Therapies

I have found that different people, at different stages of life, with different problems are best helped by an approach that takes all that into account. I have trained in three major disciplines which allows me a breadth of approach that I believe can help most people. Having said that, research suggests that the quality of relationship between client and therapist is a better indicator of therapeutic success than the particular modality. So why not contact me for a brief talk on the phone to see if I can help you.

Cognitive Analytic Therapy

Cognitive Analytic Therapy, or CAT, rests on the understanding that many of our ways of relating are formed early in life, moulded through continual interaction with those closest to us. We quickly learn certain rules from these interactions; for example, if I’m good, I will get love and care from my parents. These rules can soon trap us into behaviours that might have served us well when we were children but are no longer useful to us in adult life.

There are three phases of CAT: the first is reformulation in which therapist and client collaborate in understanding the problems, their probable origins and the goals of therapy. At the end of this phase the client and therapist have created a ‘roadmap’ for the therapy, identifying the problems the client wishes to work on and the traps and dilemmas that give rise to these problems.

In the second phase of therapy, the client with help from the therapist, tries to recognise these patterns as they occur in day to day life. In the final phase of the therapy they work together to find alternative ways of coping when these issues arise, thus creating new and more helpful ways of relating and patterns of behaviour.

A CAT therapy may typically last for 8, 16 or 24 sessions, but they are always time-limited and steadfastly focused on the goals identified by the client in the reformulation phase.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing

EMDR came onto the therapy scene first as a therapy for trauma and today it is still one of the treatments of choice for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the 20+ years since its development it has grown into a complete therapy, able to address the range of mental health problems that rob people of their peace of mind and fulfilment in life.

I tend to use EMDR when there is a clear case in the client’s mind of problems arising from past traumatic events, be they physical or sexual assault or road traffic accidents. Sometimes I may combine EMDR with CAT as I believe this can be a very useful way of generalising the lessons of EMDR, which may arise from specific incidents to the larger, more wholistic framework that CAT provides.

You can find out more about EMDR from the EMDR UK website and by watching this short animation on YouTube.

I was editor of the EMDR UK Association’s journal, EMDR Therapy Quarterly from 2011 to 2021.

Person Centred Approach

Carl Rogers, an American humanistic psychologist pioneered the counselling approach to helping. He founded his therapy on principles that are so profound they are used as the bedrock of every therapeutic discipline today. These principles are:

Unconditional positive regard (UPR)

Rogers believed passionately that people do the best they can, with the resources they have available. He posited the notion of the actualising principle, something inside each of us that strives for fulfilment. UPR asks that the therapist looks for this in every client, accepting and supporting an individual as inherently human and therefore lovable.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to put yourself into someone’s shoes, trying hard to understand their experience without losing sight of your own. Whereas sympathy may be tainted by overtones of condescension or power, empathy strives to feel the other person’s feelings in the particular circumstances in which they find themselves.

Congruence

Congruence keeps things real. It is genuineness, so that instead of clients experiencing the therapist as a blank screen, the therapist is experienced as a real person with individual likes, dislikes, values and prejudices.

The combination of these three core principles contribute to the creation of a therapeutic space that is profoundly accepting, understanding and ultimately healing.