Mental Health Warning Signs – What to Look Out For Mental health is just as important as physical health, yet recognising when something might be wrong can often be more difficult. Mental health challenges don’t always show up in obvious ways, and the signs can be subtle, especially at first. Being able to spot early […]
Author: John Belchamber
Understanding Coercive Control
Understanding Coercive Control: What It Is, How to Spot It, and What to Do If You’re Affected In recent years, greater awareness has grown around a form of abuse that often goes unnoticed—coercive control. Unlike physical violence, coercive control can be subtle, insidious, and deeply damaging. It’s a pattern of behaviours used to dominate, isolate, […]
Understanding Compassion Fatigue
Understanding Compassion Fatigue: Symptoms and Strategies for Overcoming It By John Belchamber | Sunny Coast Counselling In helping professions—like counselling, nursing, teaching, social work, or emergency response—there’s a shared thread of emotional investment. Over time, consistently supporting others through their trauma, pain, or crises can take a toll on your own wellbeing. This experience is […]
Encouraging Staff to Access EAP Services
How Business Managers Can Encourage Staff to Access EAP Services for Mental Wellbeing In today’s fast-paced and often high-pressure work environments, supporting the mental wellbeing of staff isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential for fostering a healthy, productive, and engaged workforce. Many organisations offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), yet these services often go underused due […]
Understanding Compassion Fatigue
Understanding Compassion Fatigue: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Solutions Compassion is at the heart of caring professions — whether you’re a therapist, nurse, social worker, teacher, or caregiver. But when emotional support becomes a daily demand, the capacity to care can start to erode. This is where compassion fatigue can quietly take hold, often without individuals […]
Understanding Toxic Masculinity
Understanding Toxic Masculinity: Attributes and Impacts Toxic masculinity has become a widely discussed topic in recent years, often sparking debate and misunderstanding. While the term can be polarising, its intention is not to vilify men or masculinity itself. Rather, it refers to a set of socially reinforced beliefs and behaviours that limit emotional expression, reinforce […]
Understanding Your Behaviour
Understanding Your Behaviour: How the Stimulus–Thought–Emotion/Feeling–Behaviour–Consequence Model Can Help You Understand Yourself Ever found yourself overreacting to something small and wondering afterwards, “Why did I do that?” Or maybe you keep getting stuck in the same patterns — like procrastinating, getting defensive, or feeling anxious — and you’re not sure how to change it. There’s […]
Review of the Healthy Minds App
The Healthy Minds app is a free, science-backed mental wellbeing program developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It stands out for its focus on building skills in mindfulness, compassion, insight, and purpose — all through evidence-based practices grounded in neuroscience. One of the major strengths of Healthy Minds is its accessibility. It offers […]
Book Summary: Shift By Ethan Kross
Shift: Managing Your Emotions—So They Don’t Manage You by Ethan Kross is a science-based guide to emotional regulation, offering practical tools to help readers harness their emotions rather than be overwhelmed by them. Building on his previous work in Chatter, Kross expands the conversation from managing inner dialogue to a broader set of techniques for […]
Knowing Your Values
The Importance of Knowing Your Values – And How to Discover Them In a world full of noise, knowing what truly matters to you is like having a compass in a storm. Your personal values are the principles and qualities that give your life meaning and direction. Whether you’re navigating big life decisions or simply […]