top of page

Therapies

Management of Mental Illness

Many people with a history of mental illness have a complex array of needs that must be considered. Case management is one of the major types of community aftercare that is used to provide ongoing management of chronic or recurring illness. Active case management is especially important for people who have been repeatedly hospitalised for mental illness. Too often these people experience a 'revolving door', a recurring pattern of discharge and re-admission to hospital because they are not adequately supported in the community. The more chronic and disabling the experience of mental illness, the more a case management approach to continuing care is required for people with mental illness, and their families and carers.
 

Existential Psychotherapy

Existential psychotherapy is a philosophical method of therapy that operates on the belief that inner conflict within a person is due to that individual's confrontation with the givens of existence.[1] These givens, as noted by Irvin D. Yalom, are: the inevitability of death, freedom and its attendant responsibility, existential isolation (referring tophenomenology), and finally meaninglessness. These four givens, also referred to as ultimate concerns, form the body of existential psychotherapy and compose the framework in which a therapist conceptualizes a client's problem in order to develop a method of treatment. In the British School of Existential therapy (Cooper, 2003), these givens are seen as predictable tensions and paradoxes of the four dimensions of human existence, the physical, social, personal and spiritual realms 

Conversational Model Psychotherapy

The Conversational Model views the aim of therapy as allowing the growth of the patient's self through encouraging a form of conversational relating called 'aloneness-togetherness'. This phrase is reminiscent of Winnicott's idea of the importance of being able to be 'alone in the presence of another'. The client comes to eventually feel recognised, accepted and understood as who they are; their sense of personal being, or self, is fostered; and they can start to drop the destructive defenses which disrupt their sense of personal being.

 

Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that addresses dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviors and cognitive processes and contents through a number of goal-oriented, explicit systematic procedures. The name refers to behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and to therapy based upon a combination of basic behavioral and cognitiveprinciples and research. Most therapists working with patients dealing with anxiety and depression use a blend of cognitive and behavioral therapy. This technique acknowledges that there may be behaviors that cannot be controlled through rational thought. CBT is "problem focused" (undertaken for specific problems) and "action oriented" (therapist tries to assist the client in selecting specific strategies to help address those problems).

Which one for me

Choosing the most helpful form of therapy can be quite daunting as you scroll through the verious types that are offered.

 

The most important aspect of any therapy is that you feel comfortable with your therapist and can form a therapeutic working relationship that helps you work through the dilemmas or problems you are facing.

 

As you can see from what I can offer, the aim is to work within a framework that suits your style of relating.

 

During the assessment phase of therapy, we can work out together, which approaches you would like to work within.

 

As a Nurse Practitioner and a Credentialled Mental Health Nurse, I am able to  work collaboratively with your GP or Psychiatrist in helping you with managing your illness and adjustment to the various treatments you may require

Dialectic-Behaviour Therapy

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a therapy designed to help people change patterns of behavior that are not effective, such as self-harm, suicidal thinking and substance abuse. This approach works towards helping people increase their emotional and cognitive regulation by learning about the triggers that lead to reactive states and helping to assess which coping skills to apply in the sequence of events, thoughts, feelings and behaviors that lead to the undesired behavior. DBT assumes that people are doing the best that they can, but either are lacking the skills or are influenced by positive or negative reinforcement that interfere with one’s functioning.

 

Schema-Therapy

Schema therapy is an innovative psychotherapy developed by Dr. Jeffrey Young for personality disorders, chronic depression,  and other difficult individual and couples problems.

Schema therapy integrates elements of cognitive therapy, behavior therapy, object relations, and gestalt therapy into one unified, systematic approach to treatment.

Schema therapy has recently been blended with mindfulness meditation for clients who want to add a spiritual dimension to their lives. 

EMDR (Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing)

EMDR therapy is a psychotherapy that uses rhythmic left-right (bilateral) stimulation to help people recover from trauma or other distressing life experiences.

 

Bilateral stimulation, along with focusing on the traumatic memory, is thought to reduce the memory's emotional impact. Then you can begin to heal from the fear and pain associated with the trauma you experienced. Over time, exposure to these memories reduces or eliminates your negative response to them.

ESF Therapy Centre - Counselling & Psychotherapy

bottom of page