Institute Inbrief - 26/05/2018
Welcome to Edition 290 of Institute Inbrief! In our previous edition we proposed the radical idea (to some) that a new paradigm for mental health helping is emerging: the gut affects our psychological health as much as psychological health influences our physical (gut) health. In this edition’s featured article we focus on how counsellors can help clients improve their gut health and thus reduce or even eliminate many mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression.
Also in this edition:
- MBCT: A Look at the Mechanisms of Action
- A Case for Solutions When Working with the Elderly
- The Ten Commandments of Grief Counselling
- Social Media Updates & Much More!
Enjoy your reading!
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Diploma of Counselling
Imagine Being Passionate About Your Work
And Assisting People Every Day Lead Better Lives
It’s rare these days to hear people talk about their work with true passion. You hear so many stories of people working to pay the bills; putting up with imperfect situations; and compromising on their true desires. That’s why it’s always so refreshing to hear regular stories from graduates living their dream to be a Counsellor. They’re always so full of energy, enthusiasm and passion. There’s no doubt that counselling is one of the most personally rewarding and enriching professions.
Just imagine someone comes to you for assistance. They’re emotionally paralysed by events in their life. They can’t even see a future for themselves. They can only focus on their pain and grief. The despair is so acute it pervades their entire life. Their relationship is breaking down and heading towards a divorce. They can’t focus on work and are getting in trouble with their boss. They feel they should be able to handle their problems alone, but know they can’t. It makes them feel helpless, worthless. Their self-esteem has never been lower. They’re caught in a cycle of destruction and pain.
Now imagine you have the knowledge and skills to help this person overcome their challenges. You assist to relieve their intense emotional pain. You give them hope for the future. You assist to rebuild their self-esteem and lead a satisfying, empowered life. As a Counsellor you can experience these personal victories every day. And it’s truly enriching. There is nothing more fulfilling than helping another person overcome seemingly impossible obstacles.
You can learn more here: www.aipc.net.au/course_dippro.php
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Helping You Help Your Community!
We’ve helped people from all sorts of backgrounds become counsellors, and now we can assist you in fulfilling your goal of working within the Community Services sector! AIPC is delivering the following two new courses:
Diploma of Community Services (Case Management) – learn more
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There has never been a better time for you to become involved and invested in the Community Services industries. It is predicted, between the years of 2015 to 2019, that employment within the Health Care and Social Assistance industries will increase by 18.7% (www.lmip.gov.au, 2015).
By gaining a qualification in Community Services (Case Management) or Youth Work, you will be contributing to an industry that serves a very important purpose: to assist those with personal or relationship challenges. There is nothing more fulfilling than helping others overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. And there’s no better time to do that than now!
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Specialise in the field of relationship counselling and family therapy.
As a Relationship Counsellor, you will have the ability to assist those who require specialist skills in areas such as relationships, couples and family therapy.
AIPC’s Graduate Diploma of Relationship Counselling focuses on counselling interventions of a complex and specialist nature, by providing students with both theoretical and practical applications of the required skill-sets.
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Counselling and the Gut Microbiome: Part 2
In the first article of this series we proposed the radical idea (to some) that a new paradigm for mental health helping is emerging: one in which we cannot ignore the burgeoning research showing that the gut affects our psychological health as much as psychological health influences our physical (gut) health.
Now we ask, what are the possibilities for what we can do to help a client improve their gut health and thus reduce or even eliminate many mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression? It is a rehabilitation job. Such clients need to feed (or re-feed?) their microbiome. We can provide them with information such as the following strategies, or “secrets”, which gut experts recommend.
Healing Secret 1: Become rich – in probiotics/fermented foods
Probiotics (foods containing the good bacteria or live cultures that are like those found naturally in the gut) are among the most potent weapons an individual with terrible guts can bring to bear on the healing process. Dr David Perlmutter in his book, Brain Maker (2015), notes that probiotics – fermented foods – date back over 7000 years to wine-making in Persia; the Chinese were fermenting cabbage 6000 years ago. The Koreans have long had their kimchi and the Germans their sauerkraut.
So what are all these fabulously fermented foods?
Live cultured yogurt, kefir, aged cheeses, and lassi
It seems the dairy shelf of most supermarkets has recently exploded with options for yogurts. The trick here is to ensure that there aren’t added sugars, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavours, or other “nasties”, so the bottom line is: read the labels! The aged cheeses with probiotic content are Gouda, cheddar, parmesan, and Swiss cheese (you can remember which cheeses are probiotic with the mnemonic: Great Cheeses, Probiotically Sustaining). For those who are dairy-intolerant, coconut yogurt may be the way to go (Perlmutter, 2015; Abbott Nutrition News, 2018).
