Clinical Psychologists (CPs) train for up to 10 years in how to help individuals, couples and families who are having emotional difficulties. We don’t prescribe medication and are bound professional codes of conduct. We help by using the talking therapy that best suits your needs following a thorough assessment.

 

Some examples of talking therapies are: 

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Compassion-Focussed Therapy (CFT)

• Systemic psychotherapy 

• Psychodynamic psychotherapy

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These therapies are well-researched methods of understanding problems and making real change, and not simply just listening. If you think what you need is an expert listener; someone who you can speak to in confidence and just ‘get things off your chest’, The Butterfly Trust is a good place to start. If you feel that you need something more than listening and advice, please contact me for assessment. Your GP might help you decide, or look at What I can help with.

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All appointments are completely confidential, the limits of which I would discuss at our first meeting. I usually use the first few meetings (‘assessment’) to get to know you and discuss the situation. We then would decide together what the best course of action would be; either a one-off session, regular sessions with me, or another service closer to home. I can usually see people for as long as they need.

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Therapy is an active, two-way process. This means that however experienced and skilled your therapist is, change can only happen when you are ready and willing to put some work into your sessions and also in your own time outside of sessions. This will mean attending regularly, trying things that we discuss, keeping a written record and being open and honest about what you feel and think. During sessions we would have a structured plan of action, which we would draw out together from what we discuss. This might include what you have experienced in the past that might influence how you feel now, what seemed to have triggered the problem, what might be keeping the problem going and what is helping you so far. Clinical psychologists call this formulation and it guides what we work on and how.