BLOG

Perhaps you’ve already heard of DID: Dissociative Identity Disorder. We’re hearing more and more about it in the media, and we can even find it in certain films (e.g. Split). As a result, both true and false information about this pathology is circulating. Let’s take a look at TDI together!

Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, Heller’s Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Unspecified : since the DSM-V, all these qualifications have been grouped together under the name ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder. Is it an illness? What are the different forms? How can it be detected? Let’s take a look at this still poorly understood disorder, which gives rise to many questions and false beliefs.

Surely you have already heard of the mental load. But do you really know what that means ?

Have you ever taken your stress or anger out on someone when it didn’t come from them? Knowing how to accept and manage your emotions correctly is a proof of emotional intelligence fundamental to success.

We’ve all heard of Professional Burn Out. But have you ever heard of parental/family burn out? Maybe it is still taboo, but yes, despite all the love that parents can bring to their child, a parent can experience parental burnout. Let’s take a closer look at this subject and without taboos this time!

Procrastination is a well-known phenomenon that affects most of us. It is the tendency to put off tasks that need to be done.

Have you ever heard expressions like “having a memory like an elephant”? Or “having the brain of a sparrow”? Because yes, not so long ago it was thought that intelligence and brain size were related. Today, it is no longer a secret; intelligence has nothing to do with the diameter of our forehead or the volume of our brain. We know that, despite its average weight of 1400 grams, the human brain is the most advanced and dynamic in the living world.

Many people suffer from the manipulation of those around them, most often without knowing it. If manipulation takes many forms, gaslighting has recently come to light. But what is it exactly?

What if completing a task did not depend solely on you? What if your personality was governed by fundamental psychological needs and that meeting these needs could lead you to personal fulfillment? To be self-determined is to be able to respond to a sense of freedom, interest, appreciation and acceptance at the same time. Being self-determined is therefore fundamental to our well-being.

Virtual reality exposure therapies (VRET) are based on cognitive-behavioral therapies’ exposure principles. By receiving scientific validity, VRET are an alternative from imaginary or in vivo exposures. These types of therapies are made to take care of many mental pathologies : anxiety disorders, addictions, eating disorders… As brief therapies, VRET focuses on “here and now” to treat urgent clinical pictures and give to the patients a smart and efficient response to the severity of their pain.

Every day we have to understand the reality that surrounds us. All our psychological processes will be activated in different situations: decision making, emotions, understanding, evaluation… But these processes can be erroneous and limited by cognitive distortions.

What if completing a task did not depend solely on you? What if your personality was governed by fundamental psychological needs and that meeting these needs could lead you to personal fulfillment? To be self-determined is to be able to respond to a sense of freedom, interest, appreciation and acceptance at the same time. Being self-determined is therefore fundamental to our well-being.

The Toltec agreements aim at finding freedom and personal well-being, present in the ancestral Mexican culture. It is Don Miguel, in 1997, who shares with us this precious information to help us feel more in tune with ourselves.

Do you have a feeling of fooling the world around you whether it be from a personal or professional point of view? Do you find it difficult to accept compliments? Perhaps you are subject to impostor syndrome! Although not considered as pathological, the impostor syndrome arouses much curiosity in psychology. Indeed, it affects a large majority of people who may have this experience at least once in their lives.

Phobos is the embodiment of fear, he followed his father on the battlefield. The panic fear that he triggered at the mere sight of him translates what a person feels when confronted with the object of his fear. There are many phobias and some are better known than others, among them, agoraphobia and claustrophobia. On the other hand, aviophobia is less so, even though it affects many people who also dream of discovering fine sandy beaches.

Eating is a part of our daily life and is essential for the proper functioning of our body and survival. However, for some people, the relationship with food becomes disrupted, leading to various maladaptive behaviors. This is known as eating disorders.

The fear of abandonment is a major anxiety related to the idea that we do not deserve the love of the other and that we will be quickly rejected. This anxiety has a significant impact on your life. It is a factor of anxiety and psychological suffering. You sometimes have reactions of isolation, irritability, jealousy, aggressiveness that you don’t always understand towards the people you love. A fear of abandonment eats away the little joys you may have in your daily life.

What if your own fulfillment was not only dependent on you but on the basic needs present for each human being? What if understanding your needs would allow you to approach more easily a feeling of well-being?

When we are overwhelmed by our thoughts, suffocated by our ruminations, submerged by our anticipations, when we function on autopilot and have the impression that our life is passing us by, mindfulness meditation is a breath of fresh air to find our bearings in the present.

