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 online services of Trappa were only able to meet with speech therapy specialists about three times a year. With Trappa’s services, the quality and frequency of their speech therapy sessions improved significantly, and through word of mouth, Trappa began to operate in schools around the country. …
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). Homosexuality was thought to be a psychological disorder until relatively recently, and was only fully eradicated from the DSM in 1987.
Evelyn Hooker began conducting research in 1953, in the McCarthy era where penalties for homosexual activity were severe, and working alone in such research during such a time was stressful and often incredibly difficult. The interest in such research was sparked by a friendship with an…
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. Whether you’re the “new year, new me” type, or would just like to focus on something other than the current state of the world, we’ve rounded up some research and advice on goal setting to help you stay on track this year.
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 in Copenhagen have found significant clusters of brain activity in several cortical areas of the brain (dubbed ‘The Christmas Spirit Network’) that are related to spirituality, somatic senses and facial emotion recognition. …
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 awful or an amazing time. …
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 system, it’s highly likely to be happening right now on an online platform somewhere.
At a time where limiting face-to-face interaction is saving lives, switching on online is helping us stay involved and connected with society, and in many ways maintaining our mental health. But have you ever found yourself…
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.
- A client requests a service with the professional using a link, provided by the professional (for example on their website).
In both of these cases, clients create an account in Kara. They register their information and can log into this account anytime, even if there isn’t a session booked. …
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 discrimination.
Internal or self stigma is what happens when an individual applies these prejudices and stereotypes to themselves and internalises them, leading to lowered self-esteem, health issues, social withdrawal and shame.
Research has indicated that both external and internal stigma have an effect on people’s willingness to seek help.
How does it affect help-seeking?
Many…
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. However, often clients must attend their sessions from home, which can in some cases compromise clients‘ ability to talk freely: relationships and living situations are usually the most common topics for discussion.
Thorbjorg, psychologist, CEO and founder of Kara Connect, shared with us her tips for keeping these sessions private in…
We’ve had a look at some research on seasonality in psychiatric disorders and patterns in therapy seeking.
Autumn is nearing, and here at Kara most of us are returning to work after a well-deserved summer break. We’re digging up schoolbags for our little ones and searching for slightly thicker coats, accepting that the sunnier days are fewer and further between, and settling in for a long winter. For some, this is a time of new beginnings, cozy afternoons indoors and quality time with family. But for many, the winter can be a difficult time.
Our mental health suffers during the colder, darker months.
Studies have indicated that 95% of individuals report experiencing some degree of mood fluctuations…
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