Therapies

 

Therapy is an investment: in yourself and your future well being.  Like all investments you need to know that your interests will be well looked after. 

Ultimately, all talking therapies are centred on developing a constructive and communicative way of working together.  This requires trust and a sense of professional confidence in the person you are seeing.  In this way, the ideas, thoughts, feelings and behaviour being discussed can start to help you make sense of your situation.  It is important that you feel comfortable with the person who you are working with, and that the therapy makes sense and feels relevant to you.

"A helpful therapeutic partnership relies on effective communication."

All the psychological therapies have been developed to help the client to arrive at a place where they feel they are functioning well.  The destination may be the same, but the route by which they get there can differ.

Each theoretical approach has its strengths, but not all therapies will suit everyone.  Different circumstances will be more appropriate to different types of therapy.  Each person will find that they are more atuned and have a preference for some types of therapy over others.  Some experienced therapists will be proficient across a range of modalities.

"Everyone is unique, and so too are the ways of finding the solutions to their problems."

The following offers an outline of some of the current models of therapy.

Psychotherapy

There are several theoretical perspectives on which Psychotherapy is founded and it can be both short and long term in its application.  Most psychotherapies work on the principle that it is past developmental experiences, particularly those that occur in childhood, that determine the way that we have learned to integrate an understanding of ourselves in the world.  The process of Psychotherapy examines the relationship between the past and the present.  It looks at the significant relationships that we have developed, and asks questions about the connections between these and our present relationships.  In this way it is hoped that any difficulties which have occurred will be seen and understood and then re-framed within a helpful context.  Psychotherapy works with the present and the unconscious and often uses the client and therapist relationship as a guide for interpreting the dynamics that may occur elsewhere.  It is essentially a reflective process.

Counselling

Counselling has a range of applications for both short and longer term work.  Many counselling theories are founded on the idea that human development primarily occurs through self exploration.  The role of the counsellor is to assist you through the process of self discovery without introducing too many of their own suggestions or interpretations about what may be occurring.  It is anticipated that a non-directive approach will help the client to feel accepted and allow them to determine their own solutions. It is primarily a self reflective process.

IPT - Interpersonal Therapy

IPT is a pragmatic, interactive therapy designed specifically to help with the effects of depression.  It is focussed and time-limited in its approach.  A typical series of IPT will take place over 16-20 sessions.  An aim of Interpersonal Therapy is to help the client explore their present situation and to focus in on difficult aspects of their current relationships and experiences that may have an impact on their feelings of depression.   IPT addresses the dilemmas and problems that are affecting the clients immediate circumstances and supports the client to develop interpersonal contacts and utelise resources that may be available to them. It is a medium term active process.

Solution Focussed
Solution Focussed therapy will seek to promote positive change in the present context.  This can be either something distinct such as a specific issue that stands on its own, or it can be something that is occurring within a wider context.  Solution Focussed Therapy will concentrate on the issue that is to be addressed and focus on ways of understanding and resolving the issue at hand.  Tasks and "homework" may be a part of the process as a way of developing strategies for coping. Solution focussed work can accommodate particular issues or be a part of a broader therapeutic exploration.  It is usually short-term.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy offers a direct approach that seeks to define clear therapeutic goals and then uses active techniques to achieve them.  A CBT Therapist will look for the link between established patterns of thinking and related behaviour.  They work in a structured way which endeavours to uncover repeated patterns of thought that serve to undermine a persons ability to function fully.  A CBT Therapist will use a variety of practical approaches and techniques to help determine the unhelpful behaviour patterns.  If appropriate, the therapist will set tasks or "homework" that challenge some of the "safety behaviours" we can adopt, which are based on ideas that limit our potential.  It is generally a short-term and active process.

Mindfulness Stress Reduction Programme
The Mindfulness Stress Reduction Programme draws on established techniques for developing an internal state of calm and well-being.  It combines two elements together: Meditation and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.  In this way it endeavours to combine a physical therapy and a thinking behavioural therapy.  The Mindfulness Stress Reduction Programme helps the client to draw on undiscovered inner resources that can be accessed through the process of meditation.  By combining these internal resources with a way of thinking about the external stresses, the MSRP taps into a way of coping with life's pressures. It is an active process that helps participants to integrate the meditative aspects into their daily life.

EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing is a technique which helps clients to process negative and distressing thoughts.  These can take the form of "flashbacks" or unwelcome intrusive thoughts in everyday life.  It is primarily used when a person has experienced or been involved in a trauma.  This can be of a personal nature or one that is more general such as witnessing an accident.  The theory on which it is based is that by stimulating the bi-lateral (left and right) parts of the brain, we can re-connect with our innate ability to process events that have become stuck because they were traumatic. It is this unblocking and reprocessing that EMDR has mostly been helpful for.  EMDR can work alongside other therapies.  It has a specific training and protocol and can be integrated into other modalities of therapy.

 

 

Copyright 2010 Nadina Al-Jarrah. Site by Artlogic.