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It was the question I asked when trying to shed off some unwanted pounds. Does sweating help me lose weight? The answer is “Yes” it does. You will see a difference on the scale when you exercise regularly and sweat a lot. While some of that loss will be fat loss, some will also be water loss. Unfortunately, water weight loss is temporary. That weight goes back on when you replenish your body with fluids - but then comes back off again when you sweat.

Do not, under any circumstances, use this information as an excuse to drink less fluid. When you sweat, it is essential that you are replenishing the fluids in your body. If you don’t, this can lead to heat stroke, and possibly even death.

Water loss just comes with the territory when you are working to lose body fat, and while that weight does go back on, there are benefits to it. First, seeing the numbers go down on the scale really is encouraging - even if you know its just water loss. It will motivate you to keep on working hard at getting the fat off.

Second, although we associate sweat with dirt, sweat is important for our skin. It actually helps to wash out pores and we also shed toxins through our skin when we sweat. The trick to getting the most benefit out of this is not to just wipe your skin off when you sweat. Instead, go take a shower and use a good antibacterial soap. Then, you will be getting all of the benefits of a good sweat.

Another way to look at sweat is that if you are sweating, you are doing something to cause the sweat - which means that you are probably doing something that is burning fat and calories. Of course, we burn calories just by being alive, and anyone can sweat by sitting in the heat - but if you are moving, and sweating, you are definitely making progress towards your weight loss goals.

It is absolutely vital that you take note of when you are sweating. This is an indication that you need to start replacing lost fluids. The problem here is that while water is always recommended, and it is what you should choose if losing weight is the objective, water doesn’t replace many things that you are losing through that sweat. This is why most athletes will drink sports type beverages instead of water while working out.

Unfortunately, most of those sports drinks are too high in calories for someone who is trying to lose weight. Therefore, you must look for alternatives. Crystal Light is one alternative to other types of sports drinks. It can be purchased in liquid and powder form, as well as in bulk and in single serving packs.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t drink plain water! Again, water is essential to your well being, and you should be consuming eight to ten glasses each day. It is only after workouts - after sweating - that you need something other than water to replace electrolytes and such.

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Healthy Eating and Dieting are often confused as the same thing. They are not. Personally I am not in favor of so-called diets - I believe that following healthy eating guidelines allows your body to adjust to the best weight for you. However it is an undeniable fact that diets are a part of many people’s day-to-day life. Regrettably some diets can be most unhealthy if you make poor choices simply in order to lose weight. It is essential that you learn the guidelines that mean your diet is healthy and good for you rather than unhealthy and unbalanced, and consequently not good for you. We are what we eat so the foods you choose should nourish your body and keep it healthy.

The first thing you need to know is what your body needs in order to function well, rather than what it craves - particularly if you have built up some bad eating habits. You need to have adequate amounts of all the food groups to maintain your health. Is the reason for your diet to lose weight or gain muscle? Do you want to change your body shape rather than your weight? These are all factors that you must bear in mind when choosing a diet regime.

Diets that limit you to a single food are quite simply not healthy. No individual food item can provide all of the nourishment our body needs. Diets that require you to remove a whole food group are also not healthy. It is perfectly acceptable to cut back on carbohydrates for example, but some are good for your body and you need them to stay healthy. Good diets will provide you with food choices from all the main groups so that your body continues to function properly. You need proteins, carbohydrates, sugars, vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and even fats in moderation if you are to stay well.

An important ingredient of a healthy diet is your fluid intake. Any regime should include a minimum of 8 glasses of fluid every day whether it be water, juice or any other drink of your choice. Energy drinks and Smoothies can work well in a diet but they should not be your sole intake. It is all about balance and drinks will not contain all the food groups. In summer when it is hot you will need to drink more water and don’t forget that Coffee and alcohol have a dehydrating effect so you must compensate for that as well.

Following healthy eating guidelines when dieting is all very well but you must have healthy amounts of exercise as well. Any diet that says you can lose weight without appropriate exercise should be regarded with suspicion. Even with a suitable physical regime, it is unhealthy to lose weight too quickly. Exercise should be a supplement and compliment to your diet. You should be eating enough calories to sustain the amount of exercise you are doing. High levels of exercise will require you to eat more food, and to eat more regularly than you might otherwise think. People often hit a ‘wall’ when dieting and find it difficult to shed the last few pounds, almost invariably this is because they are not eating enough rather than eating too much. Consequently their metabolic rate slows and they do not burn even the few calories that they take on board.

