• Integrative therapy

Integrative therapy is a therapeutic orientation or style of delivering therapy. It can be thought of as a sort of mixing or blending of different therapies. It is a dynamic and highly adaptable approach that draws on a range of therapy models, tools and techniques to better support the unique needs of each individual – tailoring therapy to the clients and not the client to the therapy. As there are many ways a person can approach and explore their experiences, no one single theory is relied upon in isolation. This offers a person greater control, choice and flexibility as it evolves and adapts to the changing needs of the client. As such, an integrative approach can support a wide range of problems.

• Person-centred therapy

This is a humanistic approach. It’s a very gentle and compassionate style that supports you in rediscovering your true self. When you can experience a safe and non-judgmental environment with someone who will genuinely accept you for who you really are, you will naturally learn to believe-in yourself and trust in your own answers.

Once you reconnect with who you really are, you can discover the incredible potential you have inside of you. This acknowledges and builds your own abilities rather than seeing the therapist as the expert.

The core of Person-centred is that you experience feeling deeply and empathically understood, what you say is unconditionally accepted with compassion, and that you feel being genuinely listened to and with what you have to say. As such, nothing is too big or too small. However personal an experience might feel, or controversial something might seem, you shouldn’t feel diminished, rejected, or afraid to express yourself. Rather, you’ll have a space to gather your thoughts, express your feelings and try to understand your emotions. For your story to be heard and in your own words – giving you the space to just be you.

• Psychodynamic therapy

This is a psychoanalytic approach that views a person’s unconscious thoughts and perceptions as the main drive behind their current behaviours and thoughts. These unconscious processes are largely developed throughout childhood as our unconscious mind holds onto painful thoughts, feelings, memories and experiences. The conscious mind often struggles to understand and even realise such processes are impacting their life.

Thus, psychodynamic therapy aims to bring these unconscious experiences into conscious awareness in order to help you resolve them. As we work together, I can help you to recognise possible unconscious patterns that help you cope and avoid distress, thus helping you to change negative patterns, grow and move towards positive change. You will learn new patterns of behaviour and ways of thinking that promote personal development and growth, helping you to overcome any limitations caused by your unconscious feelings.

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

This is a cognitive behavioural approach. It is a well-researched and evidence-based approach that can support a wide range of problems. The core idea sees that how we think (cognitions), how we feel (emotions) and how we act (behaviours) all interact together. Specifically, our thoughts determine our feelings and our behaviour. CBT aims to help you change the way you think (cognitive) and what you do (behaviour) by exploring practical solutions to help you better manage different problems.

CBT is a very active process and is supported with home-based activities. Although this might not suite everyone, it is highly adaptive to support what works best for you. As such, a joint partnership is encouraged between the client and therapist to both creatively explore different ways of approaching and managing problems. In doing so, a greater sense of self-reliance and self-confidence is developed as you learn to become your own therapist.

• Mindfulness

Can be thought of as a technique but also a way of living life. As such, mindfulness has even been adapted and integrated into what is called third-wave CBT through a well-known approach called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Essentially, Mindfulness is a specific way of paying attention to what is happening in the present moment. This can include our thoughts and perceptions, our body sensations and life in general. It doesn’t remove a problem, but with practice, it can help reduce and even stop being negatively affected by a problem.

Using different techniques such as gentle stretching, mindful meditation and other mind-body exercises, mindfulness aims to offer greater clarity on what is happening, to help people recognise stress triggers and deal with them in a more positive manner. This can help you feel more engaged in work, less anxious and have fewer physical symptoms of stress.

• Solution-focused brief therapy

This is another humanistic approach that is based on solution-building rather than problem-solving through promoting positive change rather than dwelling on past problems. By encouraging you to recognise your resources and focus positively on what you do well, helps you to look forward and use your own strengths to achieve your goals.

• Walk and talk therapy

Provides the option of having sessions outdoors or in nature. This can support those who don’t get out as very often as they’d like, for those who may feel a little anxious or claustrophobic in a therapy room. Talking therapies typically take place indoors, but walk & talk therapy can help you to think differently about aspects of your life. During this time, a therapeutic relationship is still active in helping you explore a problem and finding ways to better manage your emotions. This can also be combined with CBT such as challenging a behaviour around a phobia like agoraphobia and social anxiety.

• Relax

If this the first time you’re considering having therapy, but feel unsure what approach would best support you, don’t worry. I will gauge how to adapt the therapy to best support your unique and individual needs so you can get the most out of the experience.

• Readiness and Suitability

It is also important that we explore your readiness and suitability to have any one therapy. Moreover, this process is ongoing as we review how you respond to and feel about a therapeutic approach. Also, your needs may change throughout, so it’s important to allow therapy to be adapted to support any changing needs you may experience.

• Collaboration

However, you should always feel included within this process and able to decide what is working best for you. A such, we can jointly explore this together – tailoring therapy to you and not you to the therapy. This also supports you if you’ve had therapy before and found a particular approach beneficial, or maybe it didn’t quite suit your needs and are now interested in exploring a different approach? Whatever your situation, I will assess and guide things, but you will always be included within this process.

• My Core Style

Still, no matter what blend of therapy we explore together, unless you can feel safe within a genuine relationship of trust and respect, any therapy approach can be challenging. Someone once said to me, “the greatest complement someone can pay your driving, is to fall asleep”. Meaning, they feel safe enough to allow themselves to become completely vulnerable because they feel safe and trust being in your presence.

As such, at the heart of how I work, is a Person-centred approach. Then, I explore complementing and integrating therapies that may support you throughout and these too will have the essence of a Person-centred experience throughout; empathy, compassion, acceptance, genuineness, patience, caring, trust, respect, and understanding.