Therapy at Psychologia

This therapy explores the relationships between a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors. The key principles of CBT are uncovering unhealthy patterns of thinking and analysing how these may be causing difficult emotion and behaviours.

CBT treatment includes homework between sessions to practice replacing negative with more helpful self talk and changing behaviour to achieve desired outcomes.  CBT is well supported by research and practiced widely.

Cognitive-behavioural approaches have evolved over the decades with numerous alternative therapies available for psychologists to used that fit with a diverse range of clients.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness CBT (MCBT), Trauma-informed CBT (TICBT), Schema therapy

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFIT) is a humanistic, evidence-based approach to psychotherapy, drawing primarily from attachment theory to facilitate the creation of secure, vibrant connection with self and others.

EFT offers a clear, structured path to helping clients. Focusing on the development of emotional intelligence and awareness, enabling therapists to guide clients in recognizing and expressing their emotional needs more effectively. By fostering a secure attachment bond, EFT enables clients to respond to their partners and family members in healthier, more constructive ways.The modality’s efficacy is well-supported by empirical, peer reviewed outcome research, making it a credible and respected approach in the therapeutic community.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an action-oriented approach that stems from CBT. In this method, the aim is for clients to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and instead, learning to accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations. Intention is for clients to accept their hardships and commit to making necessary behavioural changes, regardless of what is going on in their lives and how they feel about it. Rather than ‘negative’ human emotions needing to be fixed, managed, or changed, the view with ACT is that acceptance, mindfulness, and values focused living are the way forward.

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) was originally developed to treat chronically suicidal individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Over time, DBT has been adapted to treat people with multiple different mental illnesses, however most people who are treated with DBT tend to have Bipolar Personality Disorder as a primary diagnosis. 

DBT is an evolution of CBT that emphasizes validation, or accepting uncomfortable thoughts, feelings and behaviours instead of struggling with them. Clients learn to come to terms with the troubling thoughts, emotions or behaviours that they struggle with, and they create a gradual plan for recovery.

The aim in DBT is for clients to find a balance between acceptance and change. T

The person learns to develop new skills, like coping methods and mindfulness practices, so that the person has the power to improve unhealthy thoughts and behaviours.

Like CBT, individuals undergoing DBT are usually instructed to practice these new methods as homework between sessions. Improving coping strategies is an essential aspect of successful DBT treatment.

Studies have shown DBT to be effective at producing significant and long-lasting improvement for people experiencing a mental illness. DBT program involves learning mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.

Exposure therapy is a type of cognitive behavioural therapy that is most frequently used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and phobias. During treatment, a client works with a therapist to identify their anxiety or trauma triggers and learns techniques to avoid performing rituals or becoming anxious when they are exposed to them. The client then confronts their triggers in a controlled environment where they can safely practice implementing new strategies.  Graded exposure is the main method used where small steps are taken to face feared situations to achieve desensitization. Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) are types of exposure therapy.

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a specific type of cognitive-behavioural therapy found to be effective for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people who have experienced traumatic events like violence, abuse, natural disasters. CPT is short-term, typically conducted over the course of 12 sessions.

In CPT, the client is assisted by the psychologist to evaluate his or her thoughts surrounding the trauma, particularly unhelpful or self-blaming thoughts that may be increasing the PTSD symptoms, including anxiety and depression. The client learns to challenge those thoughts and take a new perspective when appropriate. Similar to other types of CBT, home work is part of CPT; like patients can be asked to write an account of their trauma between sessions.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, MBCT, is a modified form of CBT that incorporates mindfulness practices that include present moment awareness, meditation, and breathing exercises. This therapy was formulated to address depression. Using these tools, the mindfulness-based psychologist assists a client learn how to be in the here and now as well as break away from negative thought patterns that can cause a decline into a mood-disordered state. This therapy can include techniques like breathing, grounding, refocusing, meditation, and relaxation.

The humanistic approach focuses on self-growth that leads to actualisation. This includes exploring and developing a person's creativity, freedom, strengths, spirituality, and values. Personal responsibility, freedom of choice, and self-mastery are the essential components of humanistic therapies

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is one of the world's most widely used therapeutic treatments (De Shazer, 2007, Hsu, 2011). Unlike traditional forms of therapy that take time to analyse problems, pathology, and past life events, SFBT concentrates on finding solutions in the present and exploring one’s hope for the future to find a quick and pragmatic resolution of one’s problems. The view is that you know what you need to do to improve your own life and, with the appropriate coaching and questioning, are capable of finding the best solutions.

Narrative therapy is a form of counselling that views people as separate from their problems and destructive behaviours. This allows clients to get some distance from the difficulty they face; this helps them to see how it might be helping or protecting them, more than it is hurting them. With this perspective, individuals feel more empowered to make changes in their thought patterns and behaviour and “rewrite” their life story for a future that reflects who they really are, what they are capable of, and what their purpose is, separate from their problems. This therapy encourages clients to be respectful of the self and does not point blame or judgment inward e.g., see themselves as making a mistake, rather than seeing themselves as bad, per se.