What is Psyche-Therapy

I am often asked why do I call my practice “Psyche-Therapy” as opposed to “Psychotherapy?” Psyche-Therapy is a particular orientation some practitioners of mental health have when they work with their clients, where attention is given to the whole person instead of being isolated or reduced to a DSM-V diagnosis.

The word Psyche-Therapy comes from two ancient Greek terms “Psyche” and “Therapeia”

Psyche: is an ancient Greek term which can be appreciated as soul, spirit, life force . . . or more expansively the animating principle of the kosmos. Psyche in modern psychology encompasses both the mind and the brain and the conscious and unconscious aspects of the Self.

Therapeia: is another ancient Greek term that connotes healing, treatment, curing . . . Therapy, the modern English term is etymologically derived from Therapeia and encompasses vast fields such as pharmacological therapy to physiotherapy. Therapy then is a generic word that simply underscores a mode or method of working with a field to help catalyze results within the individual that are rejuvenating.

So Psyche + Therapy = Psyche-Therapy= a holistic therapeutic facilitation engaging the myriad conscious and unconscious layers of the Self.

About Sonera:

Sonera, a psychotherapist in Mumbai likes to refer to her practice as Psyche-Therapy, thereby removing any stigma associated with psychiatrists. We help people with mental disorders using cognitive behaviour therapy.

Read more at http://www.sonerajhaveri.com/blog/psyche-therapy/what-is-psyche-therapy

Making friends with our emotions

 Most of us are pegged on the pleasure-pain continuum bobbing up and down the scale between hedonism and agony. We do not want to feel sadness, loneliness, and alienation; instead we want to feel happy, peaceful and content. Our instinct is to resist, get rid of, repress, dissociate or defensively do away with difficult emotions as they hurt. Yet these efforts to dispense with emotional distress are often clumsy and psychologically ineffective. As the pain we feel will return and and we can feel it deep in out bodyminds’ if we pay attention.

Another way, to deal with emotions, even disturbing ones might be to practice what the Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi says to “welcome them all!” By allowing difficult emotions to arise and by simultaneously training our capacity to tolerate distress, we can become equanimous in the face of any mental storm.

About Sonera:

Sonera, a psychotherapist in Mumbai likes to refer to her practice as Psyche-Therapy, thereby removing any stigma associated with psychiatrists. We help people with mental disorders using cognitive behaviour therapy.

Read more at http://www.sonerajhaveri.com/blog/psyche-therapy/making-friends-with-our-emotions

Mindfulness and Eating

 

For those of us seeking meaningful and healthy ways of being-in-the-world, our relationship to food, (equivalently) along with other quotients of well being, such as spiritual practice, psychological growth, exercise, time spent in nature, nurturing relationships, and aesthetic appreciation, to name a few, is of paramount importance. Below are some guidelines to help restore us to consciously eating:

1)      Before eating do a baseline self- check on your hunger level before eating. Ask yourself where do you feel the hunger? How hungry are you?

2)      Involve all your senses when you eat i.e. really see, smell, taste and feel the food you are eating

3)      Serve yourself moderate helpings of food

4)      Really chew your food and break it down

5)      Eat in a slow fashion to prevent over eating

6)      Don’t skip meals

7)      Avoid all distractions when you are eating

8)      Eat an organic plant based diet as much as possible for yours and the planet’s health

9)      Therapeutically work with yourself or with a mental health professional to reduce your stress, depression, anxiety, anger and boredom levels

About Sonera:

Sonera, a psychotherapist in Mumbai likes to refer to her practice as Psyche-Therapy, thereby removing any stigma associated with psychiatrists. We help people with mental disorders using cognitive behaviour therapy.

Read more at http://www.sonerajhaveri.com/blog/psyche-therapy/mindfulness-and-eating