Kefir is a fermented dairy product similar to yogurt, with a combination of yeast, bacteria, and goat’s milk that is high in lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. Again, there is a coconut-kefir option often sold. Similarly, lassi is the Indian yogurt-based drink (sometimes flavoured with fruit such as mango) that complements spicy Indian cuisine while nourishing the microbiome (Mercola, 2015; Perlmutter, 2015).
Sauerkraut/kimchi/pickled vegetables/kombucha
These staples of so many diets around the world contain a wealth of “goodies” in addition to the helpful fermentation. Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), for example, contains choline, a chemical our body uses to transmit nerve impulses from the brain through the central nervous system. The national food of Korea, kimchi, has calcium, iron, beta-carotene, and vitamins A, C, B1, and B2. Just be sure you can stand the “heat” of this wonderfully spicy dish before you buy a huge container! Pickled vegetables, such as onions, beets, olives, and cucumbers are also excellent probiotics, but all of these foods only contain the probiotic benefits if the foods are unpasteurised, having been pickled in brine, not vinegar. Kombucha (black) tea is fizzy and said to increase energy while helping people to shed weight (Perlmutter, 2015).
Tempeh/natto/miso, or fermented soy, is used by vegetarians as a substitute for meat; miso is often served as a soup. These have all the amino acids and are a great source of vitamin B12 (Mercola, 2015; Abbott Nutrition News, 2018).
Note that these fermented foods may be more bio-available to the body (easily absorbed) than probiotic supplements, and thus preferable (Perlmutter, 2015; Mercola, 2015).
Healing secret 2: Go for a high-fat, low-carb diet
The “high fats” that help the gut microbes are not just any fats! They are high-quality fats, such as found in olive oil, coconut oil, organic and pasture-fed butter, ghee, almond milk, avocadoes, nuts and nut butters, cheeses (as above; exclude blue cheeses); and seeds (think flaxseed, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and chia seeds).
The carbohydrates that are better are the complex ones. The simple ones are those that people typically associate with the word “carbohydrate”: that is, what you find in pasta, breads and other grains (except brown rice), corn and corn products, white rice, white potato, gluten, soft drinks, and other processed carbohydrates. In other words, they are all the foods that are associated with dysbiosis because they are broken down into simple sugars upon digestion, or else they damage the intestinal lining or its microbes. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are those such as fruits and vegetables. They are the carbohydrates that are wanted for good gut health, and they should take up about two-thirds of the plate, with the protein taking up the remaining third (Chutkan, 2015; Perlmutter, 2015). The proteins should be as much plant protein as possible, meaning nuts, seeds, and legumes much more than animal meats. If meat is consumed, it’s better to go with fish and seafood products than the heavier meats such as beef and pork.
Healing secret 3: Feed your bugs with pre-biotics
Pre-biotics are the non-digestible food parts that nourish the good bugs, the probiotic bacteria, in the digestive tract. Go for these! Robynne Chutkan, in her book, The microbiome solution (2015), has a relatively digestible explanation of why we need pre-biotics as much as probiotics. Our diet must contain, she says, large amounts of the type of plant fibre that isn’t completely digested; the leftovers feed your (good) microbes. If our good bugs aren’t nicely nourished, they can’t do the massive work that nature has tasked them with doing for our health, on all levels.
Pre-biotic foods
These pre-biotic foods include: fruit, especially berries, bananas, apples, tomatoes, and vegetables; grains, such as barley, flaxseed, and oats; and legumes, such as beans (black, kidney, navy, and white), chickpeas, and lentils (Abbott Nutrition News, 2018; Robertson, 2017).
Healing secret 4: wine, tea coffee and chocolate on the menu
Hoorah! Our favourite beverages are on the menu. Plants produce flavonoids to protect themselves against free radicals (the “bad guys” in your system that cause oxidative damage). The flavonoids produced are polyphenols, powerful antioxidants which, when added to the diet, reduce the risk for many ailments. The main dietary sources of polyphenols are fruits and vegetables and plant-derived beverages, including coffee, red wine, tea, and chocolate (Perlmutter, 2015)!
Healing secret 5: Re-engineer your taste buds and your life
We drink chlorinated, fluoridated water, we cleanse ourselves and our homes with harsh synthetic chemicals, and we consume many foods with lists of ingredients that underscore their adulterated nature – and signal death to the microbiome. This healing secret covers a multitude of sins: water, dirt, sugar, and the ubiquitous processed foods.
Water
Filter your drinking water; in fact, install a filter on your shower head so as not to ingest the chemical-laden water into your body through the skin either.
