Psychological therapy (also referred to as psychotherapy or ‘talking therapies’) are forms of treatment that involve talking to a trained therapist in order to help someone overcome their difficulties.
There are different types of therapy for different kinds of problems and there are published studies that have evaluated their effectiveness for certain problems, and therefore are several guidelines that make recommendations as a result of this research (see the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence; NICE). This is referred to as ‘evidence-based treatment’. However, it is also important to note that the effectiveness of a type of therapy is influenced by a number of factors, including the working relationship with the therapist (strong predictor of outcome), the person’s expectations and attitude towards the therapy, and their belief in their ability to make change. As well as offering evidence-based treatments, the range of therapy approaches available at Inter-Mind are intended to give people more choice of the type of therapy that also feel would be more suitable to them. This will be discussed during and after the assessment.
I am trained and experienced in the following treatments, which are provided to clients in Nottingham, Derby and Leicester and surrounding areas.
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
As its name suggests, CAT it brings together understandings from cognitive psychotherapies (such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and from psychoanalytic approaches into one integrated, user-friendly, time-limited and effective therapy.
CAT makes links with early experiences and how we’ve internalised aspects of those to shape the way we are in the relationships and other situations.
CAT helps identify repeating patterns of self-defeating thoughts, feelings and behaviours, often in relationships with others (and with ourselves).
It is a collaborative framework for looking at the way you think, feel and act; it is tailored to your individual needs and to your own manageable goals for change.
CAT therapy usually takes place over 8, 16 0r 24 sessions, plus follow-up.
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
This is usually a short-term, structured therapy, whereby client and therapist work collaboratively to change difficult feelings and behaviours, by changing underlying thought patterns. In some cases, it can be used for longer-term work.
CBT has a strong evidence-base, and is recommended by NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) as the treatment of choice for a wide range of difficulties.
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Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals process and recover from traumatic experiences or other significant emotional events in their past. Developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, EMDR integrates elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy with bilateral stimulation, typically through guided eye movements, but other methods are now also routinely used (e.g. tapping, bilateral auditory tones).
The therapy is based on the premise that traumatic or distressing experiences can overwhelm the brain’s natural ability to process information, resulting in dysfunctional memory networks. These networks can lead to persistent emotional distress and unhelpful beliefs and behaviours. The bilateral stimulation is believed to facilitate the reprocessing of the distressing memories, helping to integrate then into more adaptive memory networks. This process reduces the emotional charge of the memory and alters negative beliefs associated with it.
EMDR leverages the brain’s neural networks to facilitate recovery from trauma, allowing individuals to move beyond their distressing memories and achieve greater emotional resilience and well-being.
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Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) principles
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a therapy designed to help people change patterns of behavior that are not helpful, such as self-harm, suicidal thinking, and substance abuse.[1]
This approach works towards helping people increase their emotional and cognitive regulation by learning about the triggers that lead to reactive states and helping to assess which coping skills to apply in the sequence of events, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to help avoid undesired reactions.
DBT assumes that people are doing the best they can but are either lacking the skills or influenced by positive or negative reinforcement that interfere with their ability to function appropriately.
DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness largely derived from Buddhist meditative practice.
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT for short, is a relatively new therapy that has as its main goal ‘to create a rich and meaningful life, while accepting the pain that inevitably goes with it’ (see Harris, 2006). It does not set out to reduce ‘symptoms’, but rather aims to achieve this as a by-product of emphasising the importance of values, forgiveness, acceptance, compassion, living in the present moment, and accessing what is sometimes referred to as the ‘observing self’. ACT has an impressive, and increasing, evidence-base for being an effective treatment of a range of difficulties.
General wellbeing and ‘performance’
Whilst therapy was developed to relieve distress from psychological problems such as depression and anxiety, its use is not restricted to working with mental health problems. It can also help people learn more about themselves, improve relationships, assist in personal development and increase personal awareness.
Increasing numbers of people are seeking therapeutic support to improve general well-being, life satisfaction, contentment, and performance in certain situations (e.g. work, sport). There is an increasing shift in people now beginning to prioritise emotional health in a similar way to how we may optimise our physical health. Also, our understanding of the ‘mind-body’ link is improving all of the time. Those seeking therapy for personal growth may wish to better understand emotions and patterns of behaviour with the aim of being more effective or less stressed at work. Often ending or starting a new relationship may be the prompt for seeking therapy, with clients keen to better understand patterns of relating so they are best equipped to negotiate this important life transition. Emotional health affects every aspect of our daily lives so gaining enhanced personal insight and equipping oneself with practical psychological skills is often seen as a valuable and worthwhile investment.