... GREAT (Growth and Recovery Enhancement for Anxious Thinkers): support group in the philippines for people with social anxiety/ phobia ...

GREAT: Growth and Recovery Enhancement for Anxious Thinkers

A group of brave souls who go out of their comfort zones in support of one another to break free from social anxiety and depression in the quest for a joyful and meaningful life.

Our Vision: A joyful and meaningful life

Our Mission: To support one another in order grow, evolve, and be empowered to break free from social anxiety and depression


Our GREAT Goals:

G - ood social interaction
R - ecovery from depression
E - nhancement of life’s growth
A - nxiety-free positive thoughts
T - ime-tested support for one another




Membership in this group is free but an essential requirement is that the member should willingly attend and actively participate in the group therapy sessions facilitated by a competent psychotherapist/life coach.



The group schedules therapy sessions at most twice a month, and each member attending gives donation for maintenance costs to our facilitator, the amount depending on the number of attendees and his capacity to contribute financially.

Activities for each session vary but mainly the group applies Gestalt therapy which is about the "here and now" experiential learning. Gestalt therapy emphasizes the importance of personal growth by working on one's unfinished business, and by being responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, choices, and actions. One's thoughts will be validated with what the group is actually thinking. The members are also challenged to do or experience the thing they fear. The group may also have healing sessions at times, like the facilitator may administer psychiatric acupuncture and may be teaching the group emotional freedom techniques (EFT) and how to perform reiki healing.

In between sessions, the group members continue to connect and support each other through the GREAT group page.

Website:

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f161/quezon-city-growth-and-recovery-enhancement-for-anxious-thinkers-great-137266/t.com/forum/f161/quezon-city-growth-and-recovery-enhancement-for-anxious-thinkers-great-137266/

E-mail address:

great711@groups.facebook.com
chevlenz@yahoo.com.

... fun and humor in psychotherapy ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, philippines)

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many people have the mistaken notion that psychotherapy is a dark, gloomy, or heart-wrenching experience meant only for the psychologically frail or mentally ill.

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modern psychotherapists however don't only deal with life problems, they also help people live life fully, joyfully, and meaningfully. among the modalities used by modern shrinks are the creative and expressive psychotherapies such as dance/ movement therapy, art therapy, drama therapy, poetry therapy, and sound/ music therapy.

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as my young friends from holy angel university, pampagga discover, psychotherapy can change people's lives through fun, humor, and laughter.

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be amazed by the facial transformations of abby, airee, camille, gretch, irma, joy, kim, krisan, patrick, and thea. some of them actually look like "taong grasa," don't they? i just hope that none of them become make-up artists in the future.

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... growth group activity: the forest burns as the demon kills the fairy ... (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychotherapist, life coach, philippines))

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today's growth group was composed of psychology students from san beda-- adam, arthur, chey, jico, karen, mark, and mayel.

. the topic was on dysfunctional parent-child relationships, particularly about children being raised by childish or immature parents.

. when parents are childish or immature, the children may model after their parents and grow up to be childish adults themselves.

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another possibility is for a role reversal to take place, wherein the children become more "adult" than their age and start acting like parents to their own parents. others call this the "adult child" syndrome.

. childish or immature parents inflict deep and long-term psychological damage on their children. as they get older, these children may need psychotherapy to undo the damage. in psychotherapy, they'll learn how to "reparent and nurture their inner child."

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hopefully, through psychotherapy, the "sins" of their parents won't get passed on to their children and the generations that follow.

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... growth group activity: don't let dead people pull you down from your floating pedicab ...

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the title of today's growth group activity sounds kind of gruesome, but its lesson is not.
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the activity offered the participants a simple reminder to live balanced lives.

