What is Psychotherapy?
You deserve to have at least one place where you can be yourself with someone you trust.
Why Therapy?. The word itself can conjure up feelings of anxiety. Why can that feel
intimidating? Why is it hard to imagine trusting a stranger with our inner most thoughts? All good questions.
There are many types of therapy out there. I use talking therapies and hypnotherapy. Although
some therapist stick to one type only I don’t do that. I prefer to use techniques based on each individual
client. Everyone is different and responds differently. If we were all the same then CBT, or any other
therapy, would work for everyone. As it stands its very good but not everyone gets on with it. The NHS in UK
use CBT because the structure is good and the results are measurable.
Unfortunately the waiting lists are long . Even longer now since covid. The amount of people on waiting
lists here have tripled since the pandemic. Unsurprising considering the affects it had on so many.
There are some good reasons to consider therapy. Some are listed below. Consider them when deciding
if it’s worth being brave and booking a free session. It is a brave thing to do.
Good things about seeing a therapist
Confidentiality. There is nothing worse thattelling a friend your innermost thoughts and secrets only to find they have repeated those things to others. What if you fall out with them? Will they keep confidence then? It takes time to build trust with someone new. Expect it to . Don’t rush yourself. Take your time developing that relationship. You deserve to have at least one place where you can be yourself without pressure.
No judging you
It isn’t my job to judge you. It’s my job to help you, to understand you and help you move forward in life. Friends can be judge can’t they! The image you want others to see can be put aside while talking within therapy sessions.
Outside of circles
A therapist isn’t inside your circle of friends or family so doesn’t have preconceived ideas on who you are based on others/gossips viewpoint. You shouldn’t bump into your therapist at your local shop! If you do then I for one wouldn’t acknowledge you unless you came to me first. You shouldn’t have to explain to anyone around you who I am . The fact you even see a therapist is confidential. Think of a therapist like a priest. You can confess, own up to and cry your eyes out to if you wish. It goes no further.
A second pair of eyes
Having another persons ideas on something can open up so many things. Its my job to ask you the right questions at the right time to help you look at things in a different way, or a deeper way. Often our own viewpoint can be distorted or bias based on our own experiences of the world. Having a person positively challenge you can be enlightening, even freeing emotionally and mentally.
What is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a talking therapy that helps people with a broad variety of mental illnesses and emotional difficulties. Psychotherapy can help eliminate or control troubling symptoms so a person can function better and can increase well-being and healing.
Problems helped by psychotherapy include difficulties in coping with daily life; the impact of trauma, medical illness or loss, like the death of a loved one; and specific mental disorders, like depression or anxiety. There are several different types of psychotherapy and some types may work better with certain problems or issues. Psychotherapy may be used in combination with medication or other therapies.
relevant history of the field of psychology
The greeks first had the idea that mental health issues could be treated. Some of their ideas may not be used today but they did encourage the use of talking as a good treatment in unburdening the mind. Sigmund Freud came to the conclusion in the 1800 that keeping thoughts, feelings and memories buried in our unconscious mind was the cause of some mental illnesses. He worked in a hospital with what was then called ‘neurotic’ patients. Freud was working as a neurologist and developed methods to help bring these hidden thoughts and memories to the surface.
Freud’s work, alongside apprentices such as Alfred Adler, Otto Rank, Karl Abraham, Snador Ferenczi and Carl Jung, led to the development of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy.
The definition of the term ‘psychotherapy’ / qualitative results vs quantitative
Psychotherapy began with the practice of psychoanalysis, the "talking cure" developed by Sigmund Freud. Soon afterwards, theorists such as Alfred Adler and Carl Jung began to introduce new conceptions about psychological functioning and change different fields of study circling around the practice of psychotherapy.
Often psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic counselling are called talking therapies. This is because they involve talking about emotional difficulty with a trained therapist. That can be anything from grief to anxiety, relationship difficulties to addiction. Psychology alone doesn’t make for good therapy. A person who has knowledge in psychology also needs skills in counselling to be able to use that knowledge affectively. Talking therapies are mostly gentle approaches rather than the old fashioned distant style of therapy or even medical procedures to cure depression.
Years ago people were locked up in asylums ,often mistreated and ignored. Mental health wasn’t always understood. Thankfully those days we have much more knowledge and understanding of how the mind works and these extreme treatments are no longer used. Psychotherapy is in short PSYCHOlogy/THERAPY mix. More person centred in its approach.
Different theories that have evolved from psychotherapy:
Carl Yung is well known the the circles of psychology. His theories on therapy stem from Freud. His theries are based on the idea that we as humans share a collective consciousness with these around us and our relatives. This collective consciousness helps us to make sense of the world around us.
Alfred Adler used to work alongside Freud. Well known for his theories in talking therapies
CBT
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
CBT aims to help you change the way you think (cognitive) and what you do (behaviour). Instead of looking at past causes, it puts more emphasis on current problems, finding solutions to help you feel better now.
How you THINK = How you FEEL.= How you BEHAVE = Change your LIFE
The way we think about situations affects the way we feel and behave. If we view a situation negatively, we may experience negative emotions and feelings which lead us to behave in an unhelpful way. Your therapist will help you identify and challenge any negative thinking so you can deal with situations better and behave in a more positive way
CBT can be helpful for depression, anxiety, stress, phobias, obsessions, eating disorders and managing long term conditions.
Hypnotherapy/hypnotherapist
noun
a person who uses hypnosis to treat people who have physical or emotional problems https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/hypnotherapist
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR was developed to resolve symptoms resulting from disturbing and traumatic life experiences. It is particularly used in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
EMDR is thought to imitate the psychological state that we enter when in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Studies show that when in REM sleep we are able to make new associations between things very rapidly. EMDR is designed to tap into this high-speed processing mode that we all have, helping the brain to process the unresolved memories and make them less distressing.
Humanistic Therapy
This approach focuses on the individual as a whole. It encourages people to think about their feelings and take responsibility for their thoughts and actions. The emphasis is on self-development and achieving your highest potential rather than on problematic behaviour. Person-centred therapy, Gestalt, existential therapy, solution-focused therapy and transactional analysis are all humanistic approaches.