Following healthy eating guidelines, being moderate in the amount that you eat, drinking plenty and taking adequate exercise is the best diet regime you can follow. You may not lose massive amounts of weight overnight but your body will adjust gradually until it reaches the best weight, size and shape for you without putting your health at risk. Do remember at all times that if you are making major lifestyle changes in terms of diet and exercise you should consult your medical practitioner first.

Annie Horthorne grew up in the catering business and has always been an enthusiastic and highly regarded cook. She has a special interest in healthy eating and how to make it tasty and fun. Annie’s delicious healthy eating recipes can be found at The Healthy Eating Guide

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A healthy diet should achieve all of the following objectives:

• It should have sufficient calories to maintain one’s metabolic needs and to power you through whatever activities you undertake. However, the number of calories should not be so high that it causes your body to begin storing excess amounts of fat. Stored fat should never be more than 30% of your body mass.
• A good diet should have sufficient quantities of fat including monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fat. This should be balanced by omega 6 and omega 3 lipids.
• It should also avoid saturated fats as much as possible, as well as trans-fats or trans-fatty acids as they are sometimes known.
• A good diet should also include a significant amount of amino acids (which are complete proteins). This provides replenishment to your cells and transports proteins throughout your body. All the essential amino acids are present in both animal and plant protein.
• There must be complete avoidance of directly poisonous substances such as heavy metals and carcinogenic substances.

One should also avoid high doses of certain foods that may be alright in small doses but not in large doses, such as:

• Food or substances with directly toxic properties such as ethyl alcohol.
• Foods that could exhaust the normal functions of the body such as eating refined carbohydrates that need extra dietary fiber to be digested.
• Foods that could interfere with other body processes, such as refined table salt.

The checklist seems simple enough because a simple list is exactly what it is. It is just a basic guide - a list of the dos and don’ts for your diet.

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Rosemary is a member of the mint family and the name is derived from its Latin origin to mean “dew of the sea.” Rosemary is a perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region and commonly found in Mediterranean cuisine. It has somewhat a bitter astringent taste and compliments oily foods very nicely. A tisane can be made from the Rosemary leaves and that is also very popular when cooking.

First it is burned and then added to a BBQ to flavor various foods. Sage, unlike many other herbs has a high nutritional value to it and is rich in iron, calcium, and vitamin B-6 and is more nutritional in its dried form rather than fresh. Rosemary should be harvested just as you are going to use it because it truly loses its flavor once dried. Gardner’s swear that if you plant some Rosemary plants in and around your garden, the Rosemary will fend off moths, beetles, and carrot flies.

Older Europeans loved Rosemary and believed that it improved memory and also used it as a symbol of remembrance and was often tossed into fresh graves before they were buried over. Traditionally it has been said that Rosemary, left untrimmed, would grow for thirty three years where it will reach the height of Christ when he was crucified.

Many would also place sprigs of Rosemary underneath their pillows to ward off evil and nightmares. Often the wood that comes from the stems of the Rosemary plant was used to make musical instruments. Remember that people back then liked to utilize every piece of something as not to waste. Today, many wreaths are made from Rosemary as a symbol of remembrance.

Today, Rosemary is still used for many things besides cooking as it is in potpourris, air fresheners, shampoos, and cosmetics. There has also been scientific evidence that Rosemary works very well as a memory stimulant. Rosemary has also shown some cancer prevention properties in animals. But further Rosemary has shown a strong relationship in relaxing muscles, and to soothe stomach upset as well as menstrual cramps. The main thing to remember when using Rosemary for this purpose is that if you use too much it can actually cause a counter effect.

When made into a tea it is ingested for calming nerves and anxiety and as an antiseptic. Many people find Rosemary to taste very refreshing when used as a tea. Making Rosemary tea is quite simple, just pour boiling water over the leaves and steep for 10-15 minutes. A little sugar can be added, don’t add any cream though as this will take away its good taste. A few sprigs can be added to oils and vinegars to flavor the products which add a nice taste for cooking.