. . clint puts it this way: "in pursuing our life goals, we don't need to give up our other interests. we just have to make sure that our other interests don't derail us from being on track."
.well, if daisy, joanne, justin, clint, and arnold ever get derailed from pursuing their medical/ nursing career, they certainly can turn to dancing as an alternative career! their hot dance moves are sure to make michael jackson (rock and) roll in his grave!
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... touch therapy for emotional awareness and healing ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, philippines)

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featured in abscbn's news program "bandila:" touch therapy for emotional awareness and healing.
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What is Touch Therapy for Emotional Healing?
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Touch Therapy for Emotional Healing is a form of hands-on, body focused psychotherapy for integrating the body, mind, emotions and spirit.
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Touch Therapy for Emotional Healing utilizes scientific, psychotherapeutic, ethical, artful, and respectful application of touch on the body.
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Through this type of touch, unresolved emotional experiences, forgotten memories, buried feelings, energy blockages, and unconscious attitudes that had been hidden within the body finally surface and get released.
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When clients become aware of the psychological and emotional issues hidden within their body, they become empowered to break free from the unconscious self-defeating patterns of their lives.
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Who can benefit from Touch Therapy for Emotional Healing?
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Touch Therapy for Emotional Healing is for anyone pursuing health and wellness.
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Touch Therapy for Emotional Healing is useful for a wide range of conditions which include the following:
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• Those pursuing a path of self-discovery and personal growth
• Those seeking emotional healing, integration, and wholeness
• Those exploring the body-mind connection
• Those seeking release from physical symptoms caused by or aggravated by emotional factors
• Those suffering from stress, tension, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression.

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What happens during a session of Touch Therapy for Emotional Healing?
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The individual lies on a cushioned table, with minimal clothing, draped with a light blanket or sheet.
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The Touch Therapist applies gentle yet firm touch on different areas of the body such as the back, shoulders, chest, upper and lower abdomen, and extremities.
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After approximately 45 minutes, a brief discussion is made to process the experience.
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A complete Touch Therapy session lasts for an hour.
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What are the benefits of Touch Therapy for Emotional Healing?
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• Greater physical relaxation
• Greater emotional health
• Deeper self-knowledge and self-awareness
• Deeper re-connection to self and to others
• More vitality, meaning, and joyfulness in life

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How many sessions are needed?
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It is recommended to have weekly sessions.
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For the maintenance of emotional health and wellness, weekly sessions are advised.
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... the randy dellosa growth groups ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychologist, psychotherapist, psychiatrist)

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The Randy Dellosa Growth Groups

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What is a Growth Group?
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• Growth Groups are small groups composed of 5-8 participants that meet regularly for the purpose of attaining greater self-discovery, personal growth, and life transformation.
• Growth Groups are highly-interactional and highly-experiential.
• Growth Groups may engage in activities such as psychodrama, body and sensory awareness, art/ sound/ and music therapy, dream work, health work, regressive-cathartic work, and others.
• Growth Groups aim for the growth and maturity of the total person. All aspects of the participants' lives-- the emotional, psychological, cognitive, behavioral, physical, relational, and spiritual aspects are addressed.
• The Growth Group is held in an environment that is supportive, safe, nurturing, and confidential.

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Who can benefit from Growth Groups?

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People who are:

• Seeking to be more self-confident and satisfied with themselves
• Seeking to break away from the dysfunctional and self-defeating patterns of their lives
• Undergoing life transitions and needing clearer direction for the future
• Seeking emotional, psychological, cognitive, physical, relational, and spiritual integration, and wholeness
• Seeking to relate with others more authentically and harmoniously
• Pursuing a path of self-discovery, personal growth, and life transformation
• Seeking for deeper purpose, meaning, and joy in life

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Mechanics for joining an Growth Group:

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• A psychological evaluation and one-on-one interview is required for selection of eligible participants.
• Growth group meetings last for 3 hours.
• Each participant must abide by the rules and ethical guidelines of the Growth Group.
• The selected participants will be informed of the schedule for the Growth Group Meetings.

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Some Guidelines for the Growth Group:
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• Participate actively.
• Express yourself.
• Be honest with everyone, including yourself.
• Stay in touch with your feelings.
• Focus on your experience in the here-and-now.
• Take responsibility for your choices.
• Take risks. Get out of your comfort zone.
• Give feedback and be open to feedback.
• Discover your defenses.
• Grow and expect to become a different person.
• Respect confidentiality.

