Clinical Practice

2001 Update

Where it all began

Academic Qualifications

Clinical Practice

Cassel Centres

Forensic Membership

Awards

Honours and
Distinctions

Publications and
References 1969-2001

Dr Costello's Clinical Practice

Brian enjoys humorous Australian poetry and folklore, anecdotes and songs by A.B. Patterson, who wrote Waltzing Matilda. Customarily, he is heard enjoying singing with patients after selecting specific poems and music for them. Choices are based on tested psychological needs analysis so these are tailor-made for direct therapeutic impact in projective techniques.

"As a humorist of note
And keen at repartee,
He lays the odds and keeps a tote,
Whatever that may be"

A.B. Patterson

This advanced psychotherapy is not unusual for those who know Brian professionally. During Australia's 2001 Centennial Federation celebrations were held periodically at his picturesque farm clinic. His wife Jan trained with Professor Cassel as a psychometrician. Group workshop participants enjoy tea and scones or coffee with donuts. They discover "yippee" neurotransmitters in cognitive behavioural reality therapy.

Dr Costello and his wife Jan

The Ibis Lodge consulting rooms, take a second place to natures "outside reality therapy". Cognitive behavioural management from a behaviorist perspective is more easily understood and significantly tuned with harmonious behaviourist scientific constructs. Patients learn the applied science of non-verbal communication with his horses but not with his camel", hand feeding the cattle, goats, peacocks, guinea foul, magpies, free range roosters living in the gum trees, broody hens and bantams, Chinese geese, wild ducks and even, " Ibis flocks".

Alternatively, Brian is found giving therapy at the local Cranbourne YMCA indoor swimming pool. There he addresses Heart-risk factors and Coronary age, chronic backache, migraine and arthritis. Refined pain control techniques are frequently employed in flotation and perceptual after-imagery in the spar pool. He treats chronic and acute pain and also emotional suffering with Computerised biofeedback; Playway & Humour therapy techniques; Non-form subliminal music; Advanced breathing exercises; "Yippee" b-endorphin reinforcement; Sound & light subliminal modalities; Tai Chi: Thematic moodtempo singing; Protracted Gregorian, Tibetan and Hebrew chanting.

Dolphin Stress Relief Workshops

Aboard the luxurious 70' Moonraker equipped with modern lounge and leisure facilities, Brian's groups thrill to the excitement and comfort of his gracefully designed, dolphin encounter therapies. Children, senior citizens, specialist groups and non-swimmers alike, drift buoyantly in harmony with nature, hearing melodic dolphin voices and looking into their intelligent eyes.

Introducing Dolphin Workshop to Dr Monica and Kath

Yearly, from early October to late May, as well as enjoying the hospitality of the Ibis Lodge, Dr Costello and his patients are observed delighting in his privately chartered Moonraker excursions off the coast of Sorrento. Participants are first privately and individually taught his special techniques of relaxed and easy swimming at the local YMCA Heated Pool. Workshop members then feel secure with gentle specialised techniques. As a well seasoned trained Life Saver Examiner and Swimming Teacher, Brian holds all awards and credentials of the Royal Life Saving Society.

The Moonraker

Everyone swims happily with playful bottlenose dolphin pods and magnificent seals, signalled and often called by name. Small groups in stress load reduction and communication skills are given in advanced training workshops for medical specialists and executives. Participants learn underwater buoyancy techniques and are frequently monitored with biofeedback driven toys or modality terminals, submerged for novel exercises.

Dolphin Workshop Moonraker Charter

Credo

Philosophically, Brian contemplates the mysteries of "Acres of Diamonds" addressed by Russel N. Conwall's Temple University inaugural speech. He quoted nuances in one of his J.Forensic Examiner articles and banquet acceptance for the honoured Golden Eagle Award.
Nostalgically, Brian views research as an empirical reality, equally representing C.S. Lewis' ironic miracle paradigms. He reflects on the work of his admired colleagues and research co-pilots, Drs Russel Cassel, Tom Budzynski and Albert Crum whom in the Seventies he joined at Los Angeles and New York.

