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THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES
Each of the therapeutic approaches I use is supported by a robust research evidence base. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in particular is firmly embedded within the recommendations from NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) about the most effective interventions for psychological disorders.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT explores how a person’s thinking patterns influence their emotional reactions to events, and how these patterns inform choices about how to respond (behaviours). It aims to identify unhelpful thought-feeling-behaviour cycles, and to help you develop alternative ways of thinking about and/or responding to trigger situations. Treatment is based on a personalised formulation, and CBT is a collaborative, structured and time-limited type of talking therapy, which suits many people.
There is a great deal of research evidence to support the use of CBT to treat many common mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, and sleep difficulties, for example. The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP) is the body responsible for accrediting CBT practitioners, and the website (www.babcp.com) includes lots of useful information for members of the public, including an online register of accredited CBT therapists (www.cbtregisteruk.com).
Video Interaction Guidance (VIG)
Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) is a method which aims to improve communication and relationships. Participants are closely supported to view and reflect on short edited video clips of real situations and personal interactions. The client-centred, sensitive approach enables participants to become more aware of their skills and strengths in communication/relating, and to be empowered by the guider to build on these strengths, challenge assumptions, and make desired changes. VIG is an evidence-based method that has its roots in theories of attachment, mentalisation (mind-mindedness) and relational intersubjectivity. It also has a strong ethical base: at the heart of VIG is the understanding that relationships are built on respect, trust, hope, compassion, cooperation and appreciation. The approach enables change through self-modelling and video feedback in the context of a respectful and collaborative partnership between the participant and the guider. The key concept in VIG is attunement - between parent and child, but also between parent and guider.
VIG was originally developed as an intervention to develop strong attunement and attachment between a child and caregiver. It is recommended in the UK by NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) and it is also listed as a recommended intervention in the 1001 Critical Days cross-party manifesto. The principles and practice of VIG are very versatile and can be applied to pretty much any relationship and any age range.
https://www.videointeractionguidance.net.
Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)
CFT, one of the 'third-wave' cognitive approaches, is a system of psychotherapy that integrates techniques from CBT with concepts from evolutionary psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, Buddhist philosophy and neuroscience. CFT can be especially helpful for people who experience high levels of shame and self-criticism, and there's good evidence to show that developing skills in self-compassion can be very helpful in promoting good emotional regulation too. A central premise of the CFT model is that the human brain has evolved three distinct emotion regulation systems: a threat/protection system, a drive/resource-seeking system, and a soothing/attachment system. CFT focuses on the links between cognitive behavioural patterns and these systems of emotional regulation, whose development is strongly influenced by our early experiences. Coming to understand these three systems and how they are working for us, as well as where our brains might be tripping us up, provides rich opportunities for change and growth. In my experience, CFT is often a particularly good model for therapy in the perinatal period.
Watch, Wait and Wonder (WWW)
WWW is a child-led psychotherapeutic approach that provides an unstructured framework within which to use spontaneous activity and play to reflect on the child’s thoughts, feelings and desires, to enhance parental sensitivity and responsiveness to the child, and to build the child’s capacity to regulate emotions. WWW is especially helpful when there are relationship struggles between a parent-infant pair, and unlike many other interventions, it places the child at its centre.
Schema Therapy
Schema therapy is an integrative therapeutic approach which draws on principles from cognitive behavioural therapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and attachment theory. Whilst it was originally developed by Jeffrey Young and his colleagues to treat people with more complex difficulties who did not seem to benefit from CBT, there is good evidence that schema therapy is a very effective approach to the treatment of a wide range of presenting problems - not just the most complex ones. The model assumes that all humans share a set of core, universal emotional needs, and suggests that if these needs are not consistently met, we have to develop ways to make sense of ourselves and the world to help us cope with the impact of this experience. These ways of making sense are called 'schemas'. Our schemas are helpful and adaptive in childhood when they represent the best possible fit between us and our environment at the time, and they help us to cope with the pain of having unmet needs. But they can cause significant problems for us in adulthood because they tend to be very persistent and rigid, meaning that we can feel as though we are stuck in unhelpful patterns. In schema therapy, we explore your early attachment experiences to map out how you have learned to cope with unmet emotional needs in order to better understand how these earlier experiences might be showing up now in your adult life, and we work together to help you update these schemas so that they reflect your current circumstances, values and priorities.
