There are many forms of psychological therapy currently available, though not all have been subjected to the level of scrutiny that would be expected for those practised within the NHS. As a former NHS employee, I will only use an evidence-based approaches that have been shown to be effective in reducing psychological distress. On top of being a Clinical Psychologist with Health and Care Profession Council (HCPC) registration, I am also an accredited practitioner of the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP). I also work on the Staffordshire University Clinical Psychology training course and lead the Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. This means I am obligated to keep abreast of emerging new approaches and strictly appraise the evidence that new techniques and strategies may bring.

In terms of what psychological therapy I can offer, I do not believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach, because human beings are far too complex to be neatly packaged into boxes. However, that said, evidence shows that adhering to an overall way of looking at things produces better outcomes for people and hence I would say that my therapeutic approach is loosely based in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. I have also been trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy and systemic therapy and so incorporate ideas and techniques from these approaches, but claim no expertise in them.

The central tenet of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is that most things and events are neutral, but that our interpretation of the events means that we attached (sometimes) too much significance to them. Let me use an example to explain how this works:

Imagine there are 100 people boarding an aircraft; 50 people enjoy flying and they use the front entrance of the plane. The remaining 50 people fear flying and enter the aircraft using the back entrance. As a neutral observer, I look around the plane and ask some questions. The people at the front are fidgety and appear agitated. I ask them what is going through their minds and they tell me “I am so excited to be going on holiday”, “I love the feel of speed as the plane roars up the runway”, “I wish they’d hurry up and close the doors so we can get underway”. I walk up the plane and notice the people at the back are also fidgety and appear agitated. I ask them what is going through their minds and they tell me “I wish I’d never booked this holiday”, “I’m going to panic when they close the doors”, “From the time the engines start until they stop I’m terrified of crashing”. Given that all 100 people are going on the same plane ride, what makes the first 50 excited and the remaining 50 terrified? CBT might conclude that the first 50 people see all aspects of the situation and do not make catastrophic misinterpretations; whereas, the last 50 people are only focusing on what can go wrong without taking on board evidence that air travel is by and far the safest method of transport we have.

This means that in some disorders, we can spend time focusing on what may or may not be true, without using the evidence around us to question our beliefs. Using CBT, you can be helped to identify the context within which your problem arose, and what now keeps it going. You can learn useful strategies to ensure you are using all available evidence to hand and draw conclusions using evidence, rather than our own way of thinking and feeling about things. Using this approach is known to achieve sustained reduction of psychological distress, which in turn will help you to achieve your goals in leading a more fulfilling life. Please use the form below to contact me.