How to recognize psychological violence?

Psychological violence is repeated non-physically injurious behavior that a person uses against a weaker person, often resulting in psychological trauma.
Unfortunately, psychological violence is not a rare phenomenon, so it is extremely important to be able to recognize psychological violence and prevent it, never to try to justify the actions of a violent person.
Psychological violence can be:
 
  • Humiliation – making fun of a person’s manner, appearance or feelings, insulting, shouting, humiliating because of gender, nationality or race. In the work environment, it can be discussing the poorer work results of a particular person in front of colleagues in public, or gossiping behind their backs.
  • Threats – threats to injure, kill, or even commit suicide, threats of divorce, deprivation of children. In the work environment – the threat of not paying a salary, the unjustified threat of dismissal (for example, when a person experiencing violence refuses to do work that does not belong to him or to work overtime).
  • Restrictions on freedom – harassment, constant checking (location, computer, phone, etc.), ban on meeting friends or family, ban on favorite activities, control of money or even appearance, control of clothing, etc.
  • Ignoring is also considered psychological violence – avoiding, not giving attention, ignoring emotions, lack of support, not speaking “punishment”, etc.

If you think that you are experiencing psychological violence and do not know what to do, if you need help in making the right decisions towards positive changes in your life, contact a welfare consultant

How does the consultation work?

The cycle of individual consultations consists of 2 – 8 direct counseling sessions and homework. If necessary, individual counseling sessions can also be provided remotely (via the Internet or by phone).
Counseling techniques based on cognitive and behavioral therapy (CBT) are used during consultations. The duration of the consultation is 60 minutes, of which 45 minutes. consists of working with the recipient of the service and 15 min. filling out the documentation.
During the first consultation, the service recipient’s condition is assessed and a consultation plan is drawn up. The person applying is interviewed, various questionnaires and scales are given to fill out, and the complexity of his problem is assessed.
If the case of the service recipient’s psychological condition is too complex for the competence of the welfare consultant, it is recommended that the service recipient refer to a higher level mental health specialist.
Between consultations, the recipient of the service is assigned tasks of independent work – “homework”
The services of wellness counselors are terminated when the individual has received a predetermined amount of counseling, a marked improvement in symptoms, and a positive change in emotional well-being on rating scales.
During the counseling cycle, the client develops self-reflection and emotional empowerment tools that help strengthen emotional health after the cycle ends.
However, if the recipient of the service feels the need for it, he can contact a welfare consultant or mental health care specialist again at any time.

How to help yourself when stress takes over?

  1. Prioritize. Sometimes the situation in our mind seems much worse than it really is. Try to write it down. Write down all the problems that have arisen, all possible ways of solving them, write down all the steps in a paragraph. Start with small, easy things to do.
  2. Go out for a walk. A walk in the fresh air, in nature, will allow you to relax and relieve the symptoms of stress.
  3. Take time for yourself. A break from everyday problems is simply a necessary condition for stress management. Do something you like – read a book, do crafts, exercise, meet friends.
  4. Get adequate rest. Although dinner with friends or an evening with a movie sounds like a great way to relax, it’s still important not to forget the most important thing – quality sleep.
  5. Avoid things that cause negative emotions. Of course, knowing what is happening in the world is important, but constant monitoring – set limits for yourself, for example no more than half an hour a day for reading the news.
  6. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talk to loved ones. Perhaps they will be able to help you solve the situations that have arisen or give you useful advice. Contact a Wellbeing Consultant for help.

The cycle of seminars for the inclusion of the applicant, partners and employees of cooperating institutions in the model has ended.

In order for the well-being consultant model to work smoothly, and for people from very different backgrounds to learn about the service, it was extremely important to include cooperating institutions in the project and introduce their representatives to the principles of the model’s operation, to teach them to recognize situations and problems that can be solved by using well-being consultants. During the seminars, the representatives of the collaborating institutions were trained in different techniques, how to work with people, how to motivate them to use the services provided by welfare consultants and are ready to provide all the necessary information.

