Therapy in Colchester

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What difficulties can be addressed in therapy?
There are many reasons why people come into therapy. They might want to: - understand themselves better - make sense of past experiences - let go of coping strategies which are no longer working - work through a recent or past trauma - respect themselves more - attain a greater sense of control over their lives - integrate parts of themselves which appear to work separately Or they might be: - feeling depressed or isolated - feeling out of control at times - in difficult relationships with partners or others - going through or recovering from a relationship breakdown - suffering from low self-confidence - behaving in ways which are destructive or damaging in some way - struggling with sexual identity - experiencing difficulties in work or dealing with redundancy or unemployment - burdened by the responsibility of others - experiencing serious health problems - unable to deal with the death or loss of a loved one - students who need to undergo therapy during their training What will the first session be like? Usually I can offer an initial consultation within a week. Evening appointments are more difficult to accommodate than daytimes ones, so the more flexible you can be, the sooner you can be seen. An initial consultation session lasts between 50 and 90 minutes. Attending this session is not a commitment to start therapy, rather it is an opportunity to talk about your problems and discuss any concerns you might have about starting therapy. In my professional capacity I assess whether what I have to offer is what you need. It is also an opportunity for you to assess whether you think you want to work with me. For some people it is very difficult sharing personal details and life histories with a stranger, but for others it is easier than with people who know them. You will not be put you under any pressure to disclose anything which you don't want to disclose. Some questions might be asked for clarification or to help you out. Connections, interpretations and observations will be made. Some clients need more help than others in the first session - there is no right or wrong way. Practical issues such as session times, any pre-booked holidays and fees have to be discussed and agreed. You may want a second session before you decide and that is quite acceptable. Some people seeking therapy see more than one therapist for initial sessions before making a final decision. If you decide to start therapy, I will usually provide a pack containing some reading material which might be helpful and some questionnaires which you are not obliged to complete, but which can be useful, along with other information, initially and during therapy period for monitoring purposes. I will also provide advanced a schedule of pre-planned breaks. What is Psychodynamic Psychotherapy? The psychoanalytic or psychodynamic therapist is concerned to approach the client empathetically from the "inside" in order to understand their inner world in relation to past experiences. Everybody uses psychological coping mechanisms or strategies in times of stress to protect themselves. These are held at different levels of consciousness and they affect feelings, beliefs and behaviours. Some of these strategies are helpful and others are not. Sometimes they were very useful in childhood, but as adults might be ineffective or even harmful. Part of the work is to bring to understanding those coping strategies which cause conflict, anxiety or pain and to provide opportunities to modify them. Important early experiences that might have been damaging or lacking can distort the processes of maturation and learning and can prevent people from dealing with life and all that it can throw up. The work provides opportunities to understand early attachment patterns and to modify the internal structures providing the capacity to form more secure and creative relationships. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a treatment for relieving mental and emotional distress. It is often described as the "talking cure" and has its roots in psychoanalysis. Although psychodynamic practice retains much of the theory, the therapist no longer retains the blank screen approach, but now is more "present" and real.
What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a psychotherapy treatment which works well to alleviate the distressing symptoms of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), such as experiencing a road traffic accident, or major incident, being attacked or having a succession of smaller traumas. Trauma can cause people to develop unrealistic views e.g. being unsafe, useless, unlovable etc.. And when specific memories are triggered traumatised people can feel as if they are in the experience in the "present" rather than it being in the "past". Trauma sufferers can become hyper-vigilant, can have very disturbed sleep patterns and become depressed. Stress-related physical symptoms can also occur. It can affect family and working lives and render people to be quite incapacitated. Increasingly today, around 25 years after EMDR was developed by Francine Shapiro in the USA, the therapy is being used to alleviate many other forms of distress such as panic attack, phobias, etc.. By no means, however, should this therapy be thought of as a "one size fits all," - it is not suitable for all presenting problems and/or for everybody. It is often asked if EMDR is the same as hypnosis and there are