, psychology and psychiatry. It is a useful resource both for the professional and for the sufferer.

   AtHealth is a site with valuable advice, including short articles by psychologists.

Help to Psychologists

*   Kate Anthony MSc is a short-term Integrative Counsellor for the National Health Service in the UK. She researches Online Counselling and psychology, and runs conversion training for Counsellors available as a one-day workshop, a university lecture, or a full consultancy service tailored to individuals, groups, companies and universities. She is also a regular speaker at conferences, and can be contacted at www.onlinecounsellors.co.uk.

Lists of Therapy sites

*    Martha Ainsworth has a wondeful site at http://www.metanoia.org/imhs/. She lists web sites where online therapy is offered. Before accepting a site, she personally checks it out, and her criteria are high. In addition to this list, she offers lots of resources both to therapists and to people seeking them.

*    If you live in the USA, you can access a program called PhoneDisc http://www.phonedisc.com/ to locate just about everyone and everything, residential listing and business, sorted all kinds of ways. So you can find out if there is a psychologist in practice nearby.

*    Don Carter, a young student, has assembled an excellent collection of links to counseling sites. This is only one page of his site...

*Hypnotherapy Melbourne
The Australian Centre of Hypnosis specialises in professional Hypnotherapy, located in Melbourne. They work with many physical and mental symptoms and re-empower a person.

Therapists

   Power of Mind -- Private Online Counselling
A confidential counselling service online, via an Instant Messenger program that can be accessed anywhere, anytime.

*  Hypnotherapy Melbourne Bruce Alexander is a Hypnotherapist based in Victoria, Australia, specialising in all forms of hypnotherapy.

*   Advanced Hypnosis Lincoln: Rachael Eccles runs a busy practice offering hypnosis throughout Lincoln and Lincolnshire†to help you change, take control and reach your goals.† Anxiety relief, overcoming fears & phobias, successful weight loss and much more can be achieve through hypnosis.† Self hypnosis recordings are also available.

*   Hypnotherapy Lincoln is run by Lauren Allman, Ba (Hons) Dip.Hyp. a highly experienced hypnotherapist working in Lincoln Uk and the surrounding areas. You will find information on Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy and the many issues that can be successfully treated with these techniques. Free Initial consultation & Cds made to order to complement your sessions.

*   Judith Allen, Ph.D. http://TherapyAve.com is an immensely experienced and competent therapist who offers online counseling. I belong to an email list she started.

* Cambridge Hypnotherapy 2 Empower is run by Emma-Louise Wilson, who is a compassionate, qualified, dedicated professional Clinical Hypnotherapist based in Cambridge, UK. She is a fully qualified and experienced NLP and Time Line Practitioner. She specialises in weight loss and smoking cessation.

*   Cort Curtis has written a statement about his view of therapy. It was so good that with his permission I have posted it on my web site. You can visit Cort at http://www.achangeinthinking.com

*Online Counseling at The FOCOS Counseling Center offers online counseling associated with depression, anxiety, anger. The FOCOS Counseling Center also offers couple counseling, parent counseling and life coaching. Counselor credentials are viewable within the site.

*   Online counselling and marriage counselling for marriage, family, relationship, personal, workplace problems. Email counseling and therapy. Online counsellor for your counseling needs. Relationship & marriage help.

*   Jef Gazley http://www.asktheinternettherapist.com/ is a member of the same list. He also impresses me with his abilities.

*Eddie Lester runs Oxford Hypnotherapy in the UK. He is also associated with Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy UK, a list of links, resources and information for hypnotherapy in the UK. Includes a free directory for hypnotherapists.

*   Don Levy, http://counseling-online.com/ is a multi-skilled, immensely experienced counselor.

*    Students suffer the full range of problems besetting other people, but student counseling has some special features. The Hartwick student counseling site focuses on this.

*Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis Training Course in Christchurch, New Zealand www.hypnotherapy-christchurch.co.nz

* Marriage, Therapist, Counselor: Free Telehealth Resource. Contact a therapist now over your phone with no long distance internationally. Using our international IP phone network any one can contact a doctor on any phone for free with no long distance charges. Our server calls the patient and doctor directly.

* Adrian Tanner is a Manchester, UK based professional hypnotherapy and NLP practitioner offering hypnosis and other therapies for a range of issues. http://www.lastingchange.co.uk/

*Achieve with Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, EFT and NLP in Oxford, Oxfordshire
   Richard MacKenzie has an extremely successful practice in Witney Oxfordshire (UK) in which he has sessions with clients from all over the community in the South-East of England. He is a firm believer that you should leave one of his sessions feeling completely empowered to make the life that you have always dreamt of for yourself! Using the latest techniques, Richard aims to help you set and achieve your goals and to enjoy life in full. Stop smoking, lose weight and learn stress management with Richard MacKenzie today at - www.richardmackenzie.co.uk.

* www.mind-works.co.uk The Mind Works, Hypnotherapy and NLP for private and corporate clients. Terry Doherty internationally recognized hypnotherapist and performance coach.

*   Ewa Schwarz runs http://www.onlinecounseling.org/: an alternative online counseling service for personal growth and self-exploration with a focus on privacy and security. Counseling is provided through an intuitive and individuated process that replaces judgments and negative self-talk with new positive processes and perceptions.

*    Therapy Online is a Canadian service offering online counseling to Canadians. The site contains lots of interesting information, including an argument for the superiority of email over face-to-face counseling in some situations.

*    Ecopsychology is partly what my site is about (read my essay). Greenwich University offers a formal course on this subject.

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