A success story

We all feel lonely sometimes, we feel misunderstood, unloved, not needed by anyone. Loneliness often comes after experiencing significant changes in life, after experiencing the loss of a loved one, divorce, job loss, and especially in old age, when some social ties disappear, participation in society’s activities decreases. Prolonged feelings of loneliness can be detrimental to your emotional and physical health – well-being counselors can help you find ways to combat it.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the success story of Rima (name changed), who survived the feeling of loneliness:
Rima lived with her son and mother. He held a high position at work, was able to realize himself and feel an important part of the team. He spent his free time actively, met his girlfriends, traveled. However, in the last few years, Rima’s life has undergone huge changes. Rima, having reached the age of retirement, decided to spend more time on various hobbies, for which time was still taking up, and left her job. Rima’s single son bought his own home, moved out, and started a family. About a year later, Rima’s mother, who lived with her, died. Rima was left alone. The woman experienced the great grief of loss, nothing made her happy anymore, she had no strength to get out of bed, she no longer had any motivation to do anything. It seemed to her that everyone moved away from her, she became unnecessary to anyone.
After reading about Gerovės consultants on the Internet, she signed up without thinking much. The cognitive behavioral therapy techniques applied during the consultations allowed her to recognize the errors in her thinking and behavior, she realized that only she herself is responsible for her well-being. Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the assumption that our thoughts, emotions and behavior are very closely related and affect each other, a person’s well-being is determined by his thinking, so how we feel does not depend on specific life events in general, but on how we accept them. Rima remembered more than one situation when, due to a bad mood, she refused to meet her friends, as a result of which their offers became less and less frequent. He realized that he was wrong to be angry with his son, complaining that he no longer cared, after all, his attention was now devoted to his little daughter. The hardest part was finally coming to terms with the loss of her mother, even though a couple of years have passed, Rima realized that she hadn’t let her go yet. However, after consultations, she finally decided to change her life, asked her son and daughter-in-law for help in cleaning up the house and saying goodbye to her mother’s belongings, keeping only a few of her most precious ones. Such a joint cleaning of the house in memory of the beloved mother and grandmother brought Rima and her son closer again, both could talk to each other and vent their grievances. Rima started meeting her friends again, and even started planning a trip with one of them. She found the joy of life by spending more and more time with her granddaughter.

The second Wealth Consultant newspaper is now out.

The newspaper contains all the important information about the services of a well-being consultant – what they are for and how the consultations are conducted, what are the most common emotional health disorders and why you don’t need to help them. Also, another inspiring story of a successful consultation cycle. The printed form of the newspaper will be distributed through various district institutions and organizations. We invite you to read and share with your loved ones.

A digital version of the newspaper is available here

On May 19, the second article publicizing the services of welfare consultants was published in the newspaper “Mūsų Ignalina”.


