Connecting with Others
About This Technique
Loneliness is a serious mental and physical health problem for many people. It is not only a symptom of depression but it is associated with a wide variety of chronic physical problems.
This Room was designed to help therapists and counselors focus on loneliness by giving clients specific assignments to be with others. The counter is used for clients to acknowledge each effort they make to participate in activities designed to reduce loneliness.
About This Room
The Room features 3 different Elements: a card deck of 31 activities to overcome social isolation, a counter for the client to record each activity, and a video uploader to put pictures of social activities on the bulletin board. Watch the video to learn more about how this Room can be used. You may want to expand it for easier viewing.
Click here to find additional content for the Virtual Counseling Rooms.
More Resources
Loneliness can be a difficult symptom to treat and of course, it can be embedded in a variety of chronic problems like depression, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, social anxiety, and more. We encourage you to explore other resources and techniques related to social isolation and loneliness.
The UCLA Loneliness Scale
This 20-item scale is designed to assess a person’s degree of loneliness. Click here to download it to your computer. Then upload it to a Room to be filled out by a client.
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale
This 24-item scale measures the level of fear and the degree that a person avoids social activities. Click here to download it to your computer and then upload it to a Room to be filled in by a client.
‘The Science of Feeling Lonely and How to Overcome It’ YouTube video
In this interview, Dr. Sue Varma discusses the science of loneliness vs. social isolation, when loneliness becomes a mental health crisis, and why it is so widespread today. Dr. Varma also shares what “compassionate listening” is and how it can help with loneliness. To add this video to a Room, use the ‘Upload Youtube Video’ Element and copy and paste this link: https://youtu.be/-kfUE41-JFw.
Websites
The Campaign to End Loneliness believes that nobody who wants company should be without it. Loneliness causes real emotional pain and impacts physical and mental health. It also has an economic cost – in the additional health and care services that are needed by people who are lonely, and the missed contributions that people who are unable to connect could make in their communities. They ensure that:
- people most at risk of loneliness are reached and supported
- services and activities are more effective at addressing loneliness
- a wider range of loneliness services and activities are developed
Podcast
American Psychological Association’s Speaking of Psychology Podcast, Living in a Lonely World
Training
Presented by PESI Healthcare, Social Anxiety and Perfectionism: Clinical Tools to Let Go of Unrealistic Standards and Build Real Connections is a one-day training that provides practical, step-by-step, evidence-based strategies for helping clients overcome perfectionism-driven social anxiety. There is special pricing for members of Between Sessions Resources. The training includes up to 6 CE credits included in the price. Click here to learn more.
Certified life coach Kate Swoboda offers a unique program based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help clients act courageously in spite of fear. Click to learn more.
This journal will help you reframe your thoughts from a hopeful point of view, embrace joy and happiness, and open up to new experiences and opportunities with a sense of confidence and curiosity. Click to learn more.
The workbook offers a simple, five-step cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program to help clients stop their fears and worries from getting the best of them. They’ll learn to recognize triggers and identify unhelpful behaviors they use to cope with or avoid them. They’ll discover ways to gently challenge themselves to face anxiety-inducing situations until they gradually increase their comfort levels. Click here to learn more.
A gentle guide to healing childhood wounds and developing full, satisfying relationships in adulthood. Dr. Narang seeks to identify barriers to emotional success, and his soothing tone enhances the work considerably. Click here to learn more.