When used cosmetically, it can lighten and tone human hair. It has been known to strengthen hair too when mixed with equal parts of shampoo. It also makes for a nice additive in hot bath water. Rosemary has many usages and benefits, however, it’s more often used for cooking than anything else nowadays.

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Typically a psychological disorder patient would get his treatments through medication and services from a mental health institution or facilities. However, advocates of Complementary and Alternative Medicine believe that more holistic approaches could also be rendered to patients in conjunction to their medical treatments.

While there are no conclusive proofs or approved therapeutic claims that these alternatives really work, they have been practiced for years and have yielded significant positive results in their own fields. Here are some the suggested alternative solutions to mental health care:

Slowing down

Daily stressors contribute to the development of several mental health disorders. In fact, stress itself is considered as a threat to mental health. It disrupts sleep, thinking and rest and it could affect the way we function everyday. Hence it is important to learn and adopt several methods that could help lessen the negative stressors we are exposed to everyday.

Biofeedback – This method is normally used in treating mental health disorders such as phobias, panic and anxiety. This works by controlling the involuntary muscle functioning such as skin temperature and heart rate and by controlling muscle tension.

Massage therapy – Advocates of this method believe that tapping, rubbing, and brushing the skin and muscle groups could relieve pent up emotions and internal tension. People suffering from severe cases of stress and post-traumatic disorders are usually advised to have massage therapy regularly.

Visualization – Another method to lessen tension and stress is to redirect the perception and the individual techniques on visualization. This works by entering into a deep state of relaxation where the person could create relaxing and “friendly” images that will contribute to his well-being and lessen the occurrence of unwanted thoughts that are detrimental to one’s mental health.

Traditional alternative approaches

Ayurdeva – Imported from Indian Traditional Medicine, Ayurdeva is a holistic approach to caring your mental health. This seeks balance on the body energies rather than on the symptoms that affect the body. This system of traditional treatments includes yoga, a widely practiced alternative solution in the Western world these days. Yoga makes use of postures, exercises, stretches and meditation to achieve the balance of body energies.

Native American approaches – Cleansing rituals and chants are part of the Indian Health Services Programs that are focused on treating people suffering from depression, stress-related disorders and anxiety disorders.

Acupuncture – Used in treating many other ailments in the body, acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical approach that could also be used as treatment to mental disorders. It makes use of needles with various sizes that are inserted to different pressure points in the body to enable the flow of energy.

Diet and Nutrition

According to studies, diet and nutrition affects the manner by which our brains work. If it is deprived with certain nutrients, the brain may fail to function the way it should be.

Vitamin and nutrient intake – According to some studies, there are specific vitamins that our brain needs in order to produce other chemicals that are crucial in maintaining our moods. Also, some vitamins are important in preventing the development of neurological and degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, proper intake of these vitamins and minerals plus supplementation of essential nutrients are highly recommended to maintain mental health.

Mental health care does not only include medical treatments, support of other approaches is also needed to maximize the possibility of patient recovery.

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If you want to lose weight, whether it be for a special occasion or you just want to feel better about yourself than you have probably at some point encountered many false claims regarding weight loss. There is so much conflicting information on what to do, what not to do and so on that it can become overwhelming. This article intends to cut through this and to make it clear what you should be doing to help you lose weight.

One of biggest myths that will you come across is the idea that eating snacks between meals is detrimental to your diet. This is not true. Having a snack between meals can actually help your diet. If you starve yourself between your set mealtimes then your body will conserve energy by storing fat. Moreover, if you ignore hunger between meals, you are far more likely to overeat at lunchtime.

Eating in between meals is fine if you choose the right food. Instead of relying on the vending machine, take fruits and other low-fat products to work. A successful diet plan is based on your calories intake, not the amount of meals that you eat in a day.

Another myth is the idea that all carbohydrates are bad for your diet. This is not the case. Instead what is important to understand is that there different kinds of carbohydrates available. They get a bad press because of the carbohydrates that contain calories such as sugar. If you choose carbohydrates with low fat and low sugar such as wholegrain bread and grain pasta then you will not put on weight. Perhaps you might find it interesting to know that when exercising the body will use carbohydrates to burn fat.