The aim of the articles is to inform Ignalina municipality. residents about the provided service of welfare consultants, contacts are made public. Success stories of people who have already used counseling are also presented, how people who felt mild symptoms of emotional disorders did not hesitate to seek help, and with the help of a well-being consultant, learned to reduce the symptoms of disorders and improve their emotional well-being.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE DEPRESSION?
There is no person who has not experienced emotional difficulties – regardless of age, social status, we all face stress, anxiety, and various fears. In addition to this, shocking events that cause great psychological stress – loss of a loved one, divorce, dismissal, financial deprivation, violence, various diseases, war. Negative emotions can affect your daily routine and quality of life. Sometimes one emotional difficulty is followed by another, or a significant shocking event occurs in life, then we can feel that we are losing control of our life and it becomes extremely important to seek help in time. Untreated prolonged emotional difficulties can eventually develop into depression.
Warning signs of possible depression can be divided into emotional, physical and behavioral:
Emotional: sadness, apathy, negative thoughts, irritability, anger, anxiety, despair, self-deprecation, guilt, suicidal thoughts.
Physical: constant fatigue, weight or appetite changes, insomnia, loss of sex drive, headaches.
Behavioral: self-harm, giving up previously enjoyed activities, inability to concentrate, avoiding communication, self-isolation.
We invite you to contact a Wellbeing Consultant as soon as you feel the first signs of depression and not wait until the situation gets really bad
A very important, responsible and at the same time stressful time is approaching in the lives of graduates – the final matriculation exams.
To reduce exam stress, first of all, you need to understand that failing an exam is not the end of the world and you can always retake it later. However, of course, you need to make every effort to achieve the goal and not only allocate maximum time for learning, but also remember your emotional health. Because it is uncontrollable anxiety that can trip up even the best student.
Here are some tips to help you manage your anxiety:
Breathing exercises can help you relax. When you feel stressed your breathing speeds up, to relax you should slow your breathing down again. Take a deep breath. Exhale slowly to the count of 5. Repeat until I’m breathing this slowly naturally.
Regular exercise is also a great way to combat stress. Be sure to take breaks when you study. Even 10 or 20 minutes spent walking, cycling or exercising can reduce stress.
Quality sleep is equally important. Do not forget that not enough sleep harms the nervous system, reduces the speed of memory and other mental processes.
Don’t keep your anxiety to yourself. Talk to loved ones, friends, or a well-being counselor.
The services of welfare advisers are intended for persons aged 18 and over.
Stress – good or bad?
Stress is a state of tension, the body’s reaction to certain threatening or challenging events. This is a normal and inevitable phenomenon, causing health problems usually only when a person experiences constant, long-term stress, then the consequences can be painful: constant fatigue, various diseases.
Good stress is like a burst of energy, an impulse to act, to move forward. To make it easier to understand what good stress is, let’s imagine the following situations: you are moving into your dream apartment, preparing for a wedding, being invited to the stage to accept an award and give a speech, starting a new job, etc. All these and similar situations, which seem to bring only the most pleasant feelings, at the same time cause tension and stress. This stress usually lasts for a short time and is even useful – it adds variety to our everyday life, teaches us to overcome daily challenges (even bad stress), increases motivation to achieve goals. However, even good stress is debilitating if prolonged for too long and can become long-term bad stress.
Bad stress is caused by unpleasant situations, shocking experiences – loss of a loved one, dismissal from work, relationship problems, illness, financial problems, etc. Prolonged emotional stress can weaken the immune system and lead to high blood pressure, fatigue, depression, anxiety and heart disease.
If you need help to manage stress, we kindly invite you to register for a consultation.

The cycle of seminars involving the applicant, partners and employees of cooperating institutions in the model is already half way through.

The purpose of the seminars is to acquaint the employees of these institutions with the principles and methods of welfare consultant services, to teach them to recognize situations and problems that can be solved by the help of welfare consultants, to be able to provide the acquired information to potential clients of the welfare consultant, and to motivate them to use the services. The seminars started on February 24.

Are mental health problems a sign of weakness?

Mental health disorders are a disease, not a sign of a weak person. This is a very wrong belief, similar to saying that only weak people get the flu, diabetes or any other disease. Such thinking is not only wrong, but also harmful and stigmatizes mental health. This opinion is especially common among people who have never experienced mental health disorders in their immediate environment. However, it must be remembered that none of us is immune from mental health disorders, so it is especially important when difficulties arise to take care of our emotional health, to distance ourselves from the extremely harmful “advice” that is unfortunately still common in society, to look at people with more serious problems and not to think nonsense.
It is important to know – fighting with mental problems requires a lot of strength and inner strength.
Only you can take the first step towards your emotional well-being.
Contact a Welfare consultant.

On February 2nd, the first seminar for the involvement of ward staff and community representatives in the model took place.

The entire cycle of seminars includes 3 seminars of 4 hours each for each of the four target groups consisting of 10 people each. During the seminars, attention is paid to identifying persons with psychological difficulties and problems, maintaining contact, motivating and encouraging them to seek help. Seminars are organized in municipal wards, ward representatives, community representatives and other interested persons are invited.

