An interview with Tinna Sigurdardottir, founder, CEO and speech therapist at Trappa, an online speech therapy practice in Iceland. — “I’m in a lot more regular contact with the children and more of my time goes directly into helping them.” Trappa is an Icelandic online speech therapy clinic, founded in 2014. Initially, their only clients were four students living in a remote town in the Westfjords that prior to the…

How Evelyn Hooker’s revolutionary studies on gay men led to major changes within psychology and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. — This LGBT history month, Kara looks at an influential study by Evelyn Hooker that ultimately resulted in homosexuality being removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). …

New Year’s resolutions not go to plan? It’s not too late to make the most of the year. We’ve rounded up research on goal setting to help you effectively reach yours. — 2021 is finally upon us. While we are still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, for many a new year and the hope of vaccines marks a fresh start that allows us to leave behind the previous year and hope for better things. …

Running out of small talk in the office? Prepping some fun facts for Christmas gatherings- in person or online? You’re in luck. — In the run up to the holidays, we at Kara have been rounding up fun and interesting research around Christmas. Here’s what we found: We have an area in our brains dedicated to Christmas spirit In participants that celebrate Christmas and have positive associations with it, a team of researchers…

There is a certain cliché about Christmas that we’re all familiar with, especially in films: there’s a lot of fairy lights, far too much family, stress and drama and cooking disasters, if you’re lucky Hugh Grant shows up on your doorstep to see the local nativity, and it’s either an…

For when you’re starting to feel like an extension of your computer, here are our tips for safe ways to rebalance your online presence as we cope with continuing restrictions. — In a matter of a few months, we’ve seen almost every single social event in our life moved online. Work, school, university, parents evenings, drinks with friends, bingo night at the local county hall, study groups, therapy, shopping, interviews, doctor’s appointments, vet visits… if it involves contact with a living…

A question sometimes asked by professionals about online services are, why does a client need an account, as opposed to being sent a direct link to a session? — When using the Kara system, there are two ways to register a client to a service in order to book sessions and host remote meetings. A professional invites a client through Kara. The client receives an email to confirm their registration.

Despite significant changes in recent years to access to mental health services, open discussions about mental health and various campaigns to raise awareness of mental health issues, many still experience stigma when considering seeking help. — What is stigma? Stigma is one of the greatest barriers when it comes to seeking mental health services and can be broadly divided into two categories: External or public stigma is the harm that occurs when a population or community endorses negative attitudes and beliefs about a group leading to stereotypes, prejudice and…

During the COVID-19 lockdown, therapy services have largely moved online in order to accommodate for people not being able to leave their homes. We look at Thorbjorg’s top tips for clients for maintaining privacy despite these changes. — COVID-19 restrictions in recent months have seen many services such as therapy moving online. These changes are leading to more professionals choosing to adopt an online approach going forward, which can greatly increase accessibility to treatment for many who are unable to leave their homes due to various reasons. …