Therapies
A range of different therapies are available and can be integrated according to research on what works for whom, your individual needs and preferences, and a mutually agreed on understanding of what is keeping your difficulties going. Therapy tends to be short to medium term with most people coming for between 4-20 sessions (of 50-60 minutes) depending on their needs.
CBT
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT supports people to identify and adapt unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour that are keeping them stuck in problematic cycles.
CBT might look at how and why these patterns developed in the past to help develop a shared understanding. The main focus of therapy, however, will then be on the ‘here and now’ and trying out new things to update these old patterns and rules that no longer work for us. The direction of therapy will be towards goals you set and values you identify as important.
CBT is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for lots of conditions including depression and low mood, general anxiety, panic, specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety, problems with eating and body-image, health anxiety, relationship issues, parenting and bipolar disorder.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
EMDR is a therapy that helps people move on from psychological problems caused by traumatic incidents in their lives.
It does this by using the brains natural processing mechanisms to take distress out of difficult memories. There is a good evidence base for using EMDR across a range of ages. It is best known for treating PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and other traumatic stress reactions. There is also a good evidence base for use with other mental health conditions including anxiety conditions and depression.
IPT
Interpersonal Therapy
There is considerable research linking the quality of people’s relationships and their mental well-being.
Interpersonal therapy is an evidence-based treatment approach recommended for depression and mood disorders and evidence is growing for use with other mental health problems. This time-limited approach (12-16 sessions) focusses in on life issues and contexts related to psychological problems, with a focus on understanding and improving interpersonal relationships and situations, understanding emotions in relationships and improving social support.
Systemic (Family) Therapy
Systemic therapy seeks to understand individuals as part of their wider contexts.
It focuses on relationships between people, and the interaction between their different belief systems and behaviours, rather than focussing only on one person’s thoughts and behaviours. It aims to resolve unhelpful patterns and stuck systems by exploring, in a safe and neutral way, how people communicate and behave within a system (e.g. in a family system) and their beliefs and roles. It can help people in the system to communicate better, empathise more and repair relationships.