What is CBT?
What Is It And How Does It Work?
There are many types of therapy, all offering a different approaches or ways of working. The most commonly known types of therapy being Counseling, Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT), ACT, Psycho-Dynamic, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Art Therapy, Mindfulness....the list goes on.
CBT ultimately aims to teach you to be you own therapist, by helping you to understand your current ways of thinking and behaving, and by equipping you with the tools to change your maladaptive cognitive and behavioural patterns. CBT is an evidence-based therapy which can help you manage and overcome a wide range of difficulties. It is based on the theory that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are all connected, therefore, if we change one of these we can alter the others.
CBT is a structured, short-term and goal orientated therapy that offers a hands-on approach. It is a collaborative therapy aiming to provide you with the skills and techniques to manage your difficulties, understand why they are happening and how they are maintained and ultimately teaching you to become your own therapist. CBT aims to empower you by emphasising practice of home tasks outside the therapy sessions.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) provides independent, evidence-based guidance for the NHS on the most effective, proven treatments and CBT is recommended in NICE guidelines, as the leading treatment intervention for many anxiety disorders and depression.
What is EMDR?
What Is It And How Does It Work?
Based on Shapiro’s (2001) Adaptive Information Processing model, EMDR therapy facilitates the accessing and processing of traumatic memories and other adverse life experience to bring these to an adaptive resolution.
Essentially EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes.
EMDR therapy is an eight-phase treatment. Eye movements (or other bilateral stimulation) are used during one part of the session. In successful EMDR therapy, the meaning of painful events is transformed on an emotional level. Unlike talk therapy, the insights clients gain in EMDR therapy result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client’s own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes.
EMDR and CBT can be undertaken on its own or in conjunction with medication prescribed by your GP depending on your presenting problem and personal preference. Please explore medication options with your GP if this is an option you wish to explore further. It is worth noting if you have tried therapy before and not had a positive experience with it for whatever reason...do not give up hope! It sometimes takes a couple of goes at therapy using a different therapist or a different therapy before you feel it is the right fit... so keep trying until you find something and someone who is right for you.
