CBT is the most widely used psychological therapy due to its proven effectiveness in randomised controlled trials in treating mood and anxiety disorders. CBT is a very active and collaborative therapy involving work between therapy sessions which maximises the effectiveness of the therapeutic hour. Simply put it focusses upon the interplay between feelings, thoughts and behaviours and attempts to identify and change unhelpful patterns of underlying core thinking, developed as a consequence of past experiences. There are specific types of CBT or treatment models to treat specific types of anxiety and mood disorders

Schema Focussed Cognitive Therapy (Jeff Young) developed from CBT and focuses more on identifying and modifying unhelpful underlying core-beliefs (core schema or Lifetraps) that underlie psychological difficulties and perpetuate patterns of unhelpful behaviour. Jeff Young has identified 18 types of underlying negative core schema which develop in earlier life in response to adverse early experiences and unmet emotional and psychological needs. Schema therapy is used to treat more enduring recurring and pervasive problems and also personality problems and disorders

EMDR along with Trauma- focussed CBT is recommended in the NICE guidelines (National Institute for clinical Excellence) for the treatment of Post–traumatic stress disorder. It can also be used to treat other psychological disorders arising from traumatic experiences.

Trauma memories are not like normal memoires which are stored away in our memory and don’t cause us any problems. Trauma memories tend to overwhelm the nervous system and because they are so distressing and anxiety provoking, people tend to avoid thinking about them and connecting with the emotions attached to them. As a result these memories often get stuck in the nervous system “frozen in time” and associated with extreme anxiety and distress. These unprocessed traumatic memories continue to be “pop up” at various times and be re-experienced through intrusive thoughts, flashbacks and nightmares of the trauma.

EMDR works by targeting distressing and anxiety provoking trauma memories and allowing the sufferer to emotionally process these memories and store them away so that they no longer cause intrusive symptoms. The eye-movements which are employed in EMDR whilst remembering the trauma memories work by connecting right (emotional) and Left (logical brain) which helps the person undergoing it integrate new material and further helps emotional processing

IPT is used to treat depression and Bulimia Nervosa, where it has been shown to be an effective treatment. It focusses on depression in the context of relationship issues is especially useful when depression has occurred in response to bereavement, loss, life transitions, relationship problems/disputes and more fundamental problems in relating. When depression has occurs in response any of these situations the person in therapy is encouraged to see their depression in illness terms and also engage with support available from their network of friends and family

Mindfulness therapy and mindfulness meditation can be used as an approach on its own and also in conjunction with other treatment approaches to reduce stress and anxiety. Mindfulness approaches encourage awareness of oneself in the here and now and this can reduce anxiety which relates to thoughts about the future or past. It has been proven to be effective in reducing stress and anxiety and also preventing relapse in people who have recovered from depression. I often encourage clients to embark on a mindfulness program (using self-help materials or in a group program) alongside treatment

CBASP is a treatment for chronic depression.  CBASP helps sufferers to examine the consequences of their interpersonal behavior. By learning to rely less on assumptions stemming from past relationships, and more on the actual environment, people find that they are better able to make more effective assumptions about others. During this retraining, patients become perceptually connected to their environment. Perceptual connectedness means that the person becomes accessible to feedback from others, and learns to get more out of interpersonal interactions. In a way, CBASP helps people to get what they want (i.e. have more meaningful rewarding relationships) from others. This goal is accomplished through a technique known as situational analysis