Dr Costello believes that pain itself may be the greatest teacher of attitudinal change, potentially replacing fear and greed stressors as unenviable motivators. Similar to Carl Jung's legion reasoning, he reflects on the idea that "Mankind's greatest enemy, is man himself".
Brian's friendly outgoing nature is relatively disarming. In closing his philosophy with a genuinely warm smile and sometimes crusty grin, he reiterates the real meaning of his UN coordinated European presentations and original un-cut Foreword in Percept Stress Relief, sharply aligned with serendipity and the re-visited physics of simultaneity.

While respecting most of his patient's denominational orientations, Brian himself prays fervently, believing in the ultimate meaning of God as the infinite database of all knowledge and human experience. Daily, he transmits his very best wishes internationally and thanks God for less turbulent voyages in serving humanity through his exciting scientific research, supported by private practice.

Ongoing R&D

Special interests focus on his numerous projects developed over an interval of three decades of unfunded research work:

(a) Cancer and Heart Risk Factor analysis, treatment and prevention. Diagnostic profiling assessment and cognitive behavioural strategies
(b) Coma recovery acute and chronic with computerised biofeedback.
(c) Sentinel cognition for new intuitive behavioural therapy methodologies.
(d) Psychophysiology and pain control: subliminal light and sound frequency EEG and EMG induction techniques.
(e) Psychological construct therapy for rehabilitation in Oncology.
(f) Refinements for 1994 previously developed computerised polygraph.
(g) Symptom magnification assessment for medico-legal computerised diagnostic biofeedback profiling.
(h) Acute pain profile symptom reality or magnification assessment.
(i) Pain control innovations in cone and rod retinal perception with advanced afterimage sensitisation.
(j) Australian software standardisation with US and EU psychometric software standardisation.
(k) Dr Crum's NY Percept Techniques
(l) Dolphin and Seal Swim Charters for international workshop participants.
(m) Integrative Med. Ph.D. supervision.

Tertiary Teaching

Lecturing and tutoring psychology and education was served full-time and in part-time positions for teaching courses and undergraduate supervision programs:

1969-70: Victorian Education Dept. Primary Teacher's Certificate Prac-work Demonstration & Supervision for Monash University Dip. Ed. Students.
1972: Visiting Lecturer Melbourne State College (Melbourne Teacher's College) T.Sp.T.C. Frostig Visual Perception Readiness Programs.

1971-73: Victorian Institute of Social Welfare: Diploma of. Youth Leadership Psychology II (Counselling & Guidance) and the Prison Officers Certificate Groupwork in Effective Communication and Interpersonal Relations.

1972-1974: The Melbourne State College: Supervision of the T.Sp.T.C for Spl.Ed. Teacher Training at Yarra Valley Anglican School, Special Services Dept.

1975: SAIT Department of Psychology, University of South Australia.

1976: Family Medicine Program in Education Community Health FMECH Hospital Placement Supervision.

1975-1976: SAIT University of South Australia Department of Psychology: Research Methods IIR. Physiotherapy, Radiotherapy and Occupational Therapy students; Psych I, Psych II and III, Developmental Psych D, Fourth Year Research Assignment Supervision EEG & Datagraph Biofeedback for the Associate Diploma in Socialwork; Communications Groupwork II for the Diploma of Educational Counselling;

1976: Communications Groupwork for the Diploma of Educational Counselling.

1975-77: Sturt CAE B.Ed.: Psychological Models in Humanistic Education.

1976-78: The State Glenside and Hillcrest Psychiatric Hospitals: Visiting lecturer in Psychology for Psychiatric Nurse courses.

1979-83: COPE Centre of Personal Encounter: Interpersonal Groupwork Relations; Personal Growth Group Communication; Originated the COPE Groupwork courses for Divorced and Separated People.

1980-2000: Supervision of clinical psychology training programs to qualify trainees for State certified registration as psychologists.

1982-83: Elizabeth CAE: School of Business Studies: Psychology I and II.

1984-86: Monash University, Chisholm Campus; Organisational Psychology labwork and Professional Practice.

Dolphin Stress Relief Workshops

Credo

Ongoing R&D

Tertiary Teaching