Therapies
“We are what our thoughts have made us;
so take care about what you think”.
Swami Vivekananda
Comprehensive and personalised
therapy approaches
I offer a variety of evidence-based therapies designed to address a wide range of mental health conditions. My approach is tailored to meet individual needs. Together we focus on building resilience, fostering emotional well-being, and promoting personal growth through compassionate and integrative techniques.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps you identify and change negative thought patterns to improve your mood and behavior.
View detailsSchema Therapy
Focuses on identifying and changing deep-seated patterns and beliefs formed in early life.
View detailsAcceptance and Commitment Theraphy
ACT encourages you to accept your thoughts and feelings while committing to personal values.
View detailsEye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing reduces distress from traumatic memories through guided eye movements.
View DetailsCompassion Focussed Therapy
CFT helps you develop self-compassion to alleviate shame and self-criticism.
View DetailsPsychodynamic Informed Therapy
Combines various therapeutic approaches to address your unique relationship challenges.
View DetailsDASS-21 Questionnaire
All new patients are required to complete the DASS-21 psychological test. This quick and easy online questionnaire assesses depression, anxiety, and stress levels, providing valuable insights into your mental health.
Take the online quizCognitive Behavioural Therapy
“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think”
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment approach that has proven effective in addressing various mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
Additionally, CBT serves as a valuable model for understanding human learning and the formation of beliefs.
Humans naturally seek to make sense of their experiences and form beliefs about themselves, others, and their environment from an early age. However, children, in their efforts to understand the world, may develop erroneous and biased interpretations of events, leading to the formation of unrealistic beliefs.
For example, a child who experiences mistreatment by others might internalise these experiences and develop a negative self-image, believing they are inherently “not good enough.”
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy aims to identify an individual’s core beliefs and equip them with the skills to challenge and restructure negative thoughts and behaviors.
Through a collaborative therapeutic process, individuals are guided in recognising the connections between their thoughts, emotions, and actions. They learn to reframe their thinking and adopt healthier patterns of behavior.
Some essential components of CBT include:
Identifying negative thoughts and beliefs: Clients are encouraged to recognise and challenge harmful thoughts that contribute to their emotional distress.
Developing problem-solving skills: Individuals learn to break down overwhelming challenges into smaller, manageable steps and devise practical solutions.
Practicing mindfulness: clients learn to focus on the present moment and cultivate non-judgmental awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.
Gradual exposure to feared situations: For anxiety-related issues, individuals are supported in safely confronting their fears, helping them build confidence and reduce avoidance behaviours.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy offers a structured and practical approach to mental health treatment, empowering individuals to challenge their unhelpful beliefs and develop healthy coping mechanisms. By fostering self-awareness, resilience, and adaptive behaviours, CBT can promote lasting positive change and enhanced well-being.
Schema Therapy
”We all have a tendency to re-create our past in our present relationships. We do this because we are most comfortable with what is familiar to us.”
Schema Therapy is an integrative therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Jeffrey Young, initially as an expansion of traditional Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). While CBT primarily focuses on challenging and changing present-day negative thoughts and behaviors, Schema Therapy aims to address more deeply rooted, long-standing patterns and beliefs, known as schemas.
The development of Schema Therapy emerged from the recognition that some individuals, particularly those with complex or chronic mental health difficulties, may not respond fully to standard CBT interventions. By incorporating elements of attachment theory, emotion-focused therapy, and Gestalt therapy, Schema Therapy seeks to understand and modify the early maladaptive schemas and coping mechanisms that contribute to persistent psychological distress.
Early maladaptive schemas are core beliefs and patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that develop during childhood and adolescence. These schemas can arise from unmet emotional needs, traumatic experiences, or difficult relationships with caregivers. As individuals grow older, these schemas can become more rigid and resistant to change, leading to emotional and relational difficulties.
Schema Therapy also recognises that an individual’s personality can encompass different modes, or parts, that think, feel, and behave differently. Examples of these modes include the Vulnerable Child mode, which represents the part of a person that holds painful emotions and unmet emotional needs, and the Inner Critic mode, which embodies self-critical thoughts and feelings. By identifying and understanding these modes, clients can gain valuable insights into their emotional experiences and develop more effective ways of managing and integrating these different aspects of themselves.
