Diabetes is a serious disease which if left untreated, can have enormous consequences for the health of the diabetic.

However, the mental health of people with diabetes is often not discussed, yet is often impacted by this disease. It's not uncommon for diabetics to suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and relationship issues.

Australia Counselling member Carolien Koreneff has the unique skills of being a diabetes educator as well as a somatic psychotherapist. So we spoke with her about how diabetes and mental health are closely related.

In this interview Carolien shares:

•How she started working in the field of diabetes

•A background about the field of diabetes and therapy – 3:00

•What is diabetes and the different types of diabetes - 4:15

•Why type 1 diabetes is considered a more serious health issue – 6:00

•Other ways diabetes impacts people – 6:25

•The mental health issues for people with diabetes – 8:00

•How Carolien combines Diabetes education work with psychosomatic therapy work - 9:15

•What counsellors should you be aware of when encountering clients with diabetes – 11:50

•Warning signs to watch for when glucose levels drop low – 12:55

•The importance of mood regulation for diabetics – 14:25

•Relationship issues that can arise during mood changes – 15:05

•How she helps her clients increase their body awareness and tune into what their body is telling them – 15:50

Get the show notes with all the links and resources mentioned in this episode at http://australiacounselling.com.au/79

If you work with couples, you probably find some of your most challenging couples to work with are those in high conflict.

Sometimes couples come into the therapy room right from a fight and continue the fight in your office. Or perhaps you're dealing with a couple that has been harbouring resentment and anger that explodes out when they talk about certain issues.

Whatever the case, the reality is you need to contain your clients and put rules in place to make the therapeutic environment safe and secure so everyone can be heard and validated for the therapy to progress.

This is no easy task at the best of times and made all the harder if you're a therapist who personally finds conflict challenging.

So we spoke with Australia Counselling member Jacqueline McDiarmid who specialises in working with couples and families, and has a wealth of experience in working with high conflict couples and training therapists in how to work with these clients.

In this interview Jacqueline shares:

Get the show notes at http://australiacounselling.com.au/session78

The coming out experience for a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex person (LGBTI) is unique for each person.

It's not uncommon for a LGBTI person to experience rejection, homophobia, harassment and abuse that can lead to serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol addiction and suicide.

Australia Counselling member and Melbourne psychotherapist Matt Glover is passionate about advocating for the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTI people and has dedicated his counselling and psychotherapy practice to this cause.

He has taken a fascinating journey as a former Baptist minister for 14 years where he was struck by the poor levels of mental health and the high levels of suicide of LGBTI people.

In this interview Matt covers:

Access the show notes at http://australiacounselling.com.au/session77

There’s no doubt that online video is experiencing an exponential growth in recent times. If you’re marketing your private practice online, it’s an important channel to consider adding to your marketing mix.

Have a look at some of these amazing video statistics:

So we spoke with professional videographer Duane Strauss of Bright Crayon Productions about how to create short videos to promote your private practice.

In this interview he shares:

Mediation is often considered the last stop for couples who are separating and need help disentangling their lives and working out how to divide their finances and formalise their co-parenting arrangements.

However there is a lot more to mediation than meets the eye. In fact, a great many types of disputes between couples, work colleagues, neighbours and families can all be effectively resolved with mediation.

Julia Brierley is a nationally accredited mediator who has a great deal of experience working with many people from all walks on life who are trying to resolve a dispute.

In this interview Julia shares:

Here the show notes at http://australiacounselling.com.au/session74

Most people experience shock at one time or another in their life and a great majority of people are in shock on a daily basis.

Shock may begin early in life and then build up as life’s stresses increase, or it may result from a sudden traumatic event.

When shock is not treated, it can lead to serious illness and health issues, dysfunctional relationships and addictions to sugar, alcohol and drugs.

Diane Zimberoff and David Hartman are a husband and wife team of psychotherapists with over 30 years experience in helping people heal the shock and trauma in their lives. They are also the authors of the best-selling book: Overcoming Shock: Healing the Traumatised Mind and Heart.

In this interview, Diane and David discuss:

Get the show notes with all the links and resources mentioned in this epsiode at http://australiacounselling.com.au/session73

As a therapist, writing can be a powerful and effective way to help you build an online profile that can lead to increased exposure for your business, requests for media interviews and new clients inquiries.

Writing can be in the form of magazine articles, blogging, guest blogging, copywriting on your website or newspaper articles. All these avenues help you establish yourself as an authority in your niche and the ‘go-to’ expert for the clients you work with.

If you’re a therapist who is not sharing your knowledge and expertise through writing, you could be missing out on valuable opportunities for growing your business.

Valerie Khoo is a journalist and author who is the founder of the Australian Writers’ Centre. She has mentored countless writers that have gone on to write for prestigious publications and publish books.

In this interview Valerie covers:

In our latest therapist success story, we interview Sydney couple therapist Melissa Ferrari to find out how she has created a successful private practice.

Melissa has an interesting story because she has built her practice up from part-time work while volunteering and working in other jobs, to a thriving practice where she refers clients to her associates.

Melissa has also been effective is using Facebook in a strategic way to drive traffic to her website and capture new counselling prospects.

In this interview Melissa shares:

When you're running a busy therapy practice, time is money.

So you want to make sure you're working as productively as you can with the time outside of your client hours.

Thankfully there are lots of tech tools that can help you work more effectively and efficiently when it comes to the running of your business.

When it comes to working as a therapist in private practice, it’s sometimes challenging only trading dollar for hours.

The downside of working in private practice as a therapist is you don’t get paid if you’re sick, take holidays or need to decrease your client load.

This is where multiple streams of income can be enormously helpful in increasing your overall revenue and support your income when you’re not seeing clients.

U.S. therapist Mari A. Lee has had some great success with creating digital products and has built a practice that is built on multiple streams of income.

She is passionate about this business model for therapists as a way to share your knowledge with the world while working less hours in your practice.

In this interview Mari shares: