counseling. Based on that docu

1)List the threestrategies for which the scientific evidence of efficacy is strong.Briefly describe how a nutrition counselor would go aboutimplementing each of the three strategies.

Evidence–based practice involvesthe incorporation of three components toimprove outcomes and quality of life. Externalevidence includes systematic reviews, randomizedcontrol trials, best practice, and clinicalpractice guidelines that support a change inclinical practice.

A’s” to remember thecritical steps of the evidence-based practice process:

• ASK the answerable clinicalquestion.
• ACQUIRE the most relevant and bestevidence to answer the question.
• APPRAISE the evidence criticallyfor validity, relevance, and applicability.

A nutritional counsellor can use thepractice of evidence–basednutrition (EBN),which involves using the best availablenutrition evidence, together with clinicalexperience, to help patients prevent (sometimes), resolve(sometimes), or cope with (often) problems related to theirphysical, mental, and social health, according to their values andpreferences …

2) There is strongevidence that one of the strategies is not effective. Whichstrategy is that and what might explain the lack of efficacy? Whatare the implications of the findings for counseling and for publichealth efforts?

Disadvantages ofevidence-based practice include the shortage ofevidence, the oversight of common sense, and the length of time anddifficulty of finding valid credible evidence. Basingpractice on evidence requires there to be some kind of evidence onyour disease, issue, or question

Implications forCounseling

The implications ofthese research trends are dramatic in regard tocounselor education. For example, they suggestredirecting efforts from personal awareness to building cognitivecomplexity and increasing the knowledge of and ability to applyevidence-based counseling protocols.

Implications for Publichealth

This demographic change has severalimplications for public health. . Life-longhealth promotion and disease prevention activitiescan prevent or delay the onset of noncommunicable and chronicdiseases, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.

3) As a counselor, howwould you promote clients’ social support? What types of socialsupport might be useful and what types might actually becounterproductive?

Social support is often identifiedas a key component of solid relationships and strong psychologicalhealth, but what exactly does it mean?

Essentially, social support involveshaving a network of family and friends that you can turn to intimes of need. Whether you are facing a personal crisis and needimmediate assistance, or you just want to spend time with peoplewho care about you, these relationships play a critical role in howyou function in your day-to-day life.

It is social support that buildspeople up during times of stress and often gives them the strengthto carry on and even thrive. But social support is certainly not aone-way street. In addition to relying on others, you also serve asa form of support for many people in your life.

How Social Support is provided by acounsellor

So now that we understand that oursocial support systems involve both different types of socialsupport as well as integration into different social groups, it istime to take a closer look at exactly how these socialrelationships influence both physical and mental health.

• Encourage Healthy Choices andBehaviors
• Helps Cope With Stress
• Improves Motivation
• A Word From Verywell

This might help decide to get moreproactive about giving and getting emotional support. It couldgreatly improve the quality of your life.

Four Types of SocialSupport

While there are many different waysthat people can support one another, much research has been done onthe effects of four distinct types of social support:

• Emotional Support:This type of support often involves physical comfort such as hugsor pats on the back, as well as listening and empathizing. Withemotional support, a friend or spouse might give you a big hug andlisten to your problems, letting you know that they’ve felt thesame way, too.
• Esteem Support:This type of social support is shown in expressions of confidenceor encouragement. Someone offering esteem support might point outthe strengths you’re forgetting you have, or just let you know thatthey believe in you. Life coaches and many therapists offer thistype of support to let their clients know that they believe inthem; this often leads to clients believing in themselvesmore.
• InformationalSupport: Those offering informational support do so in theform of advice-giving, or in gathering and sharing information thatcan help people know of potential next steps that may workwell.
• Tangible Support:Tangible support includes taking on responsibilities for someoneelse so they can deal with a problem or in other ways taking anactive stance to help someone manage a problem they’reexperiencing. Someone who offers you tangible support may bring youdinner when you’re sick, help you brainstorm solutions (rather thantelling you what you should do, as with informational support), orin other ways help you actively deal with the issue at hand.

Which Types of SocialSupport Work Best?

All of these types of social support‘work’, but not with everybody, and not in the same ways. Differentpeople have preferences for a certain type or a combination or afew types of social support. It’s important to note,however, that the wrong type of support can actually have adetrimental effect, so it helps to know what type of social supportis needed in each situation.

Here’s some of what the research hasfound:

• You really can have too muchsupport! One study, which involved 103 husbands and wives whocompleted surveys five times over their first five years ofmarriage, looked at how support was provided and measured maritalsatisfaction. It found that too much informational support (usuallyin the form of unsolicited advice) can actually be worse than nosupport at all. (I found it reassuring, however, that you can’tgive too much esteem support; no amount of esteem support is ‘toomuch’, as long as it’s genuine.)
• Too little support is more commonthan too much. The same study found that about two-thirds of menand at least 80% of women found themselves receiving too littlesupport, whereas just one-third of men and women said that theywere receiving more support than they wanted.
• Another study, which examined 235newlyweds, found that both partners are happier if the husband getsthe types of social support he needs most. For women, it was enoughthat the husband was just trying to offer support, even if hedidn’t always offer the right kind.

4)List the steps toworking with a client to set up a behavioral experiment. Use theWOOP approach and include brainstorming.

Behavioralexperiments are planned experiential activities to testthe validity of a belief. They are an information gatheringexercise, the purpose of which is to test the accuracy of anindividual’s beliefs (about themselves, others, and the world) orto test new, more adaptive beliefs.

