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Emotion suppression is considered a maladaptive form of emotion regulation and is transdiagnostic of numerous mental disorders, including depressive, anxious, and trauma disorders. Existing eye-movement-based interventions, such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, use eye movements to access subconscious content and reduce the intensity of associated affect. This article presents information on the neuroanatomy of the eyes, including that the retinas are entirely made of brain tissue. The article then examines the literature on the eyes and their relationship to the nervous system, emotion regulation, emotion suppression, psychopathology, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning, and it explores interventions that use eye movements and contraindications of their use. It also provides resulting helpful tips about all these subjects for counselors to incorporate into their daily practice, and it indicates where further research is needed., The eyes have long been associated with the brain as a way to communicate between the external world and internal working consciousness of the mind (Carvalho et al., 2015). In [...]

Breathwork techniques and therapies offer a set of practical interventions for clinical mental health counselors (CMHCs) and are viable methods for integrating physiological sensitivities in treatment by way of the relaxation response. We discuss an organizing framework of breathwork practices and identify three broad categories of breathwork within the field: deep relaxation breathing, mindfulness breathwork, and yogic breathing. Each style is distinct in how it is applied and in the specific respiratory patterns that users are instructed to use. We also aim to elaborate the physiological effects, clinical research outcomes, and applicability of breathwork for treating mental illness. Overall, research findings indicate that breathwork may be efficacious for treating anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Despite preliminary evidence for breathwork's efficacy for treating common psychological distress, more research is needed to evaluate its utility for treating a wider range of mental illness. CMHCs are encouraged to incorporate breathwork techniques in their clinical treatment programs but must appraise the value of each technique individually., Breathing, an essential function to sustain life, is an automatic behavior that is regulated by the primitive centers of the brain and is critical to human development and wellness. Dysfunctional [...]