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Simple Pathways to Health and Wellness

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Abstract

Simple Pathways are user-friendly intervention strategies that can be delivered with relatively little training by the professional, and without the use of expensive instrumentation. In many cases the provider can acquire the techniques from written materials or brief instruction, and can teach clients to use the strategies for self-care. Other self-management techniques can be learned and utilized by lay persons on their own for enhancement of physical and psychological well-being. This chapter introduces the following interventions: Autogenic Training, thermal biofeedback, emotional journaling, heart rate variability biofeedback, audio-visual entrainment, mindfulness, and expressive dance. Psychoeducation is described as a component of Simple Pathways, aiding clients’ understanding of the rationale and procedure for the interventions. Each of these techniques is research based and has been shown to have significant therapeutic benefits for medical and emotional disorders. The self-regulation strategies that are discussed can be utilized to enhance self-efficacy and to reinforce the individual’s active role in maintaining wellness.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The language in the instructions is adapted with permission of Guilford Press from Linden (2007).

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McGrady, A., Moss, D. (2013). Simple Pathways to Health and Wellness. In: Pathways to Illness, Pathways to Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1379-1_16

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