Article by Amit Kothiyal

One of the most important aspects of training to be a counsellor or psychotherapist is the establishment of sound therapeutic relationship, without this no therapy can take place.Recent researches and the experience of psychotherapy practitioners suggest that no single psychotherapy or counselling approach is more effective than any other approach, every process has something to contribute. It is the nature of the issues that the client is experiencing and the personality of the client that require a particular approach. Increasingly Therapists are required to be flexible and responsive to deliver psychotherapy to the client within the particular circumstances. According to the research, the therapeutic relationship is the key for the success of the therapy.Training for counsellor must encompass combined focus on the therapeutic relationship with a sound and coherent theoretical basis that can be flexible and responsive to client needs.Dangers of diagnosisThere can be huge pressure on the counsellor to diagnose the issues that the client brings. The client and possibly the referrer or the concerned person will want to get to the bottom of the problem quickly and the temptation arises to proceed along a path of brief, solution focused therapy for a period of 6 to 8 weeks. This intervention might sound very logical and scientific but it has no bearing on the reality of the work involved in psychotherapy. There is no doubt that it is vital to have a range of hypotheses regarding the treatment options and many conditions such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar and major affective disorders or degenerative diseases diagnosis will need a full psychiatric evaluation but in the everyday counselling of less severely impaired individuals diagnosis can be counterproductive. Counselling is fundamentally a process whereby the therapist attempts to know the client as fully as possible. A diagnosis can be extremely limiting and hamper the development of the relationship, the temptation can be to focus on the condition and resist or avoid the intensity of relating to the other person in a very human congruent manner. If we follow a diagnosis we can also begin to relate to the person as the “condition” i.e. if they are an “addict” or a borderline this might serve to perpetuate these very conditions. It is not uncommon for iatrogenic influence to shape clinical outcomes in the medical field. Therapy by its nature is a very subjective experience which highlights the need for ongoing clinical supervision. There are a variety of models and schools of thought regarding the best form of supervision. These models and schools of thought are frequently related to the theoretical orientation of the supervisor. These different philosophies can create a dynamic tension within supervision. This dynamic needs to be both supportive and challenging. The style of the supervisor can occur within a spectrum ranging from highly didactic and directional to highly exploratory and relational. The supervisor engages the trainee Therapist in an examination of the process of psychotherapy and also an examination of themselves. Good Supervision needs to be non-directive with some form of didactic teaching taking place also. The student is encouraged to express feelings about, and associations to what the client is presenting. The parallel process that occurs in the client relationship and the supervisory relationship will also be addressed for deeper insight. The main aim should be for the therapist to explore transferences and counter transferences so as to gain insight into any unconscious conflicts that might be impeding their work or development.

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Not too long ago, researchers identified two genes that determine if someone will come down with bipolar disorder or not. They are the ANK3 and the CACNA1C gene. The next step is to find out why some people get the disease and others don’t.

Scientist have long been looking at the relationships between bipolar disorder and heredity. And it has now become almost impossible to dismiss the idea that genetics play a large role in the disease. For instance, somewhere around four percent of everyone in the country has some degree of bipolar disease.

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Could a Person With This Mental illness feel safe with their partner, could they honestly trust their partner, could they think of the present more than the past or future, could they become down-to-earth and feel calm with their spouse/partner? Or are they doomed to be insecure for their entire life?-

Just asking cause my best friend(of ten years has Bipolar I) and my Mother(Bipolar II with split personality disorder) has this mental illness. I doubt my mother will ever feel that way but what about my best friend?

I met my man last year around June and fell in love with him. I’m 20 and he was 28 at the time. He’s got a big heart and loves me so much and vice versa. However due to his illness I am scared I’m losing interest in him b/c of his disrespect and lack of affection.
I met a guy I worked with 3 months into our realationship. I cheated and then told my man a month later. The guilt was terrible. 1 year later we get in a HUGE fight and I left for the night. I went to the guys house that I had cheated on my man with and slept with him. I get butterflies when I’m around him. We have so much more in common then my man now. I know my man loves me so much. I don’t know if I’m ready to marry with such disrespect he shows me. I’m trying to get my own place but my man says he will break up with me. I’ve never had a place by myself. I’ve never had time for me. Should I break up with a great man for my own freedom and break his heart? I don’t know what he’d do if I left him. I can’t bare to hurt him.

Okay,I recently went back on meds for bipolarII.For the last 6 months my fiance and I have been pretty much fighting nonstop.We also had a baby six months ago and I was dealing with post partum depression.Him and I have been together for over 2 years now,but I think he has come to the end of his ability to deal with me.I would of gone back on meds sooner,but had no medical coverage.About 3 weeks ago I went all out and we got into a huge argument.No fighting but a lot of yelling.The thing is I can’t really remember any of it,and I wasn’t drunk or anything.Since I got back on meds things have been better,no arguments or anything,and I am finally beginning to enjoy life again.But he is still in the frame of mind that things aren’t going to change and he can’t get over the argument we had.He thinks maybe after I deal with “all of this” we can work things out,but until then he thinks we need a break.Yet he still tells me he loves me and wants to kiss and hold me everyday.No idea what to do!
We had been trying to go to couples counseling before I got back on meds, but that guy thought I was fine and the bipolar stuff was all in my head, so I never really wanted to go to our sessions. And I will be staying on meds as my trust fund just became effective so I have the money for it even w/o insurance.
I am on wellbutrin sr 100(made me sick when he tried a higher dose so we are working up to it) and he is looking into lithium, but I don’t want to have to constantly monitor my blood. I am also on Abilify for right now(wb is causing me to not sleep well and I don’t want to have access to a full bottle of sleeping pills, so he gave me a week supply of these.)

I have been in 4 relationships and they all left me because of my moods and not having medication It hurts and it seems like im gone be single for the rest of my life.

Did it influence you in anyway with sho you chose to be with? What kind of woman you want in your life? My mother was bipolar, hypersexual…on drugs/alcohol and had addictive personality…

I chose to marry a wife that was almost the same as my mother? We are now divorced and I am a single father after she cheated and left…and I keep attracting females with addictive personalities?

Did your mother affect you this way?

A few months ago I dated a guy whose bipolar. Our relationship has ended 2 months ago.?
I wonder how he is sometimes since he has at time gets depressed. Should I call him and see how he’s doing? He’s still my friend. Any suggestions on what to say or do?

I am bipolar and there is this girl i know who i would like to ask out. While getting to know her I realized that she is too much like me, she has my strength but also my flaws. She is moody, she is hyper, talks like me, acts like me, we always come up with the weirdest answer only we could think of… she gets angry quick, shes up and down all over the place sometimes in terms of mood, she gets very jealous and is very insecure, low self esteem, sometimes she can feel like a queen and sometimes like a loser, its weird because she would be talking all snobish and high and delusional sometimes and other times she is like destroyed and will just say negative things “i am not worthy”.

I am just like that and it cool having a person that is so similar, but my behavior is bipolar, its definitely not normal, so what would her behavior be? Could she be bipolar too? Her sister and cousin do suffer from depression, I mean I don’t mean to judge her… Ok here is the thing…

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He is bipolar category 4, he takes his pills regularly and he starts to like me a lot. he claims that i am a good listener and that is smt that means the world to him. however, i dont know how he get w/o his medicines, but he said hes not violent. im a little scared to get involved. not sure if ill be able to endure this all the time (him being depressed) what do u guys think???