Dr. Janine Kreft is a well-recognized clinical psychologist. She is the founder of Kreft’s Couch launched in February 2021 and has become one of the most successful online mental health platforms in its first year. Dr. Kreft has a master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology.
Dr. Kreft started an Instagram account called @kreftscouch in 2017 while working as a Clinical Psychologist at the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs. She recently left her job and now works full-time on promoting her online platform by posting various videos on: self-care, relationship boundaries, emotional mastery, and other topics that gained substantial attention from international netizens.
Janine offers 1:1 sessions and group coaching as she is also professionally trained in the Emotion Freedom Technique (EFT), Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), and Access Consciousness. Kreft’s Couch offers multiple courses and programs that are unique and unlike traditional models. She facilitates people through healing residual trauma and consciously creating their lives to name a few.
Notably, she is most known online for her expertise on panic attacks as she combines different models and techniques to make informative videos. Here are her top 3 tips on how to deal with a panic attack:
Grab something cold: According to Dr. Kreft, holding something cold while you are having a panic attack helps return the energy back into the physical body. You can either grab an ice cube and move it around in your hand, or pour ice cold water into a big bowl and dip your head in it for a few seconds. Cold creates a dive reflex in the body which helps regulate the nervous system.
Box Breathing: Dr. Kreft also recommends box breathing which is a technique of slowing down your breath to bring yourself back to reality. Simply inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds and hold again for 4 seconds. And then repeat.
This is a very effective technique as it slows your body down for the brain to come back online.
Tapping Technique: The most popular technique that made her go viral on TikTok was the tapping technique. Emotion Freedom Technique or EFT tapping has you tap your fingers on acupressure points on parts of your face and body. Simply tap on the points with your fingers to reground during heightened anxiety.
This technique facilitates a sense of calm in the body and brings the person back to a more relaxed state.
Furthermore, Dr. Kreft encourages people to seek the root cause of their panic attacks. Is it unresolved trauma? Vitamin or mineral deficiencies? “Consider panic to be more of a symptom rather than a lifelong diagnosis” she says. Additionally, to practice the tools as a means of prevention and to strengthen the resilience of the nervous system.
Dr. Kreft has made very inclusive information in video examples to show these techniques that are posted on her Instagram and TikTok page. Notably, Dr. Kreft will also be featured in Dr. Will Cole’s podcast soon as well.