Dirt
Food that is locally produced can get to you quicker and is likely to be fresher. Even more importantly for the microbiome, it is often produced in real dirt, as opposed to a bed of chemicals. The organic, dirt-laden veggies are far more likely to have intact microbes for your gut (although you still need to wash the stuff before eating it!). So, look for food with dirt on it, or at least food which is not perfectly uniform in colour or size to get that local (i.e.: high-microbe) content.
Sugar
We know sugar’s bad for us, but do you know why from the gut’s perspective? Sugar feeds the gut bacteria, but only the pathogenic ones that you don’t want to encourage. When they get out of control, they foster the growth of yeast infections and interfere with the ability of the body to destroy toxins: Say “no” to sugar. Retrain your taste buds to not expect so much sweetness from you (Chutkan, 2015).
Processed foods
The situation with additives and highly processed, refined foods is similar to the situation with sugar: we all know we shouldn’t have them, but we are uncertain why. Here’s a starting list from the microbiome’s point of view:
- Such foods may have additives and preservatives harmful to (good) gut bacteria.
- They may be full of hormones (used to induce growth and increase profits)
- They may have antibiotics (which kill the good bacteria as well as the bad)
- They may have been sprayed with pesticides that are toxic to the microbiome
- They may be genetically modified (GMO) such that our gastrointestinal tract cannot digest them
- Most of the healthy fibre or nutrients may have been removed
We are talking here about gluten, dairy, refined carbohydrates, typical processed foods, GMO foods, and artificial sweeteners. It may take time to completely re-train your taste buds; be patient with yourself (Chutkan, 2015; Robertson, 2017; Mercola, 2015).
Healing secret 6: Fast
The thought of fasting (What? A whole day or more without food?) is anathema. Yet science finally seems to be catching up with what traditional religions have known for millennia.
The human body is able to convert fat into fuel during times of starvation. The process creates specialised molecules called ketones, and some are particularly good for the brain and microbiome. Ketones increase the number of mitochondria and stimulate the growth of new brain cells. Moreover, fasting turns on the Nrf2 gene pathway, which produces a dramatic increase in antioxidant protection and detoxification, as well as a decrease in inflammation. Calorie restriction has been shown to minimise apoptosis (programmed cell death), enhance mitochondrial energy production, decrease mitochondrial free radical formation, and increase mitochondrial growth. It also has been demonstrated to increase insulin sensitivity, reduce overall oxidative stress, trigger the expression of genes to manage stress and resist disease, and switch the body into fat-burning mode.
Admittedly, the idea of reducing one’s calorie intake is not appealing! But from our perspective of gut health, the really good news is that fasting is finally being shown to prompt beneficial changes to the gut bacteria. It does this by enriching strains of bacteria associated with increased lifespan and suppressing those that are correlated with reduced lifespan. Do it for 24-36 hours once a week, or three days every three months, but do it.
Healing secret 7: Adopt a gut-friendly lifestyle
Findings are emerging that most of us live in a too-sterile environment, except for the many chemicals and medications, which turn out to be far worse for us, and for our guts, than we ever imagined. Moreover, the emotional environment in which we ingest food is not “clean” at all (Chutkan, 22015; Mayer, 2016). To counteract the effects of these, consider a few lifestyle changes:
Antibiotics
Don’t take them unless it is absolutely necessary. It can take years to re-colonise the microbiome with the good bacteria after a bout with antibiotics. If you have to take them, re-seed your gut with fermented foods and/or a probiotics supplement.
Mind the social/emotional climate around food
You might have heard the advice to avoid eating when you are stressed, angry, or sad. At these times, your body/mind is highly engaged dealing with the stressor or event making you sad; there is not as much, if any, bandwidth left over for digestion. Thus, it’s better to wait until you are relatively calm or peaceful to engage food. Some people may protest here that they are always stressed, to which the gut-healing response is, “So get into mindfulness, relaxation, meditation, or other stillness practices in order to reduce the stress.” That food goes down best which is enjoyed for its pleasurable aspects and/or consumed in a positive social climate (Mayer, 2016).
Get down and dirty – and flag the soap?
Gut experts note that household items such as harsh cleansers and anti-bacterial soap kill off both good and bad bacteria, and contribute to antibiotic resistance. Ditto the dishwashing: wash your dishes by hand, as it leaves more bacteria on them than the dishwasher does, and eating off the less-than-sterile plates decreases your risk of allergies by stimulating your immune system. Also, you should consider showering completely without soap (Chutkan, 2015). Finally, get more bacteria into your home. A gut-friendly lifestyle can be enhanced by adding both plants and pets (which have bacteria) to the home, as can opening windows on a regular basis to increase natural airflow and improve the health and diversity of the microbes there (Chutkan, 2015; Mercola, 2015; Robertson, 2017).
