CBT is a talking therapy that aims to help people understand that the way they think affects