Some essential components of Schema Therapy include:
Identifying and understanding schemas: Clients work with a therapist to uncover the specific schemas that contribute to their psychological distress and gain insight into their origins.
Exploring coping mechanisms: Individuals become aware of the various coping mechanisms they employ in response to their schemas and learn to differentiate between helpful and unhelpful coping styles.
Challenging and modifying schemas: clients are supported in confronting and challenging their early maladaptive schemas, replacing them with more adaptive and realistic beliefs.
Emotion-focused work: Schema Therapy emphasises the importance of accessing and processing emotions related to schemas, fostering emotional healing and growth.
Through this integrative approach, Schema Therapy aims to help individuals achieve a deeper understanding of their emotional experiences, alter self-defeating patterns, and develop healthier ways of connecting with themselves and others. This focus on core schemas, emotional processing, and personality modes can be particularly beneficial for those struggling with complex, chronic mental health difficulties and can promote long-lasting personal growth and well-being.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
“Trauma creates change you don't choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose”
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach developed by psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro. Initially designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), EMDR has also shown efficacy in addressing various mental health issues, including anxiety, phobias, and depression.
The underlying learning model associated with EMDR explains that traumatic or distressing experiences can sometimes overload the brain’s ability to process and integrate information effectively, leading to persistent negative emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations. EMDR aims to facilitate the brain’s natural healing process by utilising a combination of bilateral stimulation such as eye rapid movements, and specific protocols to help individuals reprocess distressing memories and associated emotions.
It is important to note that EMDR is a specialised skill requiring additional training and expertise, particularly when addressing PTSD and trauma. Therapists must complete advanced training and supervised practice to ensure the safe and effective application of this modality.
One key aspect of EMDR therapy is bilateral stimulation, which involves the rhythmic, alternating activation of the brain’s left and right hemispheres through guided eye movements, auditory tones, or physical taps. This stimulation is believed to facilitate the reprocessing of traumatic memories by allowing the brain to forge new neural connections and integrate the emotional, cognitive, and somatic aspects of the memory.
EMDR is considered a bottom-up approach to processing traumatic memories, addressing both declarative (explicit) and non-declarative (implicit) memory systems. This allows individuals to process not only the conscious, narrative elements of their experiences but also the unconscious emotional, sensory, and motoric aspects associated with the event.
EMDR therapy offers a structured approach to addressing the lasting effects of traumatic or distressing experiences. By facilitating the brain’s natural healing processes and targeting multiple aspects of memory, EMDR aims to help individuals achieve lasting relief from psychological distress and cultivate emotional well-being.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
“The process of living is like taking a very long road trip. The destination may be important, but the journey experienced day to day and week to week is what is invaluable”
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a mindfulness-based therapeutic approach that focuses on fostering psychological flexibility, acceptance, and committed action towards personal values. Developed by Dr. Steven Hayes, ACT aims to help individuals cultivate a healthier relationship with their thoughts, emotions, and experiences, rather than attempting to avoid or suppress them.
A metaphor often used in ACT illustrates the therapeutic process as a journey in which the therapist and client are on separate mountains. The therapist’s vantage point allows them to see a broader perspective and guide the client towards a more adaptive and fulfilling life, even when the client’s vision is obscured by their current challenges.
One of the core themes in ACT is the recognition that suffering is a universal human experience, and attempts to control or eliminate pain can sometimes exacerbate psychological distress. This is particularly relevant for individuals with chronic conditions, where traditional efforts to manage issues may prove unhelpful or even contribute to the problem.
ACT embraces the paradoxical notion that the pursuit of a life free from pain can sometimes lead to greater suffering, as individuals become entangled in their struggle against their experiences. Instead, ACT encourages the acceptance of difficult thoughts, emotions, and sensations, emphasising that the true cost of avoidance is the loss of connection with one’s values and meaningful engagement in life.
Key components of ACT include:
Acceptance: developing a willingness to experience and acknowledge difficult thoughts, emotions, and sensations without trying to change or avoid them.
Cognitive defusion: learning to observe and detach from unhelpful thoughts, recognising them as mere mental events rather than objective truths.