Summary
It may not be for the fainthearted, but the rehabilitation of an unhealthy microbiome is possible through altering both diet and lifestyle to reflect a more gut-friendly approach to living. We detailed seven secrets for doing this. Happy eating! May you be blessed with clients open to exploring this aspect of their health.
Acting within the new understandings – nay, new paradigm – we will still work with clients on appropriate, preferred counselling and psychotherapeutic modalities. The “talking cure” will still be needed in order to work through issues of abuse or neglect, difficult life transitions, and the many other presenting issues clients bring to us in psychological distress. But now we also see the awesome power of our gut, and the equally daunting responsibility to accord it the respect it is long overdue.
It was Hippocrates, way back in the third century, B.C., who asserted that all disease begins in the gut. The good news is that we now know another way to help our clients begin healing all disease, especially their psychological dis-ease, from the gut.
This article was adapted from Mental Health Academy’s “Counselling and the Microbiome” professional development course.
References:
Abbott Nutrition News. (2018). Gut health: What is the microbiome? Abbott Nutrition News. Retrieved on 9 April, 2018, from: hyperlink
American Nutrition Association. (2015). Description of degrees/credential. American Nutrition Association. Retrieved on 10 April, 2018, from: hyperlink
Bhat, A.R. (2017). Fasting therapy: An Ayurvedic perspective. Healthy Ayurveda. Retrieved on 24 April, 2018, from: hyperlink
Chutkan, R. (2017). The microbiome solution: A radical new way to heal your body from the inside out. Brunswick, Victoria, Australia: Scribe Publications.
Fleming, A. (2017). Is your gut microbiome the key to health and happiness? The Guardian. Retrieved on 9 April, 2018, from: hyperlink
Foroutan, R. (2015). Microbiome: The garden within. Food & Nutrition. Retrieved on 9 April, 2015, from: hyperlink
Harvard T.H. Chan, School of Public Health (HSPH). (Circa 2015). The nutrition source: The microbiome. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Retrieved on 9 April, 2018, from: hyperlink
Herpetz-dahlmann, B.; Seitz, J.; & Baines, J. (2017). Food matters: how the microbiome and gut-brain interaction might impact the development and course of anorexia nervosa. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Vol 26(9), 1031-1041.
Lab Tests Online. (2017). Is it time to get your gut microbiome checked? Probably not yet. Lab Tests Online: Explaining pathology. Retrieved on 23 April, 2018, from: hyperlink
Leclercq, S.; Forsythe, P.; & Bienenstock, J. (2016). Posttraumatic stress disorder: Does the gut microbiome hold the key? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 61(4), 204-213.
Manderino, L; Carroll, I; Azcarate-Peril, M.A.; Rochette, A., Heinberg, L. et al. (2017). Preliminary evidence for an association between the composition of the gut microbiome and cognitive function in neurologically healthy older adults. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, Cambridge, Vol 23(8), 700-705.
Matthew. (2011). Chapter 4, verses 1-11, in Holy Bible, New International Version. Biblica, Inc. Retrieved on 24 April, 2018, from: hyperlink
Mayer, E. (2016). The Mind-gut connection: How the hidden conversation within our bodies impacts our mood, our choices, and our overall health. New York: Harper Wave, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
Mercola, J. (2015). Research reveals the importance of your microbiome for optimal health. Mercola.com. Retrieved on 9 April, 2018, from: hyperlink
MBCT: A Look at the Mechanisms of Action
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a psychological therapy designed to help prevent the relapse of depression, especially for those individuals who have Major Depressive Disorder (the principal type of depressive disorder defined by the DSM-5). MBCT employs traditional CBT methods and adds in mindfulness and mindfulness meditation strategies. In this article, we explore the mechanisms behind MBCT’s effectiveness in helping prevent relapse of depression.
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A Case for Solutions When Working with the Elderly
The minute she arrived and displayed her beautifully lined and full of expression face on my eyes there was a bond. Immediately I had to check myself. This person in front of me is not my mother. She is the same age as my mother was when she died five years previously, she has the same coloured hair, permed and styled exactly the same; she is the same height and even has the same smile. An overwhelming feeling of love for my own mother swept over me; I missed her so much.
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The Ten Commandments of Grief Counselling
Suicide is a significant public health problem, and properly supporting those left behind – the survivors – is a challenging but significant contribution to the wellbeing of the whole community. If a suicide-bereaved person wound up in your therapy room, what counselling tasks would need to be worked through with them? In this post we look at Worden’s general guidelines, which contribute to the effectiveness of grief counselling whatever the circumstances of grief and loss have been.
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Many students of the Diploma of Counselling attend seminars to complete the practical requirements of their course. Seminars provide an ideal opportunity to network with other students and liaise with qualified counselling professionals in conjunction with completing compulsory coursework.
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