A Counselling psychologist is trained to doctorate level in a wide range of evidence based psychological approaches. Psychology is a regulated profession so you can be confident that you are meeting with someone professional and qualified to a high level to help you with your distress. Trained to offer highly specialist psychological therapy and offering a wide range of approaches, including person centred counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), psychodynamic and object relational models of therapy, counselling psychologists have the advantage of being able to tailor therapy to you. Grounded in core counselling principles and with an emphasis on a safe and comfortable space from which to work, we will collaboratively work together to develop a shared understanding of relational and emotional patterns, providing a framework (psychological formulation) from which to elicit change.
Initial Appointment
Meeting a psychological therapist for the first time can be daunting. Questions such as 'Will we get on?', 'Will I feel safe?' and 'Will I feel comfortable talking about my problems?' are natural and understandable. I'm happy to speak to you on the phone or over email prior to meeting to find out if I'm the right person to help you. I'm a relaxed and open therapist and the aim of the first session is to ensure that you feel safe and that we're able to develop a therapeutic relationship and work together, as well as discovering the nature of the problem as you see it and what your goals might be for therapy.
How long will I need to be in therapy?
Please see psychological therapy as an investment in you. It has the potential to be the best money you've ever spent on yourself. I tend to see people for a minimum of 8 sessions and a lot of progress can be made in that time, but many people continue in therapy until they feel that they have got what they came for. As a general guide, I would suggest looking to afford 12 sessions. I also offer ongoing therapy which is useful for those who aren't able to attend frequently but who benefit from a safe space to talk and work through and process ongoing difficulties. From the outset I'll be transparent about how I see the work progressing and we can discuss when we first meet what your needs are and the frequency and length of therapy that feels comfortable for you. Sometimes 'less is more' as having a time- limit can really focus the work.
What is the difference between psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors?
This is something that comes up a lot and for the general public, guidance around who is the right person to help you is often not clear. In order to make an informed decision about who might be based placed to help you I encourage you to explore your options and think about what it is you want from psychological therapy. Psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors all offer talking therapies and are qualified and experienced to different levels. Research consistently points to the therapeutic relationship as the most important element of therapy in terms of predicting a successful outcome, so in general terms it is important that you feel able to develop a safe and positive relationship with your therapist.
Psychology is the only profession regulated by a statutory regulator in the UK; the health and care professions council (HCPC). So you can be assured that all psychologists registered with the HCPC are trained to doctorate level or equivalent and have met the standards to practice, continuing professional development, work to appropriate ethical guidelines and are permitted to use the protected title psychologist. They are trained in more than one therapeutic modality including person- centred counselling, psychodynamic models of therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and have experience of working with individual's across the life- span. Additionally counselling psychologists have completed over 450 hours of supervised clinical practice and 40 hours' of their own personal therapy in order to qualify and register with the HCPC. As a chartered counselling psychologist with the British psychological Society I am additionally bound by their code of conduct and ethical guidelines for practice. https://www.hcpc-uk.org/check-the-register/ https://www.bps.org.uk/public/find-psychologist
The leading organisation in the UK for Cognitive behavioural Therapists (CBT) is the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). Anyone with an interest in CBT can become a member of BABCP, but only those who have completed a recognised post - graduate training course in CBT can be an accredited member. https://www.babcp.com/Public/What-is-CBT.aspx#1
To help keep yourself safe, please ensure that you check the appropriate registers to ensure that you are working with an individual who is of an appropriate competency level for you. Expect to pay more for psychologists, psychotherapists and accredited counsellors, but be assured that you are safe and with someone experienced and who has appropriate supervision and ethical competencies.
Therapeutic Approaches
The Psychology doctorate training covers a wide range of therapeutic approaches, above and beyond counselling practice. While established humanistic philosophies form the basis of the work, below is a bit more information about each psychological approach, which are implemented holistically to provide an individual tailored integrative approach to the work.
Counselling Person centred therapy was founded by Carl Rogers in the 1940's. The relationship between client and therapist is key to facilitating therapeutic change. The therapist creates a safe environment in which the client is able to share their thoughts with a genuine, empathic individual without fear of judgement. This is an unstructured, non- directive approach led by the client. The therapist remains genuine and offers the client a warm, understanding relationship. Counselling can be a gentle introduction for individuals to begin working through difficulties and is particularly helpful for processing loss and bereavement as it allows the client to lead and go at their own pace.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) CBT looks at how our experiences shape our beliefs and how these beliefs can lead to distorted views about the world. When a significant life event happens, we take meaning from it, we interpret it and try to make sense of our feelings and thoughts. This can lead to deep rooted beliefs about something, which may not always be true and helpful. Subsequently we can be ruled by our beliefs and when other events happen, our responses may not always be adaptive. Exploring these links between our experiences, our thoughts and feelings and our responses can help us challenge our beliefs and develop new strategies for managing events in more adaptive ways. CBT is an active, collaborative therapy where tasks may be set for individual's to carry out between sessions. Exposure strategies may be employed to make changes generate alternative adaptive responses. This approach is helpful for anxiety, depression, self- esteem, anger, obsessions and compulsions and addictions.
Psychodynamic therapy Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is based on the original psychoanalytic theory developed by Freud. Psychodynamic therapies integrate more modern approaches, as well as drawing on some of the original ideas. All psychodynamic therapies share a belief in the existence of the unconscious and an emphasis in therapy on bringing unconscious thoughts, impulses and defences into awareness in order to alleviate present anxieties. This tends to be done by an exploration of an individual's past experiences and an understanding of the influence and impact on current behaviour, experiences and relationships. This approach can be used in its purest form, which tends to be long- term and patient driven relying on free association by the client and interpretation by the therapist. In practice, it tends to be integrated to offer a deeper understanding of an individual's experiences and current patterns of relating. Psychodynamic understanding can be useful for individual's with treatment- resistant conditions (for example, individuals' who've had depression for a long time but have not found previous therapy or medication alleviated their distress) personality difficulties, relationship difficulties (including attachment issues, repetitive patterns and instability) and sexual difficulties.
Solution focused brief therapy Solution focused brief therapy acknowledges distress, but rather than being problem focused is goal- oriented. It was developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg and adopts a client- focused approach with the assumptions that an individual is the expert in themselves and has the capacity to identify their goals and suitable solutions. The role of the therapist is to guide, through a process of questioning, the individual towards their self- generated solutions. Works well for individual's who have a goal in mind or a focus for therapy and are looking for something short- term.
Mindfulness Mindfulness is currently a bit of a buzz-word as it's received a lot of media attention and marketed as a panacea for numerous psychological difficulties. As a stand alone practice, many people benefit from the meditation element in particular, which is was well established, prior to the existence of mindfulness. Mindfulness essentially aims to bring attention from thoughts to experience and utilises attention to our bodies and senses to aid this process. 'Being in the moment' can offer relief from the distress of anxiety and distress and many people find this practice in every day life improves their well- being.