Registered Psychologist, MAPS
Psychological Counselling
Psychological Counselling can assist in developing various tools and approaches that will help you navigate the long-term or immediate difficulties that are influencing your wellbeing and your relationships with others. It is a judgement-free, confidential and supportive environment within which you can discuss and explore the emotional and psychological issues with which you are struggling. Psychological therapy can be hard work, but each visit will help you to build on your personal resources and assist you in recognising and accepting your stressors, while developing coping strategies to manage your psychological distress going forward.
I largely work within a cognitive behavioural framework; however I also incorporate elements of numerous other therapeutic approaches depending on the needs of each client. A brief outline of some of the approaches employed is provided below.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) focuses on the relationship between an individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The aim with this style of therapy is to assist individuals to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and to understand how these patterns influence emotional states and behavioural choices. Once identified the client is then guided through strategies that encourage them to modify their thinking, change their behaviour and ultimately improve their emotional and psychological wellbeing. CBT is a constantly growing and evolving area of psychology and newer forms of therapy including Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Schema Therapy and others, are increasingly being employed by psychologists.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
At the core of this therapy is the acceptance of what is not in your control and the commitment to take action for the overall improvement of your life and wellbeing. ACT aims to teach you the mindfulness skills required to recognise and manage your feelings more effectively so that they have less of an impact on your day-to-day life. This therapy will also help you identify what is most important to you and make the changes necessary to nurture these values in your life.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is about paying attention, without judgement, to the present moment. The aim is to increase one’s ability to allow thoughts and feelings to come and go without feeling compelled to act on them. It will not eliminate life's pressures, but it can help us respond to them in a calmer manner. It helps us to recognise and step away from habitual, often unconscious emotional and physiological reactions to everyday events. Practicing mindfulness helps us to be fully present in our life and work, and improve our quality of life.
Interpersonal therapy (IPT)
Interpersonal therapy (IPT) focuses primarily on a person’s relationships with others and also on the way they see themselves, including within the context of their significant relationships. IPT involves intense exploration of relationship issues and the goal is to help people to identify and modify interpersonal problems while understanding and managing relationship difficulties. As with other approaches, this style involves intense self-reflection and can often result in significant changes to thinking and behaviour.
While it is important to have some understanding of the types of therapy offered, research has consistently shown that it is the quality of the relationship between psychologist and client that is the greatest predictor of successful therapeutic outcomes. As such, it is important to find a psychologist with whom you feel comfortable and are able to trust.