Therapies
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Widely used and highly effective, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) treats a range of psychological health issues such as anxiety, depression, substance use problems, eating disorders and much more. CBT aims to help equip individuals with practical coping skills whereby they can learn to change their own thinking, problematic emotions, and behaviours.
CBT is a good therapy option for anyone who is looking for support to challenge unhelpful thoughts which may be preventing them from reaching their goals or living the life they want. A key objective of CBT is to explore the large impact thinking can have on mood. This therapy teaches us to think in a less negatively and is based on the understanding that negative thinking is a habit that, like any other habit, can be broken.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) asks individuals to accept thoughts and feelings rather than fighting or feeling shame. This intervention encourages the development of psychological flexibility and is considered a form of behavioural therapy. Integrating mindfulness skills with the practice of self-acceptance, the objective of this therapy is for individuals to live and behave in ways consistent with their identified personal values.
By recognising that attempts to suppress, manage, and control emotional experiences can only create further challenges, individuals address these issues to make room for values-based actions that supports well-being.
Solution Focussed Therapy
Solution Focused Therapy is a goal-focused approach integrating effective psychology principles and practices to assist clients in making positive changes, yielding solutions rather than focussing on problems alone.
After briefly identifying the problem, individuals are encouraged to create a detailed picture of how their life could be different using practical and sustainable solutions via resources relevant to the individual’s personal experiences. Firmly entrenched in the present day, this therapy looks to work towards a future where current issues have less impact.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is consciousness in the present moment. The focus of this therapy is to increase awareness of the thoughts, feelings, and actions that both help and hinder progress. By learning to be conscious of our thoughts and feelings, individuals can better harness their emotions and make more considered responses consistent with their personal goals and values.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Interpersonal psychotherapy is a time-limited, focussed, evidence-based approach to treat mood disorders. The main objective of this intervention is to improve the quality of an individual’s interpersonal relationships and social functioning to help reduce stress. This approach works by exploring interpersonal deficits such as social isolation, managing unresolved grief, assisting in key life transitions, and dealing with interpersonal conflicts.
Treatment typically consists of all sessions within a 12-to-16-week period. Treatment is structured and includes homework, continuous assessment, review of goals, and progress interviews.
Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy that facilitates healing from symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of a disturbing life experience. Certain memories can have a lasting negative effect that interferes with the way a person sees the world and how they relate to others. EMDR therapy focuses directly on the identified memory with the aim of changing the way the information is stored in the brain.
During this intervention, clients are asked to briefly focus on the traumatic memory and simultaneously experience rhythmic left-right (bilateral) stimulation (e.g., tones or taps). By inducing the recall of the distressing event/s and diverting attention from the emotional consequences, traumatic episodic memories are thought to be reconsolidated as semantic or narrative memory. EMDR can be thought of as a physiologically based therapy that helps an individual remember traumatic information in a new and less vividly distressing manner.
Trauma-Informed Practice and Therapy
Trauma-Informed Practice and Therapy recognises how traumatic experiences can shape a child’s mental, behavioural, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. This intervention shifts the focus to explore an individual’s past and present, to understand what experiences have led to their current issues.
This type of therapy seeks to explore and validate the connection between the traumatic experience and the individual's emotional and behavioural responses. To realise the impact of trauma and better understand the path to recovery, recognise the symptoms of trauma and actively avoid re-traumatisation.
Relationships / Pre-marital counselling
The Gottman Method is an approach to therapy that includes a thorough assessment of the couple’s relationship and integrates research-based interventions. The objective of this therapy is to defuse oppositional verbal communication; increase intimacy, respect, and affection; remove barriers that create a feeling of stagnation, and create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship. By combining therapeutic interventions with practical exercises, couples identify and address the natural defences that inhibit their relationship’s healthy communication and bonding.