What therapy frameworks do you use?

Sometimes clients like to know to which frameworks I use - I value a flexible and integrative approach that puts the client and our therapeutic relationship at the centre of our work. I am constantly learning, reading, and adding to my knowledge and enjoy sharing more in-depth details with clients that want to know more.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) || Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

CBT is a structured, goal-oriented approach to mental health treatment. It focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. ACT builds upon CBT with the aim to strengthen a person’s ability to adapt and respond effectively to life's challenges. It involves being open to uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, while still pursuing meaningful goals and values. It emphasizes mindfulness, acceptance, and taking committed action in alignment with one's values, even in the face of discomfort or adversity. This psychological flexibility enables individuals to lead more meaningful and fulfilling lives.

Schema Therapy

The goal of schema therapy is to identify and transform ingrained, unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. It integrates elements from CBT, psychodynamic, and experiential therapies to promote emotional healing and lasting change in order to improve emotional well-being and relationships.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR therapy helps people to heal from traumatic, distressing, and adverse experiences. Unlike traditional talk therapies, it involves using bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movements, to help the brain and body regulate emotions and process traumatic and adverse memories. I am currently undertaking accreditation with the EMDRIA.

What to expect from therapy with me

Seeking support for our mental health is not a practice confined to realms of the ill and the disordered. I don’t believe that it is abnormal to experience difficult emotions and thoughts, to feel overwhelmed, anxious and down. Psychological distress affects many of us at some point, and we can can alleviate this suffering with the right guidance and treatment.

My practice integrates Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Schema Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). These may be meaningless acronyms to you, or perhaps you are already aware of the kind of therapy you’re interested in. Regardless, I believe that these frameworks can help in providing us with an in-depth understanding of how particular psychological difficulties take shape in our lives and what keeps us stuck. These evidence-based therapeutic frameworks are grounded clinical psychological research and neuroscience. More importantly, I can readily apply them to my own experiences and believe that they produce practical, real-world changes.

The first step is to get to know you, your history, and your emotions. We will develop a shared understanding of the patterns and themes at the core of your difficulties and find the language that helps you describe your unique experiences. This initial assessment helps us to understand your story, identify your goals, and direct our focus. The next step is meaningful change - increasing awareness of unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, and developing practical strategies to better know what you’re experiencing and how you would like to act goes a long way to helping. Meaningful change takes practice; relating to our emotions, sensations, and describing our internal world, challenging uncomfortable behaviours, or going deeper with experiential therapies such as EMDR and Schema Therapy.

Whatever the process, therapy is a supportive space to explore these difficult topics and reconnect to what is most important.