We live in a world today where many people feel entitled to money, fame, success and popularity. Studies are telling us that narcissism is at an all time high.

What exactly is narcissism are we having a narcissism epidemic? What are the causes of narcissism and can anything be done to prevent a future generation of narcissists?

Dr Jean Twenge is professor of psychology at San Diego State University and has been researching and writing about this topic for many years. Her ground-breaking book The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement answers many questions about what’s happening in our culture and what can be done to reduce narcissism.

In this interview Dr Jean Twenge shares:

When it comes to counselling gay men, adolescents and boys, it’s critical as a counsellor you understand some of the special needs and challenges of this minority population to be effective.

Dr Michael Kocet is a U.S. professor and mental health counsellor who has specialised in working with gay men, adolescents and boys, as well as educating counselling students about this very specific area of counselling.

He has also recently written a comprehensive book on the topic called Counselling Gay Men, Adolescents, and Boys: A Strengths-Based Guide for Helping Professionals and Educators.

In this interview, Michael discusses:

Australia Counselling member Helen Larkey is a therapist who was struggling to build her private practice in an area of Australia that is saturated by therapists.

She was about to go back to university to commence the long process of gaining a psychology degree, after already having completed full registration as a counsellor and psychotherapist. She thought that she could only create a successful therapy practice if she could offer Medicare rebates to clients.

But rather than embark on many years of study (and huge cost), she instead made a mindset shift in her approach to her therapy business that has lead to great results.

In our latest podcast, Helen shares how this important mindset shift helped her start to grow the counselling business of her dreams.

In this episode we discuss:

If there were things you could start doing today that would lead to greater business growth in the new year, would you do them?

As the year comes to a close, it's a good time to reflect on your therapy business across the last year and start setting goals you want for your business in 2015.

In our latest podcast, Australia Counselling founder Clinton Power shares five things you can start doing in your business today that will lead to more business growth in 2015.

The points he covers include:

1. Redesign your website

2. Look at your content strategy

3. Increase your networking

4. Look at your business practices

5. Review your fees and services

When it comes to codependency, there are many myths that surround this presentation in clients.

What's more, the definition of codependency has changed over the years and has a different meaning from what it meant 30 years ago.

In this podcast episode, we speak with U.S. marriage and family therapist Darlene Lancer, who has been working in the field of codependency for over 27 years. She brings us up to date with what codependence is today and some of the important clinical presentations to look out for that may indicate codependence.

In this interview, Darlene also shares:

As therapists we often have clients come into our practice with sexual issues, but unfortunately many therapists do not have the specific training to deal with these presentations.

So we spoke with Melbourne sex therapist and clinical psychologist Dr Janet Hall about sex therapy.

Janet gives us a fascinating look inside the world of a sex therapist, where we discussed a wide range of topics related to sex therapy and sexual issues that are experienced by individuals and couples.

In this episode, Dr. Janet Hall discusses:

We know due to advancements in neuroscience that facilitating change involves helping clients to move into different neurobiological states.

As therapists, we want our therapeutic interventions to impact the functioning of the brain in a positive way.

Richard Hill is a psychotherapist who began his career as a professional actor for 25 years, but returned to university at 45 to do a BA in linguistics and went on to complete three Masters degrees with a focus on neurobiology and neuroscience.

Richard is interested in how to apply developments in neuroscience into therapeutic practice and what techniques practitioners can utilise to help clients change.

In this podcast Richard shares:

Have you ever thought about how you could use your knowledge of psychology, psychotherapy and counselling to create products that could earn you a passive income?

Writing an eBook is the perfect way to create an additional income stream for your therapy practice. Not only can your eBook reach audiences across the world you could never impact or help through your local therapy practice, but you can also start to receive a regular income from the sale of your information product.

Californian therapist Lisa Kift is a marriage and family therapist who has been a trailblazer in this area. She has had enormous success creating information products that have helped countless individuals and couples across the world. She has added an additional revenue stream to her practice, as well as used the power of affiliate marketing to have other people sell her information products on her behalf.

In this episode Lisa shares:

Crisis counselling is a unique form of counselling that involves comprehensive training and boldness on the part of the counsellor.

Those counsellors that are working with people in crisis or suicidal can be faced with challenging cases that can be unpredictable at times.

So we spoke with Jimmy Henderson, who is a counsellor in South Africa with over 29 years experience working with clients in crisis at LifeLine.

In this interview Jimmy shares:

Developing the right business mindset is a sure-fire way to make sure your therapy practice will grow and become the successful business you’ve dreamed of.

Unfortunately, many therapists have unhelpful or negative mindsets that actually prevent them from successfully marketing their business and attracting their ideal clients.

When you develop a marketing mindset, you’ll find you feel greater confidence about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, as well as a plan that can help steer you in the right direction and support the growth of your business.

In our latest podcast, Vancouver-based marketing coach Juliet Austin speak about the importance of developing a marketing mindset.

In this interview she discusses:

Make sure you listen to the end to hear about a special offer Juliet has for listeners of the Australia Counselling Podcast.