What is a Psychometrist?

Alcoholism is addiction, involving a dependency on a substance. Addictions, including alcoholism involve compulsive, self-defeating behaviour that continues in spite of negative consequences. Stopping the behaviour results in extreme physical and mental discomfort, which tends to contribute to people returning to their addiction. Many psychologists are experts in helping people recover from their addictions and live successful and more comfortable lives.

An addiction refers to having a dependency on a substance or a process. An example of a substance dependency is alcoholism. Examples of process addictions include having a gambling or an Internet addiction. Addictions involve compulsive, self-defeating behaviour that continues in spite of negative consequences. Stopping the behaviour results in extreme physical and mental discomfort, which tends to contribute to people returning to their addiction. Many psychologists are experts in helping people recover from their addictions and live successful and more comfortable lives.

While everyone gets angry from time to time, some people have rage reactions or explosive outbursts which emotionally or even physically hurt other people in their surroundings. Even the intense direct expression of anger can be problematic if people do not control where and when they express anger. These days, tolerance for intense, angry behaviour is low, even if expressed only in words. Angry outbursts can be considered abusive and can result in reprimands in the work place or fines and charges in public places.

Anxiety has been frequently described as feelings of fright, flight or freeze. This means that people experiencing anxiety have both the mental and the physical, visceral feelings of wanting to escape the situation, fight what is challenging or simply cannot move in any direction to deal with what is troubling them.

Psychological Assessments are used by psychologists to help determine a diagnosis and inform the course of treatment. There are many different components to these assessments such as different tests, interviews, school and medical records, medical information, and observation.

Children present with behavioural problems for a variety of reasons. In some cases, children’s behaviour problems are caused by the child’s temperament or by biologically based conditions such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. In other cases, the child is reacting to stressors or changes in the environment. Some examples would be parental separation and divorce or loss of a parent. Psychologists can help parents to understand the causes of their child’s behaviour and can then advise how to best deal with their child’s problems. Psychologists may offer individual therapy for the child if appropriate or may consult with the parents regarding strategies they can employ to deal with their child’s behaviour more effectively.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that can cause significant shifts in mood and energy, including depressive lows and manic highs. Bipolar symptoms usually become apparent during late adolescence or early adulthood. Symptoms can be triggered by events, as well, such as pregnancy and childbirth.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is essentially a disorder of emotional dysregulation and those of us who are experts in the field would like to see it renamed as such. Those at risk for developing BPD are genetically and neurologically predisposed to a greater sensitivity to life events, particularly interpersonal events. If this greater sensitivity is combined with an early invalidating or abusive family environment, the person is at higher risk of developing the disorder. Alternatively, if the family cannot teach the sensitive child to manage or regulate his or her emotions, general life experience may also foster the development of BPD or BPD traits.

Burnout is a condition in which the individual feels completely overwhelmed from an increasing inability to cope with a build-up of stressors considered within the normal range of human experiences. Many of the symptoms are common to depression, including diminished interest and enjoyment of work and personal life.

Childhood trauma refers to when a child experiences a traumatic event that results in negative and pervasive physical, psychological and cognitive effects.

Codependency is an emotional and behavioural condition that leads to imbalanced relationships. In codependent relationships, there is often one individual enabling another’s self-destructive behaviour, such as substance abuse, poor mental health and coping skills, immaturity, and under-achievement. Codependency can lead to individuals staying in unhealthy or abusive relationships because they feel as though they cannot live without the other person.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of talk therapy that focuses on reframing harmful or painful thoughts and behaviours. This form of therapy is often used to treat anxiety and depression but can be helpful with many different mental and physical challenges.

Throughout life, in the various contexts such as home or work, it is very common to come across conflicts and differences of opinions. It is often possible to resolve these challenges alone, but sometimes these disagreements can cause intense negative emotions, which can escalate the situation. In those cases, it can be helpful to have a mediator to filter through the emotions and clarify the facts.

Crisis intervention is an urgent and temporary care given to an individual experiencing a crisis. The purpose of this intervention is to interrupt and prevent negative or harmful behaviours and reduce emotional distress, with the hope that the client (an individual, couple or family) will be able to return to their usual level of functioning and be able to cope with future crises with greater ease.

Cultural adaptation is the ability of individuals to overcome changes in their natural and social environments. It is common for individuals to experience certain challenges following relocating from regions or countries with cultures different from where they are from or used to.

Depression is a state of low mood in which people feel helpless, hopeless, worthless, lethargic and unable to enjoy the things that used to give them pleasure. People who are depressed are often irritable or pessimistic. Their low mood goes beyond having “the blues” or being sad. Even people who are grieving usually do not sink into depression. People diagnosed with a Major Depressive Disorder cannot just “pull up their socks” to get better. They require professional help. Psychologists use a variety of scientifically based psychotherapeutic approaches to help people recover from depression.

Dialectic Behavioural Therapy (DBT) is a form of talk therapy that is particularly helpful for individuals experiencing very intense emotions and can be used to treat mood disorders and interpersonal conflicts. It focuses on accepting feelings and thoughts. DBT addresses feelings directly through techniques focused on emotional regulation and distress tolerance.

Eating disorders are common illnesses that are very serious and can be fatal. These disorders refer to changes in the eating and exercise behaviours of individuals as well as thoughts or emotions surrounding eating. Some possible signs of an eating disorder are preoccupations with body weight, body shape, and food.

Couples and families often go through experiences that can challenge the stability of the relationships, leading to feelings of anger, fear, betrayal, and lack of trust. In these instances, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) can be beneficial to provide guidance on how to improve the relationships. EFT can also be helpful for individuals who are experiencing depression or the effects of trauma, such as individuals who are struggling to cope with their own illness or the illness of their child.

EMDR is an evidence-based integrative psychotherapy that was developed in the late 1980s initially as a treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is based on the Adaptive Information Processing theory which suggests that the psychopathology is the result of maladaptive encoding and/or incomplete processing of traumatic or disturbing adverse events. EMDR aims to complete or store more adaptively these memories.

Parents and their children may love each other but when they clash, it can be distressing. When disagreements occur often, if not at seemingly every turn, it can create a stressful home environment. Parents and their children may not always see eye-to-eye, especially in this ever-changing and complex world, and communication and problem-solving can be an ongoing challenge, however, these are skills that can be learned and can be improved upon. As well, professional help may be invaluable should things get out of hand and when emotions flare and conflict threatens to become the new norm.

The family unit that raises and lives with an individual is called a Family of Origin. This is not necessarily a biological family, as family structure can be very complex. Families of origin have a lasting impact on an individual's development, and help shape worldview, relationship development and patterns, physical health, and mental resilience.

As individuals age, their physical and mental capacity gradually decrease and the risk of disease and death increases. Aging individuals often face significant physical changes such as reduction in vision and hearing, chronic pain, and other illnesses. As well, aging also brings other significant transitions in life such as retirement, moving into housing with more assistance, and the death of peers.

Grief is the emotional response to the loss of someone, something or some place of emotional significance to the person. Grief is a normal emotion which has impact on people’s physical, mental, behavioural and social states. People who are grieving usually experience fatigue and find that everything takes more effort.

Chronic pain and mental health disorders often occur together. In fact, research suggests that chronic pain and mental health problems can contribute to and exacerbate each other.

Clients are referred by lawyers, insurers, healthcare professionals, and other third parties for specific Independent Medical Assessments such as neuropsychological and psychological evaluations. Independent psychological assessments involve an approach that combines interviews and psychological tests designed to contribute to the psychologists’ professional opinion about the state of mind and psychological functioning of the client. The referral questions typically involve the courts, lawyers, or insurance companies. The assessment is conducted by a psychologist who has not yet previously been involved in the client’s treatment and will not be seeing the client for treatment in the future. The psychologist provides an impartial, objective opinion about the client’s state of mind and the probable causes of that state of mind.

Identity relates to an individual’s sense of self that is built through experiences, relationships, beliefs, values, and memories. This sense of self stays mostly consistent regardless of any aspects of the self that develop or strengthen as time progresses. Certain factors or events might contribute to an overall sense of uncertainty regarding one or more areas of an individual’s identity, including career aspirations, sexual and gender orientation, social circles, values, and behaviour.

Incest describes sexual abuse that is committed against a child by a parent or close family member. Survivors of this form of abuse may have varying impacts into adulthood. These individuals are at an increased risk of experiencing poor self-esteem, shame, self-hatred, interpersonal difficulties, as well as a sense of helplessness and worthlessness.

Infertility often has a detrimental effect on an individual’s self-esteem, emotions, relationships, identity and beliefs about life. Symptoms of anxiety and depression are common. There can be a profound sense of loss of the desired child and ensuing sense of helplessness and powerlessness. One may harbour a sense of shame, alienation, isolation or jealousy and anger of others. There is inevitable strain on the couple in their physical and emotional intimacy, such as blame or guilt. Sex may even become less enjoyable and fraught with anxiety as they try to conceive during particular time periods.

Learning disabilities cause a child to experience difficulty achieving academically to the level that would be expected given the child’s general intellectual ability. There are different types of learning disabilities which affect achievement in different ways and which require different forms of intervention.Psychologists can assist parents in planning for their child’s education by providing a psychoeducational assessment. These assessments provide clarification as to the nature of the child’s disability and provide recommendations for interventions which can help the child to achieve their academic potential. Such assessments also help parents to be aware of the type of post-secondary educational programs in which their child is likely to achieve success in future.

Psychologists can provide a safe space to address issues related to gender and sexuality. Common themes include mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, substance use, gender dysphoria), rejection/bullying, relationship difficulties, confusion, the coming out process, isolation, etc.