You will hear some people argue that if you skip breakfast then your diet will fail. Again this is not true. What counts is your daily calorie intake. It is perfectly OK to not eat as soon as you wake up and this is entirely your preference. However you do not want to allow yourself to go too long without food as this increases the likelihood of overeating later in the day. A light snack such as fruit or a low-fat yogurt is fine.

Another myth is that you should avoid all fat-based food. If you do this you will be harming your diet. This sounds contradictory but your body needs a certain amount of fat. This is good for you as it makes you feel full after you have eaten. By eliminating fat from your diet you increase your hunger levels and so at some point you will eat more. Fat intake in moderation as part of a diet that monitors calories will be beneficial to your overall health.

The next two myths go hand in hand. Some people argue that there is no need to count calories and instead you should just focus on exercise as this is what will help you to lose weight.

These are half truths. You need to be methodical about your weight loss program. If you do not record your calorie intake then you are more likely to underestimate it. By recording this information you can calculate what your projected intake will be in proportion to your exercise routine.

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How much water should you drink? If you keep up with health trends, you’ve probably heard something like eight glasses per day. There are some books that advocate even more, saying that most people are seriously dehydrated and do not know it.

There are two aspects to the water and health equation -quantity and quality. That is, how much water should you drink and what kind of water is best to drink. My own conclusion from the research I have done is that quality is the more important of these factors. This is especially true today, when so much of our water, including most bottled and even filtered water, is contaminated.

Now obviously quantity is important as well. In fact, at the most basic level, you need a certain amount of water to survive. So when I say quality is more important I am assuming you are not in an extreme situation where any kind of water at all is scarce. So assuming you have access to enough water, how much should you drink? I am going to resolve this question with a previously concealed secret scientific formula that you may not understand without advanced knowledge of mathematics and physics. Ready? Okay, here it is: “as much as you want.”

Yes, I’m going to say that, as an advocate of a natural approach to nutrition and health, the best indicator in most cases is your body’s own natural mechanism of thirst. There are some cases, such as if you are preoccupied with a strenuous activity, such as physical work or some highly aerobic exercise, and you simply forget to drink enough. This can be dangerous and lead to dehydration. So you do have to pay attention to your body’s need for water. Yet if you do pay attention, you will find that you are indeed thirsty when you need water.

So what about the quality aspect of the equation? This is a bit trickier, and cannot be reduced to a fake scientific formula, as I did for quantity. The fact is, you really cannot rely on the purity of most tap or bottled water. It is generally better to drink water that has been purified to any extent than plain tap water, but in the long run you are definitely better off investing in a good quality water purification system.

What about distilled or reverse osmosis water? Both of these de-mineralize water. This is a controversial subject, but once again I will come down on the “natural” answer. You will not find distilled water anywhere in nature; it is a laboratory creation. Now distilled water is certainly better than water that is seriously contaminated, but I’d prefer to drink pure water with the many beneficial minerals that nature intended.

So, when it comes down to it, the solution to the “healthy water” equation is fairly simple -drink as much pure water as your body asks for.

Larry Christopher is a writer and researcher on many topics, including the arts, metaphysics, cultural issues and health and wellness. For more about this topic, go to Healthy Water

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When a person is experiencing psychological or emotional difficulties (hereafter called “mental health problems”), they may well attend their GP. The GP will interview them and based on the nature and severity of the persons symptoms may either recommend treatment himself or refer the person on to a specialist. There can seem a bewildering array of such specialists, all with rather similar titles, and one can wonder as to why they’ve been referred to one specialist rather than another. In this article I give an outline of the qualifications, roles and typical working styles of these specialists. This may be of interest to anyone who is about to, or already seeing, these specialists.

The General Practitioner

Although not a mental health specialist, the GP is a common first contact for those with mental health problems. A GP is a doctor who possesses a medical degree (usually a five-year course) and has completed a one-year “pre-registration” period in a general hospital (six-months on a surgical ward and six-months on a medical ward as a “junior house officer”). Following this a GP has completed a number of six-month placements in various hospital-based specialities – typical choices include obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry and/or general medicine. Finally, a year is spent in general practice as a “GP registrar” under the supervision of a senior GP. During this period, most doctors will take examinations to obtain the professional qualification of the Royal College of General Practitioners (“Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners”, or MRCGP). Others qualifications, such as diplomas in child health, may also be obtained.