In order to create suitable and modern working conditions for the well-being consultant’s office, all the necessary furniture was purchased and installed, as well as a water stand and a coffee machine for the convenience of the client and the consultant.
The address of the welfare consultant’s office is Ligoninė st. 13, Ignalina.
We invite you to register for a consultation
A handout created for the purpose of publicizing the services provided by welfare consultants in the Ignalina district – the newspaper of the welfare consultant. The printed form of the newspaper will be distributed through various district institutions and organizations. We invite you to read the online newspaper here

On 12/13/2022, the Ignalina district newspaper “Mūsų Ignalina” published an article presenting the services of a Welfare consultant and a success story illustrating the benefits of consultations.

You can read the text of the article below:

Emotional health is an integral part of our overall well-being. Everyone has faced smaller or bigger challenges at least once in their life: some people can talk about their problems with their loved ones, others find it very difficult to talk and keep everything to themselves. People tend to compare their problems with others, but you should understand that this is inappropriate and no matter what problems others are facing, it does not make your problems any less important. Remember that asking for help is completely normal, so you shouldn’t feel bad about it. Sometimes it can be difficult to start talking about it, but the constant discomfort of an unresolved issue can only make it worse later.

The goal of the project – “Implementation of the model of welfare consultants in the Ignalina district municipality” is to improve the health and social well-being of the residents of the Ignalina district municipality. It is expected that thanks to the project, the health indicators of the residents of the Ignalina district municipality will improve, mental illnesses and emotional disorders will decrease, residents will be more productive and social exclusion will decrease.

Wellfare consultant is a specialist with a qualified education and completed special training in low-intensity emotional counseling of persons experiencing psychological and emotional difficulties, based on cognitive and behavioral therapy. Helping a wellfare consultant at an early stage of the problem is aimed at preventing the onset of depression and thereby contributing to reducing the number of suicides.

The benefits brought by consultations are perfectly illustrated by the case of Lina (name changed):

Lina, a young, married woman, mother of a two-year-old boy, felt unhappy, but she could not even tell herself exactly why. After all, she has a wonderful family and she can’t complain about her financial situation or your physical health. However, she realized that she was no longer satisfied with her life. She felt constant fatigue, cried after a somewhat more stressful day, finally realized that even small arguments with her husband or son flare up and she reacts aggressively. The relationship with her husband became strained, apart from constant arguments, she also received comments for her hot reactions to her son’s pranks. These situations put a lot of pressure on Lina psychologically, she felt constant pangs of conscience. And she herself admitted that she does not control her emotions. The fact that Lina and her husband had been planning a second child for some time also contributed to her poor state of health. Although she hadn’t been planning for long enough to be worried, Lina felt disappointed in herself every month after her failed pregnancy attempt. The desire to get pregnant was often replaced by the fear of possible complications of the future pregnancy, about which Lina did not miss the opportunity to search for information every day and even more grew groundless fear in herself. Lina found out about the services of a Welfare consultant quite by chance – after seeing information about Welfare consultants on Facebook. When she found out that this service is also offered in her city – Ignalina, she decided to try it without delay. Already after the first consultation, Lina said that she got food for thought and realized what mistakes she made with her thoughts and actions, harming herself and her emotional health. One of the most important steps towards realizing the mistakes was sharing my experiences with the Welfare consultant, the opportunity to hear myself as if from the side. After applying the methods of cognitive and behavioral therapy, actively working with herself not only during consultations but also doing “homework”, Lina learned to control her emotions, learned the correct breathing technique to relax when overcome by anger or fear outbreaks, and also began to think more responsibly about her actions and limited yourself from unnecessary information that causes negative emotions. She included time for herself in her schedule, which she spent doing sports or meeting with friends.

This counseling success story perfectly shows why it is worth applying, even when you think you don’t have serious problems, but you just feel lost, preventing the deterioration of your psycho-emotional condition, depression. The services of a welfare consultant are intended for all adult residents of the Ignalina district who have mild symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, experience various fears, insomnia, have encountered problems and do not know how to help themselves control their emotions.

Registration for consultation: www.geroveignalinoje.lt, or phone: 8 622 28895, 8 619 28887

The project is implemented under the program “Health” with the funds of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism.