Mindfulness: practising present-moment awareness and non-judgmental attention to one's experiences.
Values clarification: identifying personal values and life domains that provide meaning and purpose, and using these values to guide behaviour.
Committed action: engaging in goal-directed behaviours that align with one's values, even in the presence of difficult thoughts or emotions
Through these processes, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy aims to foster greater psychological flexibility and resilience, enabling individuals to build a more meaningful and fulfilling life while accepting the inherent challenges that come with being human.
Compassion Focused Therapy
Self-compassion triggers people to adopt a growth mindset.”
Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), developed by Paul Gilbert, is an approach that emphasizes the importance of compassion in promoting mental well-being and resilience. While CFT can be a standalone therapy, it is often integrated with various other therapeutic modalities to enhance their effectiveness, making it a versatile and valuable addition to therapeutic practice.
CFT is rooted in the understanding that the human brain has evolved to be highly sensitive to social interactions and environmental threats. The model posits that our capacity for self-criticism and shame, while originally intended to promote social acceptance and safety, can become overly active and contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
Practicing self-compassion can be challenging for many individuals, as it often conflicts with deeply ingrained beliefs about the importance of self-criticism and the pursuit of high achievement. Some people may view self-compassion as a sign of weakness or self-indulgence, equating it with “letting oneself off the hook” or pitying oneself. In reality, CFT demonstrates that compassion promotes emotional resilience and personal growth by fostering a more balanced and realistic perspective on one’s strengths and weaknesses.
Key components of CFT include:
Building a compassionate mind: developing an understanding of the evolutionary origins of self-criticism and learning to engage with one's inner experiences from a place of compassion and non-judgment.
Cultivating compassion for self and others: practising self-compassion by offering warmth, kindness, and understanding to oneself, as well as fostering compassion for others through empathy and connection.
Enhancing emotional regulation: utilising compassion-focused techniques to manage difficult emotions and promote emotional well-being.
By addressing the evolutionary roots of self-criticism and shame, Compassion-Focused Therapy aims to help individuals develop a more compassionate and nurturing relationship with themselves and others, ultimately promoting greater mental health and well-being. This approach can be particularly beneficial for those experiencing chronic or complex difficulties, as it offers a unique perspective on the role of compassion in fostering resilience and healing, even when integrated with other therapeutic modalities.
Psychodynamic Informed Therapy
“Psychotherapy is a cyclical process from isolation into relationship.’ It is cyclical because the patient, in terror of existential isolation, relates deeply and meaningfully to the therapist and then, strengthened by this encounter, is led back again to a confrontation with existential isolation.”
As a therapist, I find that an essential aspect of therapy involves the process that unfolds within the therapeutic relationship between myself and the client. In addition to utilising psychometric measures, I believe that integrating insights from the dynamics and interactions within this relationship can provide valuable information about the client’s thoughts, behaviours, and emotions. In my practice, I often combine this approach with at least one other therapeutic modality to best address the unique needs of each client.
Clients typically bring their distinct patterns of behaviour and thinking into the therapy room. This offers an opportunity for us to observe and reflect on these patterns as they emerge within the therapeutic relationship. By examining the therapeutic process and using complementary therapeutic approaches, I can better understand my clients’ struggles and tailor treatment plans to meet their specific needs.
The concepts of transference and countertransference are significant elements of the therapeutic process. Transference occurs when clients unconsciously project feelings, thoughts, or emotions related to past experiences onto the therapist. Recognising transference allows me to develop a deeper understanding of my clients’ past experiences and how they impact their current behaviours and relationships.
Countertransference, on the other hand, refers to the therapist’s unconscious emotional responses to the client’s transference. By staying mindful of my reactions and feelings during sessions, I can utilise countertransference as a tool for better understanding my clients’ experiences and improving therapeutic outcomes.
In summary, integrating the therapeutic process, including the dynamics of transference and countertransference, with other therapeutic approaches can provide invaluable insights into clients’ emotional and psychological experiences. By nurturing a strong therapeutic relationship and reflecting on the interactions that occur within it, I can better support my clients in achieving personal growth, improved mental well-being, and lasting positive change.