Counselling Central

For decades researchers have been looking for a definitive answer as to the cause of addiction. Some believe the reasons are ‘nature’, in other words the genetic building blocks we are given at birth, others believe the reasons are ‘nurture’, or the social effects connected with our upbringing.  In the 2009 addition of Nature Reviews Genetics, researchers at [...]

From The Independent. Urgent action is needed to tackle the soaring number of websites encouraging adolescent girls to starve themselves, doctors say. The proliferation of ‘pro-ana’ and ‘pro-mia’ websites, which promote anorexia and bulimia, is encouraging growing numbers of young women to wage war on their bodies, they say. The websites support anorexia as a lifestyle [...]

A sociopath is a person “whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience”. Sociopaths often appear on the surface to be charming, witty and flirtatious individuals yet they are inwardly hostile towards others.  Characteristics of sociopaths include: Shallow Emotions: by all appearances sociopaths are warm, funny and compassionate, but they feign these [...]

According to research published in ‘BMC Research Notes’ playing Tetris leads to a thicker brain cortex and improved brain efficiency. How did the team in New Mexico who conducted the study come to this conclusion? In an attempt to find out if practice makes the brain more efficient, the researchers used brain imaging scans on two sets of [...]

The term ‘dysmorphophobia’ comes from the greek meaning ‘ugliness of face’. It was introduced in 1886 by Morselli and is defined as the feeling of being ugly and/or having a physical defect, despite a normal appearance. It is thought to be associated with feelings of shame. ‘Body Dysmorphic Disorder’ (BDD) was first recorded in psychological texts [...]

Hollywood often depicts Psychopaths as charming and cruel individuals. But is this an accurate portrayal? Psychopathy, sometimes referred to as Anti-social Personality Disorder or Dissocial Personality Disorder, is a psychological construct describing immoral and anti-social behaviour. Psychopaths use manipulation, intimidation, charm, sex and violence to get what they want from other people without remorse, guilt or conscience. The condition [...]