Do you feel anxious, stressed, don’t know how to help yourself and who to talk to?
We invite you to the informational event of the implementation of the model of welfare consultants in the municipality of Ignalina district.
Who is a welfare consultant?
WELLFARE CONSULTANT – a specialist who has the required education and has completed special training in low-intensity emotional counseling of persons experiencing psychological and emotional difficulties, based on cognitive and behavioral therapy.
The project “Implementation of the model of welfare consultants in the municipality of Ignalina district” is dedicated to the reduction and prevention of health inequalities in the municipality of Ignalina district. Project
provides measures to improve the availability and quality of community mental health services.
The event will take place on November 25 at 1:00 p.m. (duration 4 hours) at the Ignalina nuclear power plant regional public service business center, Ateities st 23, Ignalina.
At the event, we will present the services of a well-being consultant in more detail, we will talk about good emotional and physical health, positive thinking. We will learn to recognize and evaluate stressful situations and, thanks to positive thinking, it is easier to solve them.
Coffee/tea and cookies will be available during the break. We will end the event by inviting you to participate in a quiz and awarding the winners.
The event is FREE
You’ve probably already heard that Wellfare Consultants use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to provide counseling.
CBT is a scientifically based and proven targeted method of changing thoughts and behaviors aimed at eliminating symptoms or improving adaptation.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the assumption that our thoughts, emotions and behavior are very closely related and affect each other, a person’s well-being is determined by his thinking, so how we feel does not depend on specific life events in a roundabout way, but on how we accept them.
KET focuses on current events in a person’s life, researches and solves specific problems, and does not look for answers in the person’s past or subconscious.
How do you know if Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is right for you?
The most important thing you should know – CBT requires the active participation of the person and his efforts in the therapeutic process, so it is effective only if you want and are determined to actively work on solving your problem – even only during the meeting with the Welfare consultant, but also after the consultation, by doing “homework” .
How to register for a consultation with a welfare consultant?
Select the menu section “Registration”, press. The registration form will load.
In the registration form, select the date and time convenient for you and press the “Next” button.
In the next step, you will have to specify your contact details – name, surname, e-mail address and phone number Press “Confirm”.
Congratulations, you have registered for the first consultation!
You should have received confirmation via the email address provided.
Can’t get it? Then just get in touch with one of the welfare advisors using the given contacts.
The educational posters of the project “Implementation of the model of welfare consultants in the municipality of Ignalina district” were laid out, printed and displayed on the bulletin boards of various institutions of the Ignalina district.
The project’s publicity tools, including posters, aim to inculcate in the residents of Ignalina the attitude that seeking help is normal and shameless (currently, mental and emotional problems are still often stigmatized in society, they are not talked about out loud).
The poster designs were created taking into account three age groups (youth, adults and the elderly), a modern design was chosen, the focus of which was the slogan #ŽmogusŽmogui #Human to Human.
Slogan #ŽmogusŽmogui is chosen purposefully in order to provide trust in the services of a well-being consultant and not to be afraid to apply, to state that consultations are not a matter-of-fact cold meeting between a specialist and a patient, but a warmer, more human conversation helping to solve the applicant’s problems.
The renovation of the welfare consultant’s office has been completed.
Welfare consultant services will be provided at the address – Ligonine st. 13, Ignalina. The location of the welfare consultant services will be in a comfortable, quiet place where the welfare consultants will be happy to work and the applicants will feel safe and secure.
In order for the premises to be suitable for the provision of such services, simple repair work was carried out, and a separate waiting room for customers was installed, allowing to distance oneself from the area of ​​people’s movement.
The workplace will soon be equipped with modern equipment and tools that will create a positive meeting environment and help break down communication barriers.
Stay tuned, soon we will invite you to visit the well-being consultant’s office, and for now we invite you to register for remote consultations.
The project is implemented with the funds of the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area
On 04/12/2022, the contract for the repair of the Gerovės consultants’ office (address Ligoninės st. 13, LT-30112 Ignalina) was signed with UAB “Ostertus”

Duration of repair works 2 months.