What We Do

In india many people are not aware of psychology. Because of this lack of understanding many people do not know how to /where to / whom to approach for their Psychological problems. For example, many of us are mislead to go a psychologist or psychiatrist for all our Mental and Emotional concerns. And this discourages many people even to voice out their concerns as they fear tobe labeled as psycho/mentally ill once they make a visit to psychologist /psychiatrist. Little do any of us realize that not all our concerns need a psychiatrist or psychologist care and not are negligable. But with proper Guidance & Counselling we can overcome many issues and at we ‘Know Yourself Clinics’ do exactly that.

All of us are living in a speed age with stressful life styles. Each day every one of us are facing many issues, challenges which are bothering us in many ways---which intern are effecting our abilities and happiness. We at ‘Know Yourself Clinics’ believe that there is a great link between our mind and body. Throughout the twentieth century, there were challenges to some of the underlying asumptions of biomedicine. These develop-ments included the emergence of psychosomatic medicine, behavioural health, behavioural medicine and, most recently , health spcyhology. These different areas of study illustrate an increasing role for psychology in health and a changing model of the relationship between the mind and body.

The earliest challenge to the biomedical model was psychosomatic medicene. This was developed at the beginning of the twentieth century in response to Freud’s analyis of the relationship between the mind and psysical illness. At the turn of the century, Freud described a condition called ‘hysterical paralysis’, whereby patients presented with paralysed limbs with no obvious physical cause and in a pattern that did not reflect the organization of nerves. Freud argued that this condition of the individual’s state of mind and that repressed experiences and feelings were expressed in terms of a physical problem. This explanation indicated an interaction between mind and body and suggested that psychological factors may not only be consequences of illness but may contribute to its cause.

Behavioural health again challenged the biomedical assumptions of a separation of mind and body. Behavioural health was described as being concerned with the maintenance of health and prevention of illness in currently healthy individuals through the use of educational inputs to change behaviour and lifestyle. The role of behaviour in determining the individual’s health status indicates an integration of the mind and body. A further discipline that challenged the biomedical model of health was behavioural medicine, which has been described by Schwartz and Weiss (1977) as being amalgam of elements from the behavioural science disciplines (psychology, sociology, health education) and which focuses on health care, treatment and illenss prevention. Behavioural medicine was also described by pomerleau and Brady (1979) as consisting of methods derived from the experimental analysis of behaviour, such as behaviour therapy and behaviour modification, and involved in the evaluation, treatment and prevention of physical disease or physiological dysfunction (e.g. essential hypertension, addictive behaviours and obesity). It has also been emphasized that psyschological problems such as neurosis and psychosis are not within behavioural medicine unless they contribute to the develop- ment of illness. Behavioural medicine therefore included psychology in the study of health and departed from traditional biomedical views of health . By not only focusing on treatment, but also focusing on prevention and intervention. In addition, behavioural medicine challenged the traditional separation of the mind and the body.

Health psychology is probably the most recent development in this process of including psychology in an understanding of health. It was described by Matarazzo as ‘the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific and professional contribution of the discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the promotion and treatment of illness and related dysfunction’. Health psychology again challenges the mind-body split by suggesting a role for the mind in both the cause and treatment of illness but differs from psychosomatic medicine, behavioural health and behavioural medicine in that research within health psychology is more specific to the discipline of psychology.

The causes of illness suggests by Health psychology .. that human beings should be seen as complex systems and that illness is caused by a multitude of factors and not by a single causal factor. Health psychology therefore attempts to move away from a simple linear model of health and claims that illness can be caused by a combination of biological- e.g.a virus., psychological- e.g. behaviours, beliefs., and social- e.g. employment.. factors. This approach reflects the ‘biopsychosocial’ model of health and illness, which was developed by Engel(1977,1980).
1.The bio contributing factors included genetics, viruses, bacteria and structual defectrs;
2. The psycho aspects of health and illness were described in Terms of congnitions (e.g. expectations of health), emotions (e.g. fear or treatment) and behaviours (e.g. smoking,diet, exercise or alcohol consumption); 3. The social aspects of health were described in terms of socsial norms of behaviour (e.g. the social norm of smoking or not smoking), pressures to change behaviour (e.g. peer group expectations, parental pressure), soscial values on health (e.g. whether health was regarded as a good or a bad thing), social class and ethnicity.

To keep yourself healthy and happy one should know yourself inside and out. We can help you do this by simple yet structured analysis. In this process we can be your guides for knowing all the how’s and why’s and what if’s of your concerns. By doing this we can let you ‘Live your beauatiful life fullest and finest’.

Every second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that never was before and will never be again. The Guidance counsellor offers a respectful and confidental environment for the approachers to raise personal, professional, family and social issues. The psychologist can give Guidance & Counselling and by offering some of the therapies. Aptitude, Ability and other assessment tools are used to assist you in the decision making process. But the main thing is ..the person should have strong intention to come out from their issues and only then can they follow the psychologist’s guidance and should be implementing what ever advise they have been given. The psychriatist can prescribe few medicines (if required) along with guidance & counselling.