The GP is thus a doctor with a wide range of skills and experience, able to recognise and treat a multitude of conditions. Of course the necessity of this wide range of experience places limits on the depth of knowledge and skills that they can acquire. Therefore, if a patient’s condition is rare or, complicated, or particularly severe and requiring hospital-based treatment, then they will refer that patient on to a specialist.

Focusing on mental health problems it will be noted that whilst the majority of GP’s have completed a six-month placement in psychiatry, such a placement is not compulsory for GP’s. However, mental health problems are a common reason for attending the GP and, subsequently, GP’s tend to acquire a lot of experience “on the job”.

Most GP’s feel able to diagnose and treat the common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. The treatments will typically consist of prescribing medication (such as antidepressants or anxiolytics) in the first instance. If these are ineffective, alternative medication may be tried, or they may refer the patient to a specialist. GP’s are more likely to refer a patient to a specialist immediately if their condition is severe, or they are suicidal, or they are experiencing “psychotic” symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions.

The Psychiatrist

This is a fully qualified doctor (possessing a medical degree plus one year pre-registration year in general hospital) who has specialised in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems. Most psychiatrists commence their psychiatric training immediately following their pre-registration year and so have limited experience in other areas of physical illness (although some have trained as GP’s and then switched to psychiatry at a later date). Psychiatric training typically consists of a three-year “basic” training followed by a three year “specialist training”. During basic training, the doctor (as a “Senior House Officer” or SHO) undertakes six-month placements in a variety of psychiatric specialities taken from a list such as; General Adult Psychiatry, Old Age Psychiatry (Psychogeriatrics), Child and Family Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry (the diagnosis and treatment of mentally ill offenders), Learning Disabilities and the Psychiatry of Addictions. During basic training, the doctor takes examinations to obtain the professional qualification of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (“Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists” or MRCPsych).

After obtaining this qualification, the doctor undertakes a further three-year specialist-training placement as a “Specialist Registrar” or SpR. At this point the doctor chooses which area of psychiatry to specialise in – General Adult Psychiatry, Old Age Psychiatry etc – and his placements are selected appropriately. There are no further examinations, and following successful completion of this three-year period, the doctor receives a “Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training” or CCST. He can now be appointed as a Consultant Psychiatrist.

The above is a typical career path for a psychiatrist. However, there are an increasing number of job titles out with the SHO-SpR-Consultant rubric. These include such titles as “Staff Grade Psychiatrist” and “Associate Specialist in Psychiatry”. The doctors with these titles have varying qualifications and degrees of experience. Some may possess the MRCPsych but not the CCST (typically, these are the Associate Specialists); others may possess neither or only part of the MRCPsych (many Staff Grades).

Psychiatrists of any level or job title will have significant experience in the diagnosis and treatment of people with mental health difficulties, and all (unless themselves a consultant) will be supervised by a consultant.

Psychiatrists have particular skill in the diagnosis of mental health problems, and will generally be able to provide a more detailed diagnosis (i.e. what the condition is) and prognosis (i.e. how the condition changes over time and responds to treatment) than a GP. The psychiatrist is also in a better position to access other mental health specialists (such as Psychologists and Community Psychiatric Nurses or CPNs) when needed. They also have access to inpatient and day patient services for those with severe mental health problems.

The mainstay of treatment by a psychiatrist is, like with GP’s, medication. However, they will be more experienced and confident in prescribing from the entire range of psychiatric medications – some medications (such as the antipsychotic Clozapine) are only available under psychiatric supervision and others (such as the mood-stabiliser Lithium) are rarely prescribed by GP’s

without consulting a psychiatrist first.

A psychiatrist, as a rule, does not offer “talking treatments” such as psychotherapy, cognitive therapy or counselling. The latter may be available “in-house” at the GP surgery – some surgeries employ a counsellor to whom they can refer directly.

Psychologists and allied mental health staff typically provide the more intensive talking therapies. Some senior mental health nurses and CPNs will have been trained in specific talking therapies. It is to a Psychologist or a trained nurse that a psychiatrist will refer a patient for talking therapy. These therapies are suitable for certain conditions and not for others – generally, conditions such as Schizophrenia and psychosis are less appropriate for these therapies than the less severe and more common conditions such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobia(s) and addictions. In many cases, a patient will be prescribed both medication and a talking therapy – thus they may be seen by both a therapist and a psychiatrist over the course of their treatment.