actually three distinct differences. First, in hypnosis the therapist will begin by inducing in the patient an altered state of mental relaxation and with EMDR mental relaxation is not attempted, rather attempts are actually made to connect with an anxious state. Second, therapists use hypnosis to assist in the development of a single focused state of receptivity and in EMDR attempts are made to maintain the multiple focus of positive and negative currently held beliefs, as well as the emotional and physical disturbances brought about by imaging the worst part of a memory. Third, one of the proposed effects of hypnotising a person is to decrease their "generalized reality orientation" which can be used to increase fantasy and imagination. In EMDR attempts are made towards repeatedly grounding the client by referencing current feelings and body sensations to prevent the patient from drifting away from reality. There is a standard eight phase approach that is followed in EMDR therapy. This includes taking a complete history, preparation sessions, identifying target memories, beliefs and physical sensations. The preparation time varies between cases. In the processing stage of the work, with the help of bilateral stimulations (e.g. it could be side to side eye movements or alternating taps to the hands or tones from ear to ear) the client concentrates on aspects of the disturbing experience, the physical sensations, the emotions, the pictures which emerge when thinking about the named experience and the belief about self. The aim of the therapy is to alter the hard-wiring of the brain and to make it possible for previously held negative beliefs to be changed into positive ones. Past memories can thus be tolerated by the whole system and are no longer problematic. The number of EMDR sessions depends upon the specific problem and client history.
What is Lifespan Integration
Lifespan Integration is a new psycho-neurological/body/mind therapy which was devised by an American Psychotherapist called Peggy Pace. With 22 years of psychotherapy experience and an interest in Jungian psychology, attachment, neuroscience and EMDR, she began using a life-line as a tool which seemed to bring together all that she had been addressing in various ways, but which often took a lot longer. Traumatic experiences which occur during development (before and after birth) can have profound and lasting effects. Until recently, the view among neuroscientists was that the human brain continued to develop through childhood, but once completed, no further synaptic growth could occur. There is now a good deal of evidence from sophisticated scans etc. that neural networks are not static and that the cerebral cortex has the capacity to reorganize itself. This is what is called "neural plasticity". Brain development is an active process between primary carer and child. For optimal neural development in the infant and young child, the carer must be finely tuned to the child and receptive to his/her changing states and needs. When the carer is prevented from providing this for whatever reason or if the parent cannot regulate his/her own emotions, neural development in the child can be impaired and this has lasting impact into adulthood. Some people describe their experiences as if there are quite separate parts of them which get activated in certain circumstances, e.g. when they are being criticised, they feel just as if they are still that little child who was being told that they were useless. The present adult part seems to disappear and appears again only when the experience is over. Or the adolescent part is raging at something which happened in the past, and when it gets a chance it acts in away which the adult part recognises is embarrassing or destructive, but does not seem to control. Or it might be that there is always a little voice saying, "you can do better than that" and drowning out the grown up intelligent self who thinks, "my best is good enough, I don't have to be perfect", but there is a conflict between what is thought and what is felt. The first stage in Life-Span Integration (LI) therapy is the creation of a Personal Lifespan Timeline of memories. This is completed with the therapist or in the client's own time according to need. In the Standard LI Protocol, a problem, a sensation, symptom, or past memory is identified which the client wishes to resolve. The therapist guides the client through the Personal Timeline of memories and corresponding "self states". When successful, "self states" stuck in time recognise that the upsetting experience or trauma is from the past and is no longer relevant in present time. Once accomplished, the neurological system can relax and function more healthily. There are more complex protocols for various presenting problems, but each relies on a modification of the timeline construction/repeat principle It has been described metaphorically as "French knitting" where one piece of wool is sequentially looped over itself to form a simple, but perfect construction which is strong and resilient. Or it can be thought of as a frayed rope which needs the ends to be woven back in. But my favourite analogy is the complete Russian doll, with all the parts, from baby through to adult all being "of a piece" in one organised whole. My experience so far has been positive, but, like EMDR, it is not a model which I would want to use exclusively. It is neither a remedy for all presenting problems, nor for all clients. Click here for more frequently asked questions and answers