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... bioenergetic exercises in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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bioenergetics is a type of holistic psychotherapy which uses body movements to surface, release, and express emotions which are "trapped" in the body. over time, these trapped emotions result in muscular tension and rigidities, postural distortions, restrictions in movement, and dysfunctional breathing patterns.

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at times, as in the above photo, i teach bioenergetic exercises as ice-breakers in seminars and workshops. however, while bioenergetic exercises can be fun to do, they can also result in a powerful and profound emotional catharsis wherein deep-seated emotions from way back childhood are released. generally, bioenergetic exercises allow participants to experience deeper respiration, a sense of "grounding (i.e., feeling more connected with the earth and with one's body)," a greater sense of self-awareness and aliveness.

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... intuitive healing dance in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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well, guess who the universe conspired me to meet after so many years-- none other than that amusingly flamboyant, animated, spontaneous, artistic, right-brained creature of a man named bong dela torre.
.since i incorporate movement as a therapeutic tool in my psychotherapy sessions, i was excited to discover that bong was developing a healing modality which he calls "intuitive healing dance." bong allowed me to experience a bit of what his intuitive healing dance was like and all i can say is that it was fun, liberating, cathartic, and energizing. well, he better come up with his workshops soon because i'd certainly like to be the first to enlist!
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... lol!! warming up for psychodrama ... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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for all action methods and experiential psychotherapies (i.e., play therapy, drama therapy, gestalt, improvisation therapy), the group warm up activity is an important phase.

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it is meant to loosen up the joints, limber up the muscles, promote body consciousness, enhance self-awareness, and strengthen the sense of camaraderie among participants.

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a few months ago, jath, gem, jobelle, dette, jaja, noreen and i gathered for a psychodrama session. our warm up activity turned out pretty hilarious and they caught it all on tape.

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if you care to join our fun, click on the pic below, watch the vid and laugh out loud- hehe!
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... capturing the family drama through sculpture... (philippines, life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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family sculpting is one of the common activities done in family therapy and experiential therapy. its purpose is to gain insights about the interactional patterns within a family.

to create a family sculpture, the client picks out participants from the group to represent his/ her family members. the client then positions the participants on stage, giving each participant a posture to maintain, a movement or gesture to do, and a statement to verbally express with feeling. the session ends with debriefing and group processing.

in the pix below, i assist a client in sculpting her family:

and below, you'll see the emotional themes, alliances, and conflicts of her family become apparent:

this is a simple activity, and yet it commonly elicits deep emotions, understanding, a sense of healing and empowerment not only for the client, but for all participants as well.
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... drama therapy (psychodrama) in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist)

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since i occasionally work in the entertainment industry, i have observed a number of acting workshops facilitated for neophyte and veteran actors and actresses.

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i have a serious concern for some of these workshops because many of the exercises and activities done have the effect of making traumatic memories surface and deep-seated and volatile emotions erupt.

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true, the actors and actresses leave the workshop feeling good about their newly-acquired acting skills. they however may also be leaving the workshop with emotional wounds that can adversely affect them long after the workshop ends.

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now contrast these workshops with drama therapy or psychodrama. both make psychotherapeutic use of theatre skills and the dramatic process to bring about self-discovery, personal growth, and emotional healing.

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it is a type of therapy that i enjoy facilitating primarily because participants enjoy it too. initially, participants hesitate, feel self-conscious, and exhibit a lot of nervous laughter. after a while though, they start letting their guard down and begin immersing themselves in their roles.

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let me share with you some pix of a recent drama therapy session held over the weekend:

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... me introducing drama therapy to the group:

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... discussing with the participant-director what she wants to happen:

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... the drama unfolding:

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... and gathering together again for emotional and cognitive closure:

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no oscar or famas awards here, but the participants almost always get rewarded with a sense of achievement, a wealth of insight, and a new sense of self.

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