"...customising my
therapy for
you"
My approach and methods
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I'm here to help you.
I have specialised in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
(CBT) but my training and work experience has required
me to work in other theoretical approaches such as
psycho-dynamic therapy, person-centred and
systemic
counselling. I believe however, that each client has
different needs that do not always suit CBT alone. I
tend to work integratively which means that I can be
flexible, using a variety of different therapeutic
approaches like the ones mentioned above. This enables
me to customise therapy according to your needs.
I would like to explain CBT a little bit below with a
brief outline of what you can expect in therapy.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’s main emphasis lies on an
individual’s thoughts (cognitions) and actions
(behaviour). It claims that thoughts influence the way
we feel and the way we act. Simply put, if an individual
tends to have particular negative thought patterns, he
or she will most likely feel negative too. An easy
example would be if you feel particularly nervous about
going to a counsellor and think beforehand that it’s
going to be scary and uncomfortable, chances are that
you will feel anxious and negative. However, if you were
thinking that the therapist is there to help you and is
just another human being, you would probably feel more
relaxed and more positive.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy will try to identify
unhelpful re-current thoughts and will help to change
these into more rational, realistic thoughts which in
turn will change the way you feel. It will also help to
break-through certain behavioural patterns and may
challenge you to engage in new or avoided behaviours. It
is a collaborative process where you and I work together
and which is characterised by mutual trust and respect.
Before a therapy plan is made you and I will try and
identify your specific goals for therapy, these are very
important as they will direct the course of therapy.
These can however, be amended once therapy has
commenced.
I may at times draw on your childhood and other past
experiences which I believe is helpful for both of us in
making links between the past and how these may have
formed the way you act, think and feel today. I believe
it is often helpful to gain this understanding. It may
explain amongst other things why you may seem to often
act in the same (unhelpful) way in certain situations.
Perhaps you are left with self-defeating perceptions
that have grown out of past family experiences etc.
Looking at your history will also enable me to see what
is unfinished for you in the past and how this may
effect your present however, I will not do unnecessary
digging into your past unless you expressly wish for me
to do so.
Together we will work at changing your potentially
unhelpful assumptions about life and restructure some of
these beliefs. I may give you some tasks to carry out
outside therapy which we will then review and discuss
during a session. These may include relaxation
techniques in case you suffer of anxiety or panic
attacks. I may also give you some background reading
material which you can keep to further inform you.
Termination of therapy depends on a few things. You need
to feel ready to put into practice what you have learnt
in therapy by applying new skills and attitudes about
life. If desired, we can develop an action plan that
will help you to become your own therapist. We may use a
session to evaluate the process and outcome of therapy
and we will look at your robustness to deal with
possible setbacks and assess whether you feel you need
to come in for a ‘check-up’ after some time.
However, in the unlikely event that I feel that I cannot
help you any further I may need to finish therapy. I am
required by professional ethical standards to do so but
I hope that I can let you know whether I can help you or
not after the first initial session to avoid
inconvenience on your part.
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