Therapeutic Approaches

All of us are affected by emotional difficulties at some point, particularly when dealing with the challenges life throws at us. We may feel sad or anxious and this can have an effect on our day to day lives - our thoughts and behaviours, our relationships and our performance at work. For many people it can be very hard to see what has triggered their feelings of distress and unhappiness. It could be that there is a general feeling of dissatisfaction with life which is hard to pin down. Some people's problems may be related to sudden stresses like bereavement or another traumatic life event. In other situations problems may be linked to longer standing difficulties, such as painful childhood experiences.

How can we help

Our goal is to help you to achieve fast, effective results by firstly developing a detailed understanding of the problem and its underlying causes.
We will help you to develop a range of techniques and strategies specifically tailored to suit your individual requirements in order to provide effective rehabilitation. Together, we will monitor this treatment as things begin to improve and will offer additional help and support in dealing with any stumbling blocks along the way.
We understand that talking about psychological problems can be difficult and we strive to offer a relaxed, comfortable and confidential atmosphere.

Compassion Focused Approach

Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) is a therapeutic approach that aims to help those who struggle with shame and self-criticism, sometimes resulting from early experiences of abuse or neglect. CFT teaches clients to cultivate the skills of self-compassion and other-oriented compassion, which are thought to help regulate mood and lead to feelings of safety, self-acceptance, and comfort. The technique is similar to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in that it also instructs clients about the science behind the mind-body connection and how to practice mind and body awareness.

Mindfulness Approaches

Mindfulness is an integrative mind-body approach in which a mental state is achieved by focusing awareness on the present moment. By paying more attention to your thoughts and feelings as they happen, you can have a significant positive impact on your mental wellbeing. Practicing mindfulness has been proven to reduce levels of stress, anxiety and depression.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy is an effective form of treatment for a wide range of problems. CBT involves understanding how your thoughts, feelings and behaviour interact to play a role in your problems. Effective treatment is about altering beliefs and changing behaviour with the aim of improving your feelings. While CBT can be an effective treatment, it does not work for every problem. We can also use other psychological therapies in order to best help an individual case.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a comprehensive psychotherapy that helps you process and recover from past experiences that are affecting your mental health and wellbeing. It involves using side to side eye movements combined with talk therapy in a specific and structured format. EMDR helps you process the negative images, emotions, beliefs and body sensations associated with traumatic memories that seem to be stuck. These can contribute to a range of mental health problems. EMDR helps you to see things from a different perspective and relieves the symptoms that you were suffering.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

ACT is a form of therapy that teaches mindfulness skills. There is also a large emphasis on connecting with values, to that which matters the most to us. This helps to align our actions and bring us towards where we really want to be. Mindfulness skills enable us to learn to be in the moment, connect more to who matters and make the most of each and every day. Mindfulness skills help us to unhook from unhelpful thoughts and to struggle less with uncomfortable emotions. One of the key aims of ACT is to help increase our levels of psychological flexibility. When we have greater psychological flexibility, it does not mean that we will never feel down or stressed again. What it does mean is that when unwanted or difficult situations arise in our life, we are able to respond to them by adapting and applying the skills that we have learned.