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Types of Therapy I offer
Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. Whilst a treatment for PTSD, I also engage with EMDR as a helpful treatment for anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, body dysmorphia, and other distressing life experiences. I also engage with what we call ‘Parts Work’ underpinned by Internal Family Systems (IFS). EMDR can help with parts work because it helps to reprocess and integrate memories that may not be resolved, held by the younger parts of the self. These unresolved memories are often painful and are pushed away and hidden by various parts of ourselves.
I have undergone training in Flash Technique which I use when processing of memories is sometimes blocked. You can find more information on this helpful process via https://flashtechnique.com/wp/
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy [CBT] & Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
I engage with CBT as a standalone therapy (particularly for anxiety conditions, depression and body dysmorphia) and I also integrate with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. CBT helps you to identify or change unhelpful negative thoughts and unhelpful behaviours. Unlike some other talking therapies, CBT focuses on your current challenges rather than on your past experiences. It aims to improve your state of mind by teaching you to spot the links between your thoughts, actions, physical sensations, and feelings (what we call the vicious cycle). I invariably integrate CBT therapy with ACT which holds that suffering is a fact of life and rather than struggle, you are encouraged to accept and unhook (defuse) from unhelpful thoughts rather than trying to change them. It also means identifying your values and making a commitment to live within your goals and values. I integrate ACT Mindfulness as a way of helping:
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Defusion: distancing from, and letting go of, unhelpful thoughts, beliefs and memories.
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Acceptance: making room for painful feelings, urges and sensations, and allowing them to come and go without a struggle.
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Contact with the present moment: engaging fully with your here-and-now experience, with an attitude of openness and curiosity.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) aims to help promote mental and emotional healing by encouraging you to be compassionate toward yourself and other people. I engage with CFT with clients who struggle with shame and self-criticism. Often these can be the driving forces behind more enduring struggles such as anxiety and depression.
Schema Therapy
I value engaging with schema therapy with clients who are struggling with enduring unhelping thinking and behaviour patterns as a result of negative beliefs (schemas) developed in childhood. Often as a result of trauma, difficulties with attachment and adverse experiences. These can lead to low self-esteem, lack of connection to others, problems expressing feelings and emotions and feeling unsafe in the world with self and others. I sometimes integrate schema therapy with EMDR. Whilst this can be a painful journey, it can also be healing as the client understands their different ways of thinking, their different ‘modes’ (the moment-to-moment emotional states and coping responses that we all experience when triggered) and patterns of behaviour they would like to change.
Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy
My core training was in this approach which recognizes that each person ins unique and requires an individualised style of therapy. It also allows greater flexibility. Sometimes, a client needs this approach for a range of short and long-term issues, including anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, relationships, addictions, bereavement and low self-esteem. It means I will engage with a range of techniques to help you live life to your meaningful potential. The therapeutic relationship is at the heart of this approach as it is in all the other therapies.
Other therapies I engage in:
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I am undergoing accredited training in Couples Counselling (due to complete 2023)
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Mindfulness: I integrate Mindfulness and rhythm breathing into all the therapies I practice.
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I also offer solution focused therapy which offers future-focused, goal-directed, and focuses on solutions, rather than on the problems that brought clients to seek therapy.
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Motivational Interviewing [MI]: I completed practitioner training in Behaviour Change Counselling and MI as part of developing interventions in my MSc [2001} and PhD (2007) theses. I value engaging in MI for struggles with behaviour change in addictive behaviours, or lifestyle changes. I also integrate MI into my psychotherapy approaches when low motivation and struggle is apparent. I have delivered training to health care professionals in MI as well as delivered talks and presentations at academic conferences when I worked in academia.