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What difficulties can be addressed in therapy?

There are many reasons why people come into therapy. They might want to:

- understand themselves better

- make sense of past experiences

- let go of coping strategies which are no longer working

- work through a recent or past trauma

- respect themselves more

- attain a greater sense of control over their lives

- integrate parts of themselves which appear to work separately

Or they might be:

- feeling depressed or isolated

- feeling out of control at times

- in difficult relationships with partners or others

- going through or recovering from a relationship breakdown

- suffering from low self-confidence

- behaving in ways which are destructive or damaging in some way

- struggling with sexual identity

- experiencing difficulties in work or dealing with redundancy or unemployment

- burdened by the responsibility of others

- experiencing serious health problems

- unable to deal with the death or loss of a loved one

- students who need to undergo therapy during their training

What will the first session be like?

Usually I can offer an initial consultation within a week. Evening appointments are more difficult to accommodate than daytimes ones, so the more flexible you can be, the sooner you can be seen.

An initial consultation session lasts between 50 and 90 minutes. Attending this session is not a commitment to start therapy, rather it is an opportunity to talk about your problems and discuss any concerns you might have about starting therapy. In my professional capacity I assess whether what I have to offer is what you need. It is also an opportunity for you to assess whether you think you want to work with me.

For some people it is very difficult sharing personal details and life histories with a stranger, but for others it is easier than with people who know them. You will not be put you under any pressure to disclose anything which you don't want to disclose. Some questions might be asked for clarification or to help you out. Connections, interpretations and observations will be made. Some clients need more help than others in the first session - there is no right or wrong way.

Practical issues such as session times, any pre-booked holidays and fees have to be discussed and agreed.

You may want a second session before you decide and that is quite acceptable. Some people seeking therapy see more than one therapist for initial sessions before making a final decision.

If you decide to start therapy, I will usually provide a pack containing some reading material which might be helpful and some questionnaires which you are not obliged to complete, but which can be useful, along with other information, initially and during therapy period for monitoring purposes. I will also provide advanced a schedule of pre-planned breaks.

What is Psychodynamic Psychotherapy?

The psychoanalytic or psychodynamic therapist is concerned to approach the client empathetically from the "inside" in order to understand their inner world in relation to past experiences.

Everybody uses psychological coping mechanisms or strategies in times of stress to protect themselves. These are held at different levels of consciousness and they affect feelings, beliefs and behaviours. Some of these strategies are helpful and others are not. Sometimes they were very useful in childhood, but as adults might be ineffective or even harmful. Part of the work is to bring to understanding those coping strategies which cause conflict, anxiety or pain and to provide opportunities to modify them.

Important early experiences that might have been damaging or lacking can distort the processes of maturation and learning and can prevent people from dealing with life and all that it can throw up. The work provides opportunities to understand early attachment patterns and to modify the internal structures providing the capacity to form more secure and creative relationships.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a treatment for relieving mental and emotional distress. It is often described as the "talking cure" and has its roots in psychoanalysis. Although psychodynamic practice retains much of the theory, the therapist no longer retains the blank screen approach, but now is more "present" and real.

What is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a psychotherapy treatment which works well to alleviate the distressing symptoms of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), such as experiencing a road traffic accident, or major incident, being attacked or having a succession of smaller traumas. Trauma can cause people to develop unrealistic views e.g. being unsafe, useless, unlovable etc.. And when specific memories are triggered traumatised people can feel as if they are in the experience in the "present" rather than it being in the "past". Trauma sufferers can become hyper-vigilant, can have very disturbed sleep patterns and become depressed. Stress-related physical symptoms can also occur. It can affect family and working lives and render people to be quite incapacitated.

Increasingly today, around 25 years after EMDR was developed by Francine Shapiro in the USA, the therapy is being used to alleviate many other forms of distress such as panic attack, phobias, etc.. By no means, however, should this therapy be thought of as a "one size fits all," - it is not suitable for all presenting problems and/or for everybody.

