Maria Beider Psychotherapist

21/08/2024

Hi everyone Exciting news! I am in the process of trying to organise an official IFS Level 1 training here in South Africa. It may take a year or even 2 years because the IFS Institute is busy with many trainings around the world. I have created a google link for those interested in a potential L1 IFS training partially in person and partially on zoom. If you are interested please fill in the google form below:

Event Timing: TBC Contact us at mariabeider10@gmail.com

12/10/2023

To register for this much needed course please click on this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebkDNu5dSFJJjJoBY6XkwjkdCsUKjjbuHe9GmSsmdMErzOaw/viewform

23/03/2023

Thoughts?

22/03/2023

13/06/2022

Excited to present IFS to the South African therapy community...

09/03/2021

Last week I facilitated a group therapy debriefing session for a group of healthcare workers in a public clinic in Soweto. They have been screening for Covid in the community for a year now and have not had a place or a chance to share and talk about their experiences. Many of them have been feeling anxious, depressed, fed up, and angry to name but a few emotions. It was a great privilege to give them a space to share, connect and hear from them.

10/11/2020

They say gratitude is an attitude.

I don’t think of it as an attitude but more of an act of mindfulness. We have to stop and pause and meditate a little to be able to appreciate all that we have and have been given. Knowing and sensing what we have to be grateful for is both empowering and enlightening. It can bring us to new places and growth. The ability to reflect in the present on all we have is an act of self and requires calm thinking. Sometimes we get flashes of inspiration and then we experience a deep sense of gratitude, for example, when we see a beautiful sunset or a colourful bird in our garden that no one else is privy to. At such times we may feel blessed and special to have witnessed such a thing. Gratitude can become more than a moment of inspiration, even a practice, if we build the muscle of gratitude.

Perhaps the more we practise it, the more it can become an attitude.

30/09/2020

Take a listen to these podcasts from my guest appearances on the Chai FM Morning Mayhem Show with Howard Feldman.

For the first show we looked at the powerful therapy tool known as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) and its proven efficacy in treating trauma, amongst many other things.
https://www.chaifm.com/podcast/2019-04-29-maria-beider

During the second show, Howard and I discussed why some people feel the need to be perfect, and not just 'good enough'. What do you think of the conclusions we came to?

http://www.chaifm.com/.../2020.03.04-Maria-Beider

22/09/2020

Expressive arts such as music, art, dance or drama are excellent ways of healing from trauma or alleviating depression or anxiety. Creative techniques can be empowering experiences that access fragmented parts of ourselves and move us out of a state of stagnation. They also have the ability to express ideas and notions which cannot always be articulated in words. I would like to share with you all a song which always manages to lift my mood and has me dancing in the aisles of the supermarket!

The 8th track of Stevie Wonder's 1973 album "Innervisions"

15/09/2020

Check out my latest article in Jewish Life magazine (pp58-59) in which I explain Internal Family Systems, one of my favourite therapeutic modalities and way of healing. Since it is the Jewish month of Ellul which culminates with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, I have explained how IFS has a spiritual dimension and when entered into can feel like doing teshuva (returning to one's inner essence/ true self). It is both refreshing and healing.

http://www.jewishlife.co.za/new/september-2020/

Jewish Life is also available for exclusive licensing or joint venture opportunities in other countries and/or cities around the world.

01/09/2020

Teens have been one of the hardest hit groups during this global pandemic with many suffering from anxiety about the future, not knowing when they will go back to school, sit exams or go out with their friends. Others fall into a depression, since unbeknownst to them, they do need to see other people face to face in order to thrive (and not just socialise online.)

As I have mentioned previously, the world is in mourning and grieving for a pre-Corona time. In my last post I recommended finding a purpose in the midst of one's grief as a way to alleviate the pain and channel it into something positive and meaningful.

A group of British teens have done just that. They have found an outlet through the use of their talents and through the deep, comforting language of music in order to stay afloat at this turbulent, uncertain time. The message in their song is simple, yet poignant. Stay strong. We will get through this together.

Listen to it here:

ITunes https://apple.co/2Qd4mUZ

Spotify https://spoti.fi/2EhNjhT

Song · 3:54 · 2020

26/08/2020

What exactly does resilience mean and can one acquire it?

Resilience means having the ability to bounce back, to grow through a tough experience and to overcome stressful life events. It means being flexible and adaptive to new situations. Another aspect of resilience is emotional strength. If it is a test of strength then we can honestly admit that for many nations around the globe this is a weak muscle that has not been worked for a good many years. We may even emerge stronger and more resourceful from this experience.
We may argue that some people are born more resilient than others, however we all have the ability to learn this skill. It is built into our DNA.
If we are going to practice resilience we need to ensure that we have a sense of purpose. For some it may be reflected in their behaviour or actions such as being productive, making lists and working through them. For others it means being creative or doing things that bring them joy. I am definitely a list-type person and I am thrilled to have finally found the time, after years of procrastinating, to make some photo albums. (The satisfaction I get from crossing things off my list is immense!)
For many it just means very simply knowing who we are and managing our internal world by navigating our thoughts and feelings.
Being mindful is another way of exercising resilience, especially if anxiety arises. Just focusing on one day at a time. What can I do now?
• I can wash the dishes.
• I can sit still and listen to the birds singing in the trees outside.
• I am able to watch the rain as it gracefully falls from the sky or if I am feeling particularly dysregulated by the uncertainty and lack of order of things, I can engage in a twenty-minute meditation.
One way of not getting stuck in negative thought patterns is to focus on external projects such as giving to others or offering a service. I know of one altruistic grandmother who has offered to read stories to other people’s children.
Being resilient also means reaching out to others when you are not doing so well. There is strength in the ability to make oneself vulnerable. Connecting to other people and sharing your feelings can help to normalize them. However, if it is too hard to reach out to a friend, you can and should seek professional counselling help. We all need someone to listen to us, if not see us at this time.