The WOOP method,which stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan, helps you pave theway to making your dreams a reality. … Now on to your plan: Iffaced with obstacle X, then you will take effective action Y inresponse.The WOOP method is broken down into foursteps:

1. Identify your wish. …
2. Identify the best possible outcomeof that wish coming true. …
3. Identify the obstacles keeping youfrom fulfilling your wish. …
4. Identify a plan to fulfill yourwish.

WOOP is ascientifically proven tool that helps us change our behaviors forthe better and achieve our goals.

It stands for Wish, Outcome,Obstacle, and Plan.

And it’s basically the combinationof two tools called mental contrasting andimplementation intentions.

The “Wish”, “Outcome”, and“Obstacle” part of the technique comes from mental contrasting andthe “Plan” part comes from implementation intentions.

WOOP = Mental Contrasting (WOO_)+ Implementation Intentions (___P)

Both of these tools alone arealready highly effective.

They’ve both been proven in manyscientific studies to have a medium to large impact on actualbehavior and significantly increase the likelihood of peopleachieving their goals.

How WOOP Works

WOOP works in a simple 4-stepprocess.

Let’s walk through itstep-by-step…

1. Step: Wish

Choose a goal you would like toaccomplish. It should be challenging, compelling, andrealistic.

The time horizon of the goal doesn’tmatter. It could be due today, tomorrow, in 3 weeks, in 2 months,in a year, in 5 years, in 100 years, or it could be a behavior,skill, or anything else that you just want to generally improve (notime horizon at all).

(Note: If youchoose an unrealistic goal, WOOP will make you less motivated, lessenergized, and less likely to achieve the goal. That’s a good thingbecause when that happens, you know that it’s not realistic, youcan stop wasting your time, and set a more feasible goal. I explainthis in detail in my article on mental contrasting.)

Examples:

• “I want to exercise moreregularly.”
• “I want to finish this whitepaperby next Wednesday.”
• “I want to read more NJlifehacksarticles instead of watching TV.” (smart move!)

2. Step: Outcome

What’s the best possible outcomethat would result from accomplishing your goal? How would you feel?Visualize this outcome in your mind.

Examples:

• “I have more energy and feel betterabout myself.”
• “I am relieved and feel proud ofmyself.”
• “It gives me a sense ofaccomplishment and pride. I’m happy that I’m using my timewisely.”

3. Step: Obstacles

What are the personal obstacles thatprevent you from achieving your goal? What’s standing in the waybetween you and your goal? Visualize this obstacle in yourmind.

Examples:

• “I don’t feel motivated or excitedto exercise in the morning.”
• “I procrastinate and get distractedby Facebook and co.”
• “I’m tired when I get home fromwork and just don’t feel like reading.”

4. Step: Plan

Make a plan for overcoming yourobstacle. What action would help you when your obstacle shows up?Create an if/then plan and visualize it in your mind.

If / When _________(obstacle), then I will __________ (action to overcomeobstacle).

Examples:

• “If I get up in the morning, then Iimmediately put on my sneaker and go for a run even if I don’t feellike it.”
• “If I get distracted during mywork, then I block all distracting websites withcoldturkey and get back to work.”
• “If I get home, then I immediatelyjump on NJlifehacks.com and start reading.”

Simple as that.

Let’s see if science really supportsthis or if this is all just a terrible joke…

Science Says WOOP Works LikeMagic

Time for some research.

One early experiment involved femalestudents who were trying to change an unhealthy snacking habit.Some of the participants performed mental contrasting, some formedimplementation intentions, and some did both.

• Group 1: Mentalcontrasting
• Group 2:Implementation intentions
• Group 3: Both(WOOP)

The participants were askedto perform that same mental exercise each morning upon awakening.A week later the researchers checked back with thestudents.

The results werestriking:

As expected, all participantsreported making progress in their efforts to control snacking.

But participants who performed WOOPreported substantially more progress than those who only performedmental contrasting or implementation intentions alone.

That’s remarkable considering bothtools individually already work super well.

WOOP In Action: SomePractical Examples

Here isan  examples of how you could start using WOOP forbehaviour modification

Goal: Becoming an earlyriser

• W: Wake up early on a regularbasis.
• O: Get a lot done in the morning.Feeling great about myself. Feeling determined to make thingshappen. Proud.
• O: Hitting the snooze button.
• P: If the alarm goes off in themorning, then I immediately get out of bed – no matter what!

5) What is CBT and howcan people revise the way they respond tothoughts?

Cognitive behavioraltherapy, or CBT, is a short-term therapy technique that can helppeople find new ways to behave by changing their thoughtpatterns.

Engaging with CBT can helppeople reduce stress, cope with complicated relationships, dealwith grief, and face many other common lifechallenges.

CBT works on thebasis that

• the way we think and interpretlife’s events affects how we behave and, ultimately, how we feel.Studies have shown that it is useful in many situations.
• More specifically, CBT is aproblem-specific, goal-oriented approach thatneeds the individual’s active involvement to succeed. It focuses ontheir present-day challenges, thoughts, and behaviors.
• It is also time-limited, meaningthe person knows when a course will end, and they have some ideawhat to expect. Often, a course will consist of 20 one-to-onesessions, but this is not always the case.
• It can also take the form of eitherindividual or group sessions.
• CBT is a collaborative therapy,requiring the individual and counselor to work together. Accordingto the American Psychological Association (APA), the personeventually learns to become their own therapist.

Cognitive Restructuring TOREPOND TO THOUGHTS

• Step 1: Calm Yourself. If you’restill upset or stressed by the thoughts you want to explore, youmay find it hard to concentrate on using the tool. …
• Step 2: Identify the Situation….
• Step 3: Analyze Your Mood. …
• Step 4: Identify AutomaticThoughts. …
• Step 5: Find Objective SupportiveEvidence