It is often asked if EMDR is the same as hypnosis and there are actually three distinct differences. First, in hypnosis the therapist will begin by inducing in the patient an altered state of mental relaxation and with EMDR mental relaxation is not attempted, rather attempts are actually made to connect with an anxious state. Second, therapists use hypnosis to assist in the development of a single focused state of receptivity and in EMDR attempts are made to maintain the multiple focus of positive and negative currently held beliefs, as well as the emotional and physical disturbances brought about by imaging the worst part of a memory. Third, one of the proposed effects of hypnotising a person is to decrease their "generalized reality orientation" which can be used to increase fantasy and imagination. In EMDR attempts are made towards repeatedly grounding the client by referencing current feelings and body sensations to prevent the patient from drifting away from reality.

There is a standard eight phase approach that is followed in EMDR therapy. This includes taking a complete history, preparation sessions, identifying target memories, beliefs and physical sensations. The preparation time varies between cases.

In the processing stage of the work, with the help of bilateral stimulations (e.g. it could be side to side eye movements or alternating taps to the hands or tones from ear to ear) the client concentrates on aspects of the disturbing experience, the physical sensations, the emotions, the pictures which emerge when thinking about the named experience and the belief about self. The aim of the therapy is to alter the hard-wiring of the brain and to make it possible for previously held negative beliefs to be changed into positive ones. Past memories can thus be tolerated by the whole system and are no longer problematic.

The number of EMDR sessions depends upon the specific problem and client history.

What is Lifespan Integration

Lifespan Integration is a new psycho-neurological/body/mind therapy which was devised by an American Psychotherapist called Peggy Pace. With 22 years of psychotherapy experience and an interest in Jungian psychology, attachment, neuroscience and EMDR, she began using a life-line as a tool which seemed to bring together all that she had been addressing in various ways, but which often took a lot longer.

Traumatic experiences which occur during development (before and after birth) can have profound and lasting effects. Until recently, the view among neuroscientists was that the human brain continued to develop through childhood, but once completed, no further synaptic growth could occur. There is now a good deal of evidence from sophisticated scans etc. that neural networks are not static and that the cerebral cortex has the capacity to reorganize itself. This is what is called "neural plasticity".

Brain development is an active process between primary carer and child. For optimal neural development in the infant and young child, the carer must be finely tuned to the child and receptive to his/her changing states and needs. When the carer is prevented from providing this for whatever reason or if the parent cannot regulate his/her own emotions, neural development in the child can be impaired and this has lasting impact into adulthood.

Some people describe their experiences as if there are quite separate parts of them which get activated in certain circumstances, e.g. when they are being criticised, they feel just as if they are still that little child who was being told that they were useless. The present adult part seems to disappear and appears again only when the experience is over. Or the adolescent part is raging at something which happened in the past, and when it gets a chance it acts in away which the adult part recognises is embarrassing or destructive, but does not seem to control. Or it might be that there is always a little voice saying, "you can do better than that" and drowning out the grown up intelligent self who thinks, "my best is good enough, I don't have to be perfect", but there is a conflict between what is thought and what is felt.

The first stage in Life-Span Integration (LI) therapy is the creation of a Personal Lifespan Timeline of memories. This is completed with the therapist or in the client's own time according to need. In the Standard LI Protocol, a problem, a sensation, symptom, or past memory is identified which the client wishes to resolve. The therapist guides the client through the Personal Timeline of memories and corresponding "self states". When successful, "self states" stuck in time recognise that the upsetting experience or trauma is from the past and is no longer relevant in present time. Once accomplished, the neurological system can relax and function more healthily.

There are more complex protocols for various presenting problems, but each relies on a modification of the timeline construction/repeat principle It has been described metaphorically as "French knitting" where one piece of wool is sequentially looped over itself to form a simple, but perfect construction which is strong and resilient. Or it can be thought of as a frayed rope which needs the ends to be woven back in. But my favourite analogy is the complete Russian doll, with all the parts, from baby through to adult all being "of a piece" in one organised whole.

My experience so far has been positive, but, like EMDR, it is not a model which I would want to use exclusively. It is neither a remedy for all presenting problems, nor for all clients.

Click here for more frequently asked questions and answers