Therapies

EMDR – Eye Movement, Desensitisation and Reprocessing:

EMDR is an interactive psychotherapy that enables people to heal from symptoms, emotional distress and disturbing life experiences.  Repeated studies show that EMDR therapy is an effective treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma. EMDR changes the way the brain processes information and experiences leading to deep and lasting change, demonstrating that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma like how the body recovers from physical trauma.  For example, when you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. However, if a foreign object irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. It doesn’t heal. But, once the object is removed, healing continues.  EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with our mental processes.  The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health.  If the system is blocked by the impact of a disturbing event (a memory), the emotional wound festers and can cause intense and ongoing suffering.  Once the object/memory is addressed, then healing resumes.  EMDR allows trauma to be remembered rather then relieved.

CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy:

CBT is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on how a person’s thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes affect their feelings and behaviours and is a form of psychological treatment. It focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful cognitive distortions and behaviours and improving emotional regulation and the development of personal coping strategies that focus on current problems. CBT works on the premise that problems arise from the meanings people give to events, as well as the events themselves. Unhelpful thoughts can make it difficult for a person to function confidently in different situations.

CBT can lead to significant improvement in functioning and quality of life and can be good for anyone who needs support to challenge unhelpful thoughts that are preventing them from reaching their potential or living the life they want. It is based on the understanding that thinking negatively is a habit that, like any other habit, can be broken. Increasing quality of life.

Psychotherapy and Adult Attachment:

Some people have childhoods and upbringings that equip them for life. Not just practically but emotionally. They grow up to be resilient and happy individuals.
Then something happens that throws them off course. With the help of their supports Family/Friends they work through what are difficult times and return to leading fulfilling and happy lives. On other occasions some people find that friends and family are not enough, and a little extra help is needed to put them back on track. In a case such as this Counselling can help to restore the balance. Some symptoms of attachment issues are:
• Difficulty forming emotional bonds to others
• Limited experience of positive emotions
• Difficulty with physical or emotional closeness or boundaries
• Anxiety
• Mood changes
• Intense reactions to changes in routine or attempts to control
• Engaging in high-risk behaviours such as substance abuse
• Behavioural difficulties or unpredictable behaviour
• Relationship problems

Please note that some of these symptoms are also similar to other mental health diagnoses, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or Depression. Therefore, if you experience some of these symptoms, it is important to see seek a formal diagnosis via your GP.

Adult attachment issues often begin from a childhood. During childhood, we all form connections in the brain, enabling us to interact socially, emotionally, and mentally. When a child is raised in an abusive or neglectful environment, the links they make are maladaptive. Children living in an unhealthy home environment make connections that help them “survive,” and they learn to rely on these maladaptive survival skills long past the time when they are needed. Sometimes problems are deep rooted when trauma has occurred earlier in our lives. This could be due to family break-up, death, child abuse, sexual abuse, rape or family mental health issues. The ways we have managed to survive in the world can affect every part of how we are and how we behave with others. Although we survive, this does not mean that we are necessarily happy.

Adults who suffer from attachment issues can display behaviour and thought patterns that can be destructive to relationships. In these situation Psychotherapies can help. Psychotherapy is also known as talk therapy. Research shows that therapy can be a powerful tool in healing from attachment issues and early childhood traumas.

Some Psychotherapy Techniques

• Cognitive Therapy– Cognitive therapy works on a model that says feelings, behaviours, and thoughts are all related. With that in mind, a person can learn to identify issues
• Behavioural Therapy– Behavioural and cognitive therapy are used together by many therapists, but they can be used independently as well. Behavioural therapy focuses on identifying maladaptive behaviours and using specific techniques to control unwanted behaviour
• Holistic Therapy– An holistic therapist will use multiple psychotherapy techniques at once. This method allows the therapist to test out all of the different methods available to create a custom therapeutic approach.
• Humanistic Therapy– The humanistic approach to therapy centres on the therapist-patient relationship. All psychotherapy depends on the bond between therapist and patient, but this approach puts both the therapist and patient on equal ground. The therapist helps the individual to work through their issues by discovering answers together.