The Psychologist

A qualified clinical psychologist is educated and trained to an impressive degree. In addition to a basic degree in Psychology (a three year course) they will also have completed a PhD (“Doctor of Philosophy” or “Doctorate”) – a further three-year course involving innovative and independent research in some aspect of psychology. They will also be formally trained in the assessment and treatment of psychological conditions, although with a more “psychological” slant than that of psychiatrists. Psychologists do not prescribe medication. They are able to offer a wide range of talking therapies to patients, although they typically specialise and become expert in one particular style of therapy. The therapies a particular psychologist will offer may vary from a colleague, but will usually be classifiable under the title of Psychotherapy (e.g. Analytic Psychotherapy, Transactional Analysis, Emotive therapy, Narrative therapy etc) or Cognitive Therapy (e.g. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) etc).

The Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN)

These are mental health trained nurses that work in the community. They will have completed a two or three year training programme in mental health nursing – this leads to either a diploma or a degree, depending on the specific course. They are not usually “general trained”, meaning their experience of physical illness will be limited. Following completion of the course they will have spent a variable amount of time in placements on an inpatient psychiatric unit – this time can range from twelve months to several years. They can then apply to be a CPN – they are required to show a good knowledge and significant experience of mental health problems before being appointed.

CPNs are attached to Community Mental Health Teams and work closely with psychiatrists, psychologists and other staff. They offer support, advice and monitoring of patients in the community, usually visiting them at home. They can liaise with other mental health staff on behalf of the patient and investigate other support networks available (such as the mental health charities).

Some CPNs will be formally trained in one or more “talking therapies”, usually a cognitive therapy such as CBT (see “Allied Therapists” below).

“Allied” Therapists

Many “talking therapies” are offered by non-psychologists – for example, mental health nurses and mental health occupational therapists, can undertake a training course in a cognitive therapy like CBT. After successful completion of the course, the nurse will be qualified and able to offer CBT to patients. The length and intensity of these courses can vary dramatically, depending on the type of therapy and the establishment providing the course. Some are intensive, full-time one or two week courses; others are part-time and can extend over months and years. Perhaps a typical course will be one or two days a week for two to three months. Formal educational qualifications are not necessary to undertake these courses, and they are open to “lay” people with little or no experience of the NHS mental health services. Of course this is not necessarily a problem - it may even be considered a positive point!

Some of those therapists thus qualified will offer their skills as part of their work in the NHS – for instance, a nurse, CPN or occupational therapist may offer cognitive therapy to a patient that has been referred by a psychiatrist. Unfortunately this is relatively rare at the moment, presumably due to the reluctance of the NHS to pay for such training for their staff. As a result these therapies are more accessible on a private basis.

Summary

An individual with psychological difficulties will normally attend their GP in the first instance. The GP will usually have encountered similar problems with other patients and can offer a diagnosis and appropriate treatment. If the condition is unusual or particularly severe, the GP can refer the patient to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist is able to access a wider range of treatments (medications and hospital care) and can, if necessary, recruit other mental health professionals to help the patient. This system perhaps works best with the severely mentally ill such as those with psychotic symptoms or who are suicidal.

The Mental Health Services in the NHS are generally less well suited to those with psychological problems of a less severe nature – the moderately depressed, the anxious, the phobic etc. The availability of “talking therapies” is limited in the NHS, with long waiting lists or even no provision at all in some areas. This appears to be due both to the cost of training staff appropriately and the time-intensive nature of these therapies.

For those with such conditions, the main option is to seek help outside the NHS. There are some voluntary organisations that offer free counselling for specific problems such as bereavement or marital/relationship difficulties, but more intensive therapies (such as CBT or NLP) are typically fee based. Your GP or local Community Mental Health Team may be able to recommend a local private therapist.

Karen is an Occupational Therapist. Karen has worked in the NHS and her specialist area is Mental-Health. Karen also practises privately in edinburgh. She offers therapies such as NLP, and Hypnotherapy for emotional, psychological and behavioural problems. Visit http://www.karenhastings.co.uk

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