I hope that the section below helps you understand some of the approaches that I use.

​​​

All of these approaches are evidence based (meaning they have been scientifically proven to be effective) and collaborative. This means that I work together with you towards specific goals rather than ‘telling you’ what you are feeling or what you should do. We work at a pace that is right for you, monitoring your progress in the areas that matter and working out what are the next steps.

The main approaches I use are:

​

• ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy- a type of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – CBT)

• DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy)

• EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

ACT

ACT initially involves understanding how your life is, and is not, what you want it to be. This  involves both looking at what you are doing and how you are doing it. For example, you may be  avoiding parts of life (eg relationships, work, friendships, hobbies) that are important to you. Or you might be engaged with them but find that you are distracted, inhibited, angry or scared when you are 'there' and are not who you want to be in important situations. Identifying what you really want and what is blocking you is the first step.

​​

Usually we discover that our brains are tricky things and many of the messages they give can at best be unhelpful or at worst cruel or judgmental towards ourselves or others. We get cross, scared, ashamed or angry even when we don’t want to,  have memories or feelings that take over, and despite our best efforts to change these thoughts and emotions they keep returning. Often the way we way live is not determined by what we really want but by either avoiding painful feelings or being hijacked by them.  Learning to live fully and not letting our brain ‘call all the shots’ is a crucial part of ACT and involves practicing helpful ways of looking at thoughts and emotions so that we can be more the people we want to be.

 

Like all CBT there is an emphasis on practice between sessions. The more practice outside sessions, the more likely meaningful change is to occur

DBT

DBT is an approach that was initially used for people with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. However it has been  used more widely since it was created and you do not have to have this diagnosis for it be useful.

​

DBT can be very useful for people for whom emotions:

- often feel very intense and overwhelming

- are easily triggered

- last a long time

​

These struggles with emotions can have a profound effect on their ability to function as they would like in lots of different areas. DBT teaches practical skills to help manage these feelings and to be more in control. It is highly structured and consists of 4 modules - Mindfulness, Emotional Regulation, Distress Tolerance and Interpersonal Skills.

​

A full DBT service consists of weekly group and individual therapy and is used for people who self harm  or who are risk of suicide. As a single practitioner I do not have the ability to provide  this. However I am able to offer a service to people who are not high risk and do not require this level of intervention. Please contact me either by email or phone if you wold like to discuss issues relating to this further.

EMDR

​

EMDR is used to ‘reprocess’ memories in order for them to have less effect on your current life. In particular, trauma (eg childhood abuse of all kinds, accidents, war trauma) can cause flashbacks, nightmares, hyper-arousal (where the body is constantly alert to danger) or numbness. EMDR can help process the memories and feelings so that the past does not dominate the present.

As well as situations that are clearly 'traumatic' EMDR can also be useful to explore your relationships with parents or care-givers and if and how they impact on your life today. EMDR can be a valuable tool in both understanding the effect of our childhood and reducing it's impact.

 

EMDR involves identifying these memories or situations that are causing distress an then using 'processing' to lessen the distress these cause. 'Processing' is carefully managed by the therapist and involves following something from one side to the other, for example watching a finger go from side to side, listening to a sound alternately in each ear,or holding vibrating buzzers in each hand. 

​​​