Psychotherapy
                           

While there are different interpretations of how psychotherapy can and should be defined, perhaps the simplest description is that it is the rational and accessible treatment of emotional and psychological disorders. It is neither esoteric nor mystical but entirely logical and is used to treat a number of conditions, some of which are outlined below. It is important to distinguish modern psychotherapy from Freudian psychoanalysis, which has as its central premise the theory that many problems originate from past sexual frustrations and disturbances.

Psychotherapy hinges on communication between the therapist and the individual, though it is much more than simply talking about the individual's problems. It is a thoroughly interactive relationship and is based on proven therapeutic techniques, structures and principles.

Main reasons for seeing a therapist:

The main psychological complaints are stress, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), post-traumatic stress, phobias and eating disorders. There is a brief overview of all these on the MAIN DISORDERS page, and full articles concerning each of these areas will appear on this site over the next few months.

Other reasons why people seek out a therapist:

Relationship Problems
Often, emotional distress comes from the difficulties that people may have in thier relationships. Troubled relationships may involve a spouse, parent, child, co-worker or significant other. Therapy can help people understand the root of the problem and provide them with the tools they need to correct it.

Skills Acquisition
Some emotional distress or relationship problems are associated with the lack of a particular skill. Such problems can include excessive shyness, poor communication, lack of assertiveness or poor anger control. Psychotherapy enables people to acquire or improve these skills. In such cases, the treatment focuses on teaching people to be able to do what they need to do to feel better.

Recent Loss
Powerful attachments to others are uniquely human experiences. Enduring breaks in these attachments - through death or separation - can result in great emotional pain. Psychotherapy can help people cope with the loss.

Personal Growth
Though you may have neither clinical nor psychological conditions or symptoms (and you are reading this article purely out of curiosity) psychotherapy can help you learn more about yourself and others and teach you how to control your life more effectively. It can help you overcome obstacles that have kept you from reaching your goals and becoming the person you want to be.

Stop smoking - See the MAIN DISORDERS page for a brief overview.

Stage Fright - See the MAIN DISORDERS page for a brief overview.

The Initial Consultation:

The Initial Consultation is typically one hour and fifteen minutes in duration. We will start by discussing issues of confidentiality before I ask you to complete a ten-minute questionnaire relating to basic information (name, age, telephone number, marital status etc.) and more specific information concerning your medical history.

We will then discuss your problems at some length before looking at various models and techniques that I feel most appropriate in addressing them. It will also be a time for me to dispel any misunderstandings that you may have concerning psychotherapy (and in particular, hypnotherapy) and will give you an ideal opportunity to ask me questions about the treatment process and the way forward.

The length of treatment is dependant on the type of problem/s you have and I will work closely with you in establishing a programme to suit your goals, needs, finances and availability.

Principal Techniques:

It is important at this stage to mention that we utilise a number of therapeutic techniques at the North London Centre of Psychotherapy, and these are by and large dependant on the specifc psychological problems that you may be facing. As the client, you must be perfectly comfortable with the treatment that is offered to you and each method will be explained in detail before we commence. The following three methods are what I personally find particularly effective, though I must emphasise once more that they are by no means all the techniques that are practised at our centre.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the most widely used psychotherapeutic treatment, particularly within the NHS. It is different to a number of therapies that encourage the client to be totally dependant on the therapist as part of the treatment process. CBT favours a more equal relationship that is problem-focused and perhaps more practical. We would in effect work together to identify key problems before formulating individual strategies to combat them. This collaborative approach could be described as the hallmark of CBT. There are a number of reasons for including you, the client, in the problem-solving process as much as possible:

COLLABORATION:

Gives you a say in the therapy process and so reduces conflict

Fosters a sense of self-efficacy by giving you an active role.

Encourages the learning of self-help techniques that can be continued when the therapy is ended.

Allows an active input from the person who knows most about the problem – yourself.

Cognitive therapy was initiated and developed in the early 1960’s by Dr Aaron Beck of the University of Pennsylvania. Beck saw cognitive therapy as initially addressing symptom relief, though its ultimate goals are to remove systematic biases in thinking and modify the core beliefs that predispose individuals to future distress.

The focus of CBT is on the thoughts, beliefs, images and attitudes that we hold (cognitive processes, or schemas – described by Beck as being developed early in life from personal experiences and identifications with significant others, and reinforced by further learning experiences and the way these relate to the way we behave) These processes are looked at from the perspective of what evidence supports them and whether they lead to functional, or dysfunctional behaviour. CBT reframing involves changing the meanings placed on events so that more reasonable emotional reactions and behaviours follow.