A life transition can be any change or adjustment that impacts your life in a significant way. We all experience transitions throughout our lives — big and small, planned and unplanned, easy and difficult.

If you and your partner have been having constant unresolved relationship difficulties, you may find couples’ therapy extremely rewarding, even if at times it is difficult, stressful and frightening.

Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy which was developed by Dr. Anthony Bateman and Dr. Peter Fonagy from the Anna Freud Center (London UK). Mentalizing is the idea of keeping someone else’s mind in your mind. Successful mentalizing involves the understanding of what is going on in our own minds and the minds of other people along with realising how this may be affecting the emotions, thoughts and actions of both ourselves and those around us. However, when our mental health is affected this can lead to impairments in our abilities to mentalize, which can lead to misunderstandings of emotions, thoughts and actions which can negatively impact on social interactions and relationships. The goal of MBT therapy is to help individuals to increase their mentalizing capacity in the here and now.

Mindfulness is the ability to be aware of present thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and the surrounding environment and label them from an objective viewpoint, without judgment.

Neuropsychology is the study of the relationship between the brain and behaviour. The evaluations are comprehensive and address both cognitive and character-related aspects of an individual. Assessments provide a diagnosis regarding the individual’s level of cognitive and emotional function and a medical-legal opinion regarding SABS (Statutory Accident Benefits), long-term disability and specific legal questions.

Many different factors can effect a person’s experience of pain. Pain therapy by a psychologist involves discovering and adjusting such factors. The issues that make the experience of pain more intense include environment stresses, difficult relationships and individual factors, such as anxious thinking, inaccurate beliefs, having few skills to handle stress, and negative health habits. Psychologists also help people understand how their pain impacts the various parts of their life, and helps them cope with their pain in useful ways to reduce how much the pain interferes with their quality of life.

Children are affected by parental separation and divorce in different ways. Research has indicated that children react in different ways at different ages and that other factors than parental separation alone influence the degree to which a child’s adjustment can be affected by parental separation and divorce.

Play therapy is often beneficial for helping children experiencing social or emotional deficits improve their communication skills, address challenging behaviours, and foster healthy ways of relating to others. Children who have experienced or witnessed stressful events such as abuse, serious illness, or domestic violence may benefit from play therapy.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can follow the experiencing or witnessing of a severe trauma involving the actual or threat of death or serious injury to the self or others. The traumatized person has typically reacted to the trauma with intense fear, helplessness or horror. Alternatively, an accumulation of less intensely damaging situations (‘small ‘t’ traumas’) can over time also lead to PTSD.

Psychoanalysis is a classical and modern method of long-term psychological treatment. It is complex and is more than psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis often eases psychological suffering after many other therapy methods have had limited success.

Whether we work for others or are self-employed our working life can go on for decades. It can mean so much in how we see ourselves and whether we feel accomplished or not. Vocational/career counselling helps get us on track.

Religion and spirituality give many individuals a sense of meaning in their lives and can be a great resource for finding a sense of community. As well, religious and spiritual beliefs can provide comfort and strength in times of crisis. Despite all of the positive aspects of religion and spirituality, they can also cause strain and stress.

Self-esteem refers to the perception of oneself (values, abilities, self-worth, etc.). It impacts one’s relationships, mental health, and achievement. For instance, negative self-regard can lead to mood disturbances, anxiety, and loneliness; It can increase the likelihood of conflict in relationships and increase vulnerability to substance abuse. On the other hand, individuals with positive self-views are generally more likely to maintain positive relationships, maintain a positive outlook on life, and achieve success.

Sexual dysfunction is a common problem that affects individuals of all genders.This term covers a broad range of challenges relating to sexual activity and often has multiple causes that can be both physical and mental. Sex can be a significant part of life, and as such, sexual dysfunction can be experienced as distressing, causing feelings of isolation, shame, and depression, which in turn can also have a profound negative impact on existing relationships.

Sexual pain can be very distressing and women who suffer from it often feel isolated, ashamed, and depressed. Pain can also have a profound negative impact on existing relationships. Fortunately, psychologists can help manage sexual pain, often in conjunction with physicians and physiotherapists. Psychologists can help address traumatic sexual experiences, reduce negative emotions, and decrease the fear of painful sex in order to improve sexual functioning.

Sleep disorders are common conditions that negatively affect the quality and/or amount of sleep. Sleep disorders can result in individuals receiving too much or too little sleep, poor quality of sleep, and sometimes strange or dangerous behaviours while sleeping.

It is important to look at the effect or impact that stress and anxiety has on your work and home life. A professional therapist – psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker or counsellor can assist in the stress management process.

Psychologists can help individuals process and understand the emotions that arise from being diagnosed with a terminal illness. They can help clients cope with grief and communicate with loved ones. Family members can benefit from therapy, too. Feelings of anticipatory grief can be explored. Family members can also be supported through the upcoming reality of a life without their loved one. In addition, psychologists can provide grief counselling after a loved one has died.