Vickie talks mental health with ABC News Radio
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Daniella Intelli (ABC Radio)
You're with ABC News Radio, where it's time for Sport with Daniella Intelli. Good morning, Rachel. Martial arts therapy is a way of using martial arts to help children gain more control over their emotions and become more aware of their bodies. It boosts fitness and strengthens, as well as promotes self-discipline. Vickie Simos is a psychotherapist and author who uses martial arts therapy in her work with children. She previously competed in martial arts tournaments and is hosting an event to raise awareness of martial arts therapy in mental health at Sydney's Parliament House on August 11. I caught up with Simos on how she combines it with mainstream therapy.
Vickie Simos
It actually worked for me. The two very much go together, quite well in terms of physical and probably more so neurological. You're creating new neural pathways (the technical term is Neuroplasticity) and if you speak to any neuroscientist they will agree. We all know that the brain is not fixed, it can change the way we see and do things by creating these new neural pathways. So one of the ways this can occur is through using martial arts, because you're using your mind and whole body. And in terms of the mental health side of things, it teaches you resilience, confidence. If you're struggling with low self esteem, it increases your self esteem. It just improves a lot of aspects in your life. Well, for me it did, and I've seen a lot of changes in a lot of kids that I work with at the moment.
Daniella Intelli (ABC Radio)
With the kids, what are some of the changes that you are seeing? Do they start off being shy or defensive or aggressive? How does it evolve?
Vickie Simos
Absolutely! For one that comes to mind, when he first started with me, his mum was saying he gets really angry all the time, fights with other kids, doesn't want to talk to me. And then we had our first session and this doesn't always happen, but it did. She goes to me, oh my God, I can't believe it. I got in the car; he started talking to me about the training, and even helped me in the kitchen. He's been training with me probably about six months now, maybe less. And I even get him to teach others, especially his cousin and sister who also train with me. You can see the change. He was a bit shy and has that anxiety of being put on the spot. But I can see how that's improved. It's the same thing that's happened to me, when anyone puts me on the spot, for anyone, really. But I can see the improvement and the confidence just through that.
Daniella Intelli (ABC Radio)
We look at young men in particular and the prevalence of depression and the higher rates of suicide. So how does something like martial arts help deal with the depressive aspect?
Vickie Simos
I'll go for the example of me, like, I was really an angry person. I struggled with anxiety and depression. And what it did for me, I guess, was just improve all those aspects that I was talking about, like, I never believed in myself, low self esteem, self worth. But then martial art isn’t something that you do every day and not everyone is skilled in it. And as soon as you pick up that skill, and I imagine it's with a lot of sports, but that's quite a different thing, because there's a variety of martial arts. If you become skilled in one and two and three different ones, for example, like myself, that confidence grows and it changes that chemical balance in your brain as well.
Daniella Intelli (ABC Radio)
And you've got an event coming up. Tell me a bit about this event.
Vickie Simos
So the event is going to be in Sydney, held at Parliament House Jubilee Room, August the 11th. We're going to have three speakers, including myself, Noula Diamantopoulos and Terry Mitropoulos. Now, Noula is a creative art therapist, and Terry, we're have to speak about his own experiences with depression and how he got out of that depression. We're raising money for the Black Dog Institute and the event, like I said; it's going to be August 11, 6-9pm. We’re also exploring the different areas of therapy. So it's not just a matter of sitting down and having a chat, it's looking out at a variety of ways to deal with mental health and hoping to raise some money for the Black Dog Institute through an auction as well.
Vickie Simos is a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist who is also a Fourth Degree Black Belt in the Filipino martial art of Doce Pares Eskrima (stick fighting) and a Second Degree Black Belt in Anjukanpo Karate. Vickie is a Silver Medallist World Stickfighting Championships, Pan Pacific Gold Medallist for Stick Fighting, and a qualified Personal Trainer. Vickie is the founder of Thelo Active Therapy, an initiative that combines martial arts and mainstream therapy. In 2017, Vickie published her memoir called The Boxer Within where she reflects on her experiences with depression and anxiety and how martial arts helped her overcome those mental issues.