Conclusions derived from previous sessions will also be discussed. Initially, I will take an active part in structuring the sessions but as progress is made, and you start to grasp the principals you find most useful, you will take more and more responsibility for the actual content of the sessions. This is so you can feel empowered to continue working independently of me once the sessions have reached a conclusion.

Gestalt Psychotherapy

Gestalt psychotherapy can seem like a breath of fresh air compared to other psychotherapeutic disciplines, particularly when considering its flexibility and its numerous approaches. It helps clients ingratiate their feelings, actions, thoughts and relationships so as to become more grounded and self-confident and heightens their quality of contact – leading them to a greater sense of being alive and in touch with other people. The ultimate result enables clients to make more fulfilling decisions and to take increasingly significant actions in their daily lives.

Gestalt psychotherapy emerged from the clinical work of two German psychotherapists, Frederick Saloman “Fritz” Perls (1893 – 1970) and his wife Laura (1905 – 1990) an existentialist, philosopher and student of the Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer. Gestaltists believe that we live too much “in our heads”. Because of this, we tend to disregard what is going on in our bodies, which is why Gestalt therapists pay so much attention to the client’s gestures, mannerisms and body language. To emphasise this, Perls famously suggested that we lose our minds and come to our senses.

It is perfectly suited to those suffering from a number of psychological complaints. I will provide you with a safe, non-judgemental environment that will enable you to explain your feelings, fears, anxieties and worries without any embarrassment or fear. You will be encouraged to explore your emotional, cognitive and physical responses to each of your problems and create, with my help, the courage to make what we deem to be satisfying choices that lead to an inner-confidence that you can cope. In partnership with myself, you will learn how events from your past may still be impacting on present circumstances and work to change your situation whilst at the same time devising new patterns of response that will give you more satisfying results.

To help foster awareness, I may use a number of different techniques. Perhaps the most well known of Gestalt therapy’s numerous applications, though not necessarily one we need to utilise, is Psychodrama. This involves the client facing an empty chair or space and speaking to another “person” whom they have unresolved issues with. Top Dog (controller) and Underdog (controlled) dialogues are the dramatic features of this technique.

Bodywork focuses on making you aware that your physical responses to your problems are perhaps a reflection of your repressed emotions, encouraging you to maintain or even exaggerate your movements (frowning, grimacing, fidgeting and clenching of fists are but a few examples of such physical manifestations) in order for you to eventually gain release from such emotions.

Neuro-linguistic Programming

Neuro-lingustic Programming (NLP) is a well-known set of principals and beliefs, even if few people could give you an actual definition. 

NLP was developed in the mid-1970’s by psychology graduate Richard Bandler and psychologist and linguist John Grinder. They looked closely at the work of three well-known psychotherapists, Fritz Perls, whose Gestalt therapy, as we have seen,  emphasised self-awareness of one’s feelings, family systems therapist Virginia Satir (1916 - 1988) and the renowned hypnotherapist Milton Erickson (1901 - 1980).

Grinder and Bandler distilled the crucial elements of their techniques into one simplified therapeutic model. The general definition of NLP is that it is a way of thinking that gives us a number of guiding principals and practical techniques that can help us get more out of life.  It is based on a set of key pre-suppositions (or Beliefs of Excellence) that can be summarised as follows:

If someone can do something, it can be modeled and taught to anyone.

We already have all the resources we need to change our lives.

Behind every behaviour is a positive intention.

There is no such thing as failure – only feedback.

We cannot fail to communicate.

In any system, the element with the most flexibility exerts the most influence.

These pre-suppositions support the view that change in any situation is very much possible if it is so desired. Change can be created by:

Identifying the present state

Identifying the desired state

Identifying the appropriate resources (internal states, physiology, information of skills that you need to get from the present state to the desired state)

Eliminating any interferences through using those resources

Utilising NLP significantly negates key psychological problems by inducing in you, the client, easily grasped techniques to overcome them.

The first step:

Even by taking the simple step of looking at this web site, you have embarked on a fascinating journey of self-discovery – one that will remain with you for the rest of your life. By just simply identifying and acknowledging that you may have problems or issues that need resolving, you have already started the healing process. You have nothing to fear and absolutely everything to gain.