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Therapies

We provide a variety of evidence-based therapies that our Psychologists are expertly trained and supervised in. Check out the summaries of each therapy below. It may be that you can relate more so to one particular type of therapy that you feel could work for you. Ultimately, you and your therapist will collaboratively decide which therapy would be most appropriate, based on the information you tell them at your assessment appointment. Your therapist will try to do this as collaboratively as is possible.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a short-term evidence-based psychological therapy and is a recommended treatment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a variety of emotional and behavioural difficulties. CBT is a talking therapy that can help you to manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. CBT is mainly concerned with how you think and act now, instead of looking in depth at difficulties from your past. The number of sessions you need depends on the type of difficulties you have and the severity of these difficulties.

 

Together in session, you will discuss your specific difficulties and set goals for you to achieve. CBT is not a quick fix and it involves hard work during and between sessions. Your therapist will not tell you what to do, instead, they will help you decide what difficulties you want to work on in order to help you improve your current situation.

CBT has a strong evidence base for:

  • Anxiety Disorders (Generalised Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) 

  • Depression & Low Mood

  • Physical Health Disorders

CBT has helped me to understand how the way I was thinking was having a serious impact on my anxiety and stopping me from doing the things I used to be able to do without any problem. Now that I have learned to challenge my automatic thoughts and come up with evidence for and against these thoughts I see things more rationally, more clearly. This has allowed me to feel more confident in situations where the anxiety used to debilitate me. 

Client A. 

Taken from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) comes from a scientific model that builds on other cognitive and behavioural therapies, like CBT above. Our thoughts and feelings can sometimes get in the way of living a life we value. We often get tied up in our worries and thoughts. Unworkable thoughts (e.g. “I am such a failure”, or “everybody is judging me”) can leave us feeling down, angry or anxious. Very often we try to control these thoughts and feelings. This could be trying not to think about them, withdrawing from social situations, drinking more than might be good for our health, distraction, self-harm and many more. These strategies may work in the short term. If you find yourself using such strategies you may also find yourself having to keep going back to these strategies again and again. It may feel like you are stuck in this cycle.

 

Some of our coping strategies can add to our problems or create entirely new ones. What we try as a way of managing difficult thoughts, memories, and feelings can be unworkable.  For example, someone who thinks that everybody is staring at them may control this by avoiding going out. Although on the surface this looks like a good strategy, it could lead to social isolation in the long term.

 

In ACT, the aim is not to change the content of distressing thoughts or to reduce difficult feelings; rather, it is to help you to take a step back and see your thoughts and feelings as just that (even those that are hard to have or that you know to be ‘true’). By increasing your willingness to experience distressing thoughts and feelings you will be able to live with them more effectively.

 

This approach allows you to behave in a way that is consistent with your values, as opposed to behaving in order to "please your mind" or through fear or avoidance. You will learn how to become more aware of your mind and body, open up to these experiences and choose a life based on your values.     

At first, ACT didn't make much sense to my logical, problem- solving brain. All my life I had made many attempts to fix my difficulties. ACT has helped me to realise that my attempts to try and solve my difficulties hadn't worked and so a different approach was needed. In fact, the more I struggled with them the worse they became. By learning to open up to distressing thoughts and feelings and becoming more willing to have them, rather than attempting to push them away, I now understand that I no longer need to battle with them and instead I'm free to focus on what's important to me.  

Client B. 

  • Anxiety Disorders  

  • Depression & Low Mood

  • Stress

  • Substance Misuse

  • Physical Health Disorders (e.g. Chronic Pain, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)

ACT has a strong evidence base for:

Taken from the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science's evidence base.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is an attentional skill. It's the practice of becoming fully aware of our internal states and external surroundings in a purposeful and non-judgemental way. Commonly, we go through life on "auto-pilot". Have you ever looked back at the last few years and thought, "Where was I for that?". Our mind can wander and if we allow it, we can spend long periods of time in our heads. This is not problematic if we only occasionally do it and it doesn't impact us engaging fully in the world around us, enjoying time with our family, productivity at work, meaningful relationships. However, when thoughts and memories from our past trickle down into our emotions and make us feel upset or anxious, or thoughts regarding the future make us worry and panic, our mind can turn away from meaningful experiences and leave us stuck. Mindfulness can help individuals to break free from auto-pilot and notice when our mind wanders. It allows us to become more present and fully engage in the meaningful activities we value. 

Mindfulness has a strong evidence base for:

  • Anxiety Disorders (Generalised Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder). 

  • Depression & Low Mood.

  • Physical Health Disorders.

My life felt like it was on autopilot. Years went by and I had no idea what I had done or how so much time had passed me by. I spent so much time thinking about the past; what I had done wrong and how this was making me feel low and guilty. Mindfulness has allowed me to pay attention to the present and has helped me to appreciate how much is going on around me. I can experience the world more fully and have more choice as to what I focus on.

Client C. 

Taken from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

Please note: This service is only available for adults aged 18 years and over. Therapy is conducted on a one-to-one basis. It is not possible to offer couples or family therapy.

All quotes mentioned on this site are based on real clients, however, their feedback has been amalgamated and any identifiable information has been changed to maintain confidentiality. 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

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