Did You Know?

Did You Know?

Posted on by Chele Yntema
Did you know? Silence relieves stress and tension. Silence replenishes our mental resources. In silence, we can tap into the brain’s default mode network. Getting quiet can regenerate brain cells. Source: Huffington Post - Why Silence Is So Good For Your Brain

Case Study: A Spiritual Identity Crisis

Posted on by Chele Yntema
In the darkest depths of my own lost identity I once said, “Hope knows the sun has risen even when the clouds cover every ray of light”. I wonder why it is that as humans we question pain and suffering so intently, yet we continue on? Where does our endurance come from? Why are we enfolded in both weakness and in hope (Vanier, 1998, p. 163)? How is it that some of us seem to...Read More
Our Memory is More…

Our Memory is More…

Posted on by Chele Yntema
I am blessed to have a good memory. Yet at the same time I must continually cultivate and cherish it with respect. I have learned that although my memory is a gift, it is a gift that requires me to continually be mindfully present and to acknowledge the act of remembering as a holistic skill that involves body, mind, and soul ❤ Would love to hear your thoughts - do you have a good memory?...Read More
The Demeaning Clutch of “Should”

The Demeaning Clutch of “Should”

Posted on by Chele Yntema
Quite often I find myself so fixated on what I “should” have done; what I “should” be doing; or even “it shouldn’t be this way!”; I forget that the sensations or emotions that arise before the judgement of “should” are simply measures of movement or indicators of change. Instead of “should” what would it be like to notice? Notice the sensations of wanting things to be different. Take the time to non-judgementally nurture the feeling...Read More

WoW! A biopsychosocial model of holistic wellbeing

Posted on by Chele Yntema
A Counselling conceptualisation and intervention based on a Wheel of Wellness. Though often it may not be recognised as such, suffering – psychological, physiological, and even cultural – is an entity: an energy that exists within and between the dimensions of human wholeness.  This energy is an enigma with a sometimes-subtle capacity to promote optimal functioning by way of enhanced adaptability and resilience (Sarafino, Caltabiano, & Byrne, 2008; Siegel, 2012).  Yet, quite often this evolutionary...Read More
The four D’s of Disconnection

The four D’s of Disconnection

Posted on by Chele Yntema
Disconnection can be seen as something that has the potential to create chaotic or rigid behaviour - often this behaviour comes across as anger, frustration, depression, anxiety, or the like.  I wonder... have you ever been in the situation where a conversation turns defensive? Could it be that one of the four D's of Disconnection popped up? I wonder... The next time you notice an atmosphere of defence, notice also what may have just been said. ...Read More

Holistic Wellbeing: A Biospychosocial Perspective

Posted on by Chele Yntema
Since the dawn of human civilization, injuries, infections and other historically identified ailments have been prevalent concerns for the individual and the masses. Indeed, ancient texts speak of humans as holistic beings whereby body, mind, spirit and kinship work harmoniously to create an integrated inherent balance that can be reflected as holistic wellbeing; ailments prevail when the holistic being is out of balance. Conversely, when the scientific revolution unfolded it began to stress a separation...Read More

A life worth living: The potential within

Posted on by Chele Yntema
Though I have been troubled, I am not distressed; though I have been perplexed, anguish eluded me; though persecuted, not forsaken; subjugated, but not destroyed; I have felt what it was like to be in dire need… And so I now know, faith in spite of doubt, hope in spite of despair, and love in spite of fear... I now know that in darkness there is light. (2 Cor 4:8-9; Phil 4:12-13; 1 Cor 13:13)...Read More

The Issue is not The Issue: Interpersonal Conflict and How to Resolve it

Posted on by Chele Yntema
The Issue is not The Issue: Interpersonal Conflict Originally featuring in a book by William Steig (1990) about identity and becoming, the character Shrek and accompanying protagonists, Donkey and Fiona, were swept up by DreamWorks and converted into characters of minimal depth whereby stereotypical anxious, ambivalent, and avoidant attachments create easily identifiable conflicts that reflect our society’s perception of conflict as unpleasant and stressful (Eunson, 2007). The purpose of this article is to utilise the...Read More

My Innate Disposition: understanding my past in truth, creating coherent narrative, and coming to identity

Posted on by Chele Yntema
All alone, I sat waiting. I was lost. It was not that I did not know where I was, nor where I was going, nor even where I had come from… No, it was deeper than that. Lost was a sadness that penetrated so deep within me that my very existence seemed indifferent, dismissible, and worthless. Lost was me without worth; it was a sense that there was no such thing as an identity within...Read More

Interpersonal Trauma

Posted on by Chele Yntema
Introduction Although at times western society may portray that the essence of significance is individualism, there is an undeniable inherent connection between the “relational self” (Siegel, 2012, pp. 348 - 349) and a life in which we are able to attain well-being, meaning, and assurance in spite of pain. Yet, when the relational self is affected by prolonged interpersonal trauma (IT), what are the effects on an individual’s overarching sense of safety and significance: on...Read More

Positive Psychology

Posted on by Chele Yntema
Analysis, discussion, and framework of Positive Psychology in Counselling In a life where paradoxes are continual and individuals are dynamic yet holistic, experience is a vast entailment not only of aspects that bring about trials, tribulations and the emotions that radiate from fear; but equally of an innate human capacity to facilitate optimal well-being and the emotions that radiate from love. As such, there is a need for a counselling perspective that integrates a continuum...Read More

True Self Vs False Self

Posted on by Chele Yntema
FROM BROKENNESS TO WHOLENESS HEALING THROUGH FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE Identity and the relentless search for self in any paradigm has been a pertinent part of society since Adam and Eve chose to gain the wisdom that broke the sanctity of their child like innocence (Gen 3, NIV; Bible Gateway, n.d.b ¶1). As such, I know I for one, seek understanding in which I can conceptualise what “the self” means. From secular to spiritual philosophies,...Read More