Workaholism or “boulomanie” in French refers to addiction to work. Unlike many other addictions, its symptoms such as presenteeism (being at work even when you shouldn’t be) or over-investment in work are often valued in companies, which makes it more insidious and difficult to treat than most addictive disorders. However, as with all addictive behaviors, it exposes those affected to very significant health risks (hyperstress, burnout, depression).

Faced with depression and its negative symptoms, behavioral activation is today a first-line treatment whose effects continue to be highlighted in the scientific literature. Theorized in the 1950s, developed in the 1970s and popularized in the 1990s, behavioral activation shows equivalent effects to antidepressants and cognitive therapy, while simplifying the patient’s therapeutic path. Spotlight on this technique still too little known.

It is not always easy to understand and recognize stress in a situation. It is sometimes difficult to know to which element this anxiety refers. And yet it is necessary to reduce this anxiety, its symptoms and find serenity in everyday life..

Anxiety, sadness, anger are all negative emotions that can be difficult to manage and can impact our personal and professional lives. However, there are simple and quick methods that allow us to accept and deal with our emotions, so that they no longer impact our daily lives. Among them, the TIPI method.

Nowadays, good communication is an essential skill. First of all, it is transversal and touches absolutely all areas of our lives. But above all, the contemporary means of communication mean that we tend to be in constant contact with others (via social networks in particular). Consequently, our ability to exchange and express our emotions and ideas in a way that is healthy for ourselves and for others is crucial to our well-being. This is what assertive communication is all about.

Belonging to a minority group can cause a lot of suffering. Most often this suffering comes from outside, from majority groups or from other minority groups. But the stress and suffering related to this status can also come from within. Low self-esteem, dysfunctional beliefs, repetition of toxic patterns, self-stigmatisation adds further suffering to the minority experience. It is interesting to understand how this mechanism works in order to better support people who suffer from it.

Among us there are saviours. These are people who are very, even too, empathetic, who want to help everyone in any situation. They are people who will give everything for others, even if it means forgetting themselves. We call this the saviour syndrome.

Being able to concentrate is not something you are born with, you have to learn to develop it. And yet, it is key to our development in our personal and professional lives, and will help you achieve your goals. Therefore, it will bring you personal satisfaction and pride of accomplishment. Nevertheless, it is not easy to cut off all the surrounding or internal distractors to focus only on our goal. Here are some tips on how to improve your concentration.

In France, several hundred deaths by overdose were recorded in 2022, affecting users aged 15 and over. Drug use is intensifying and users and sellers are increasingly turning to hard drugs. Those who used to sell cannabis can now also sell cocaine. Access to these drugs has been made easier for users. Indeed, there is now a form of ubercisation in the sale of drugs, as the police have noticed that some people are now being delivered. It has therefore become a priority to think about saving lives by avoiding the use of illicit products.

The WHO defines sexual health as “a state of physical, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality (…)”, underlining the importance of the psychological aspect of sexuality. While sexual health is often seen through the prism of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and somatic dysfunctions, it is important to remember that sexuality is above all mental. It involves desire, libido, arousal, attraction and so on. So let’s use this World Sexual Health Day to take a look at the mental and social aspects of sexual health.

Even today, many therapies focus mainly on what is wrong. Thus a lot of knowledge has been accumulated about the negative that surrounds people. But little attention has been paid to the strengths of people that allow them to be in a state of well being. To get better, it is also necessary to understand what makes people feel good.

Issues of gender identity and inclusivity have been at the forefront of the media landscape in recent years. From a health point of view, transgender people often suffer from a great deal of therapeutic wandering due to poor education on transidentity and lack of information from professionals. A short introduction to understanding gender identity and how to better care for trans people.

HIP – Gifted or Zebra – all of these terms overlap under the same principle. HPI is a term that we have been hearing a lot about lately, whether on television through news or series (e.g. HPI with Audrey Fleurot), or even on social networks. Let’s take a look at High Potentials.

Regular exposure to nature is an integral component of good mental health. The sun, the greenery, the wind, are all elements that contribute to a good psychological balance and a better quality of life. However, certain unforeseen events in life sometimes prevent us from taking full advantage of these benefits. Here we highlight an alternative solution to enable as many people as possible to enjoy nature: virtual nature.

You may be wondering what the link is between climate change and mental health? After all, how can one impact the other? The WHO (World Health Organisation) indicates that climate change represents a significant risk to mental health. In addition to impacting our planet, these changes will have an impact on anxiety, depression, violence and post-traumatic stress..

It is a disorder that we hear more and more about, with the impression, at times, that it is thrown around. It remains one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, which the constant improvement of diagnoses allows to highlight. However, it is still not well known in its functioning and presentation. Let’s take a look at ADHD and what this acronym means.

Reducing anxiety by being in complete control of one’s body and thoughts is the very principle of sophrology. This therapeutic technique is based on various methods of relaxation, breathing, and imagery that lead to a rapid and long term appeasement. Sophrology has also proven itself when used in conjunction with virtual reality.

“Stop being a pessimist all the time!”. Have you been told this a lot? Pessimism is something we can all feel at certain times in our lives. However, some of us will be too pessimistic or even inappropriate, which will impact our personal and professional lives.

In mental health and in the context of psychotherapy, one element often comes up as a source of suffering: the need for control, and the distress it brings when, inevitably, certain elements escape this control, which can lead to a feeling of incapacity. ACT is one of the tools to overcome this difficulty.

“I could die without you”… Have you ever found yourself saying or thinking this sentence? Do you suffer particularly from breakups in love or friendship, and you have the impression that this pattern is regularly repeated? It is impossible for you to imagine being able to make a decision or even to live without the other person? It is therefore highly possible that you are suffering from an emotional dependence, and that it is eating away at you on a daily basis, in your personal, relational or professional life.

As the situation overwhelms us, our anxiety takes on a life of its own, sometimes going so far as to cause a panic attack. This situation is particularly unpleasant for the person experiencing it, with significant physical and psychological symptoms. But this feeling is not irreparable, and there are a few tips for managing your anxiety attack in the emergency the situation. It is also possible to reduce the risk of panic attack in the longer term by adopting certain strategies.

Response prevention is a method of cognitive-behavioral therapy that is used for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This module is done after the five psychotherapy sessions that precede the exposure to virtual reality and is only for people suffering from OCD.

We have all, at one time or another, doubted ourselves or our abilities to accomplish a task or overcome an obstacle. When this lack of self-confidence starts to become too difficult to overcome and it handicaps us, limits us, builds barriers to our projects or desires, it is fundamental to take responsibility for improving it. Having self-confidence will allow you to achieve great things, and your personal pride will only grow!

Many models attempt to explain the functioning and development of emotions. This recent model offers a new perspective on emotional skills and the cultural variations of them.

This day is an opportunity to revalue hypersensitivity. Launched by Saverio Tomasella, it allows to better inform the leaders on the characteristics and modalities of hypersensitivity. They represent a quarter of the population and are estimated to number nearly 10 million in France. It is therefore necessary to take into account the specific problems of hypersensitive people and their place in society.

We hear a lot about post-traumatic stress, but what is it really? Can one suffer from post-traumatic stress even though one has not really experienced a traumatic event?

This relaxation method has been around for a long time and has been scientifically validated many times. You can use it with your patients with all anxiety disorders, with all phobias, especially agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder (chronically stressed people who need relaxation). But there’s nothing to stop you from using them in all mental pathologies.

Social phobics, as well as many of your other patients, are likely sensitive to criticism and can therefore be easily hurt by it. Fortunately, like communication in general, there are techniques for both receiving and giving criticism effectively. This is what we will explore today.

This article will be dedicated to the evaluation and especially to the fact that it is important to think about the organic origins of a psychiatric or psychological pathology when you have a patient who presents to you. It is the idea that behind a patient who is depressed, who is anxious, who has a mood instability can hide a somatic disorder, an organic disorder. That is to say, a medical or surgical pathology to be treated.

Today we will discuss the Schultz method of relaxation. Schultz’s autogenic training is one of three relaxation methods highly recommended by Dr. Malbos and for your patients who are anxious, addicted or who have an eating disorder. This relaxation method will ultimately be applicable to most of your patients, but will be particularly effective on your patients who are chronically stressed, in other words, who have a generalized anxiety disorder, but also on those who have a panic disorder or who have agoraphobia. For the small historical point; this method of relaxation was written by Doctor Schultz, psychiatrist of the German Göring Institute. He applied this method of relaxation with veterans of the first world war.

Today we are going to talk about managing emotions and anxiety through the ACARA system. This technique is usually explained in the third session to anxious patients.

Psychoeducation is done during the first group therapy session and consists of explaining the patterns of anxiety for patients who are phobic, have OCD, or have generalized anxiety disorders. The models help explain the causes and mechanisms of anxiety, the goal is to get patients to understand what is going on in their brains. Ignorance leads to fear. In group therapy, it is important to establish a dialogue with your patients and to set up an exchange, giving patients the opportunity to participate as often as possible. In this article, we will look at Gray’s neurobiological mode and its implication in anxiety, phobias and OCDs.

Barlow’s etiological model is presented in the second group therapy session. This model explains the causes of phobias, anxiety, OCD… According to this model, there may be a biological hereditary vulnerability, that is, a sensitivity to anxiety that is passed on by the parents. This sensitivity has advantages, it allows us to be sensitive to the environment and the people around us. This can be an advantage in human care (nurses, care assistants, psychologists), with animals (veterinarians) but also in the arts. Artists are often anxious people but also sensitive to the environment and this sensitivity is very useful in the creative world.

Cognitive therapy is used to help patients transform their way of thinking, to stop interpreting the situation in a dysfunctional way. For example, when the patient sees a dog, he or she thinks directly that the dog will bite him or her. The goal of these sessions is to change the way of thinking.

Parents and guardians currently considering choices when it comes to reopening schools during the height of a deadly epidemic may have an additional challenge: children who are afraid to return to the classroom. Feelings of restlessness are common and anticipated in times of change or transition. This is especially true for children and adolescents returning to school or for children entering kindergarten for the first time. This transition can be painful and challenging for the whole family! Before the first day of school, the nervous child may cry, cling, complain of stomachaches or headaches, be grumpy, become moody or irritable, and become withdrawn. Whenever children attend VR therapy, they first learn coping skills that help them stay calm in stressful situations. Once they are satisfied with these approaches, they move on to virtual reality therapy. They view computer-generated environments and use avatars to experience relationships with other youth and adults.

The extreme fear of insects is called entomophobia and is one of the most common forms of phobia. It causes panic and acute anxiety in its victims, but there are effective ways to get rid of it, such as virtual reality, medication, etc. Psychologists offer virtual reality therapy to help clients overcome this fear by engaging in risky situations in a safe, virtual setting. These specialists use control parameters to adjust the computer-generated environment. The complex virtual environments involve replicating aspects of the real world through 360-degree views, 3D graphics and sound. Children and adults can develop entomophobia, especially when they have had hostile experiences with a particular insect. With approximately 6% of the population suffering from entomophobia, C2care provides its clients with psychological and medical treatment for various fears, eating disorders, addiction-related stress, and implements virtual reality exposure therapy into their program. Keep reading to understand how virtual reality can help eradicate the fear of bugs.

Recent years have seen a huge uptick in the use of VR in geriatrics. As Mathias et al reported in a 2019 review of the literature, VR has become an effective tool in screening for and treating cognitive impairment, while it has also found uses in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. The use of VR in treating mood disorders and other forms of depression in the elderly has lagged behind, but there are reasons to believe that it will be the next frontier in treating mental health disorders among American seniors. VR has been used with great success in treating ADHD, anxiety, and depression among teens and younger people, leading many geriatrics specialists to see exciting potential for older age groups. So let’s look in more detail about how the technology could be applied, and the kind of benefits seniors can anticipate.

Today, we are going to discuss an essential element of cognitive-behavioral therapy applied and enhanced by virtual reality: assertiveness. Which of your patients will be concerned by this type of technique? It is mainly patients who suffer from social phobias. So often, those who have difficulty speaking in public, those who are afraid to express themselves, those who are afraid to say “no” or those who do not dare to assert their point of view.

C2Care collaborated with the Hôpital Nord de Marseille (AP-HM) as well as with Maryse Pour la Vie to prepare patients for their stay in the ICU following lung transplantation surgery. The very first patient to have contributed to this study was exposed before her operation. The results obtained are very positive.

In the context of anxiety (phobias, OCD, GAD), today we will discuss hygienic and dietary guidelines. These guidelines aim to provide advice on lifestyle habits and complement the therapeutic elements you will teach your patient.

Slogans are short, punchy, understandable and clear sentences that are repeated. But what exactly are slogans for? This is a good introductory question to ask your patients. Slogans are used to influence people in their choices.

First of all, specific phobia is, according to the DSM-5, listed in the category of “anxiety disorders” with a one-time prevalence rate of patients with a phobic disorder of between 4% and 8.8%, and for a lifetime of between 7.2% and 11.3%. It is defined by a persistent and intense fear of an unreasonable or excessive nature, triggered by the presence or anticipation of confrontation with a specific object or situation.

I recently discovered the treatment of psychopathological problems through Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET). It turns out that it can be a complementary tool to the classic Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (CBT) treatment. To present this to you, I decided to evoke the case of a patient suffering from agoraphobia, panic attacks and a moderate depression.

Beck’s cognitive model is taught in the second session in the treatment of anxiety disorders (toc, phobia). These sessions are often done in a group setting in order to involve the patients. Our brain works like a computer processor, its main function is data processing: it is constantly processing sensory information. In a given situation, the brain cannot analyze everything, it has its limits.

Aviophobia or fear of flying is an anxiety disorder of the family of specific phobias. It is very common, affecting about 10% of the French population and 20% of the world population.

The “Aging Well” project launched in January 2020 by the Nice University Hospital and supported by several sponsors and partners, aims to invent a model for aging well and the future of health care. In this context, the gerontology teams at Nice University Hospital and the company C2Care have set up a clinical study integrating virtual reality, with personalized immersive content.

Cardiac coherence is a breathing technique that aims to immediately decrease the heart rate in a particularly stressful situation. You can be fully involved in the regulation of your emotions in just 15 minutes a day.

C2Drive is an application dedicated to the treatment of amaxophobia or fear of driving. Its repercussion is important and tends to be generalized on the whole of the life of the people who are affected by it: loss of autonomy, isolation, solicitations to the entourage, restrictions of the geographical area during a job search, impossibilities to pass the driving licence…The list of disabilities caused by amaxophobia is long. Virtual reality appears as an efficient solution to treat this disorder.

Nearly 15% of the French population considers that sleeping is a waste of time. However, one person in three suffers from sleep disorders. And yet, sleep plays a major role in all areas of our lives. Indeed, a good sleep is essential in learning and memorization (especially long-term memory), in the development of metabolism (very favorable to good growth in young people) or in many cognitive and biological functions. This will improve your general health and reduce the risk of depression, certain pathologies (such as cancer, obesity, stroke…) or even accidents (of cars among others).

For several months now, people around the world have faced an unprecedented attack on their health, well-being and economy. This has created further obstacles for those already suffering from mental disorders ranging from anxiety to depression to substance abuse. It also creates mental problems in the population on a scale never seen before. The coronavirus is an unseen enemy that has been shown to affect the mental well-being of nearly half of the U.S. population. [1] Given that the pandemic and control methods are likely to continue, these statistics can only get worse, placing an enormous burden on mental health practitioners to remain innovative in supporting and treating their clients.

Doctoral student in psychology at the Social Psychology Laboratory of the University of Aix-Marseille, I work with Dr Del-Monte, Mrs Fauvarque, and Pr Graziani on virtual reality in the therapeutic context. In this context, I have the pleasure to work for 3 years with C2Care. The plurality and customization of the environments allowed me to have the freedom to direct my research in the desired direction without technological barriers. Virtual reality no longer has to prove its effectiveness in the therapeutic field

For several months, the entire world has been facing the Covid-19 epidemic, causing concern and anxiety among the general population. This has resulted in not only the risk of death due to the viral infection but also significant psychological pressure. Following government measures, particularly quarantine, individuals’ daily lives and habits have been disrupted. Several recent studies have highlighted the impact of these changes on individuals’ mental health, causing an increase in depressive and anxious symptoms and substance use disorders, among other issues. Given the psychological difficulties the population is facing, mental health professionals are at the forefront to provide psychotherapeutic care. The intervention of these professionals is especially crucial for at-risk populations: the elderly, who are often more socially isolated, those with psychiatric disorders, and those suffering from depression, anxiety, and substance use. However, the threat of a second pandemic wave is real, which is why adherence to health and hygiene rules is crucial.

For the first time in the world, a patient on the lung transplant list will be able to benefit from therapeutic virtual reality sessions to prevent post-operative psychological trauma, thanks to a groundbreaking partnership between C2Care and AP-HM (Public Assistance – Hospitals of Marseille).

Find all the information on the 2020.1.0 update of the C2Care Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) software.

From March 16 to 29, 2020, the 31st Mental Health Information Week will take place. More than 100 events will be held throughout France.

The union of 3 experts to give birth to Soignants Ré.V : modules of formation by simulation of the serious game type using the immersive capacity of virtual reality to work on the soft skills of caregivers in the management of pain or aggressiveness of their patients.