Is there a large market for this kind of treatment in India?

There is always a large market for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, because most people would like to learn how they can give themselves a better life.    

                     
Don’t people in India shy away from therapy?

Yes, there are quite a few people who do shy away from walking into a therapist’s chamber. This is where I would like to add that it is important to learn to manage your emotions and feelings with outside help.

As therapists we try and come up with ways to make our clients feel comfortable. We do online sessions also (using Skype or even the telephone). This safeguards their confidentiality issue as well.

As a counsellor what message would you share with people to inspire them to get treatment?

REBT and CBT help you re-label your irrational beliefs into rational ones, into beliefs that are more flexible, beliefs that are more likely to help you attain your goals. In the long run, you will definitely benefit with the treatment. It will help you control your emotions. Too often in life we lose out on important things, because of our irritational behaviour.

You plan on starting the Serenity Studio soon. What other forms of treatment will you introduce there?

We have already begun work on a small scale. Serenity Studio was conceptualized by my partner Bhargavi C and myself. Bhargavi is a lifestyle coach and I am a psychotherapist.

We also have on board with us, our Chief Consultant for REBT, Michael J Toohey,  an Instructor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Central Connecticut State University.  Michael is also an approved supervisor in REBT at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York.

Serenity Studio provides support to individuals, couples, and families through psychotherapy (REBT/ CBT), life coaching, and assessment.

Tell us more about these forms of treatment.

Psychotherapy is a clinical service in which individuals, couples, and families are able to reach personal and interpersonal goals in order to live optimal lives. Emotional problems are often psychological in nature, and dealing with them increases a person’s sense of well-being. Psychotherapy is done in person, as well as long distance.

Life Coaching aims to support an individual through the process of achieving a specific personal or professional goal. Life Coaching is performed with individuals, groups, and families in person or by phone or Skype.

Is this treatment meant for adults or can it help children too? If it is beneficial to children, is it worth introducing the concept in schools?

Therapy can be introduced to children right from the 1st grade. Particular adaptations that therapists make in working with children are in making the content and speed of therapy appropriate for the child, bearing in mind the younger child’s limitations in metacognition, and ineptitude in labeling feelings. With younger children, the therapist is likely to be more active, and will make use of a higher proportion of behavioural than cognitive techniques.

Therapists, like myself, are specially trained for using CBT for children and adolescents.

With a broad-based CBT/ REBT approach, a psycho-educational element of giving information by discussion,  supplemented by fact-sheets, is important. This is likely to increase agreement with the counselor, and is appreciated by the child, family, school and the referring general practitioner.

REBT and CBT emphasise the process of learning in improving and maintaining behaviour.  While REBT helps the child in connecting between thoughts and their responses to social situations; CBT often involves problem solving skills training, and is applicable in treating aggression and conduct in children.

How would your clients benefit with this treatment?

REBT/ CBT are based on the scientifically supported assumption that most emotional and behavioral reactions are learned.  The goal of therapy is to help clients unlearn their unwanted reactions, and to learn a new way of reacting. 

 I would like to explain this to you by quoting Dr. Albert Ellis, ‘You largely constructed your depression. It wasn’t given to you. Therefore, you can deconstruct it.’

Do people need constant and regular therapy to stay healthy?

Therapists do not tell their clients what to do, rather, they teach their clients how to do. The time frame differs from client to client. On an average, a person needs about eight sessions to make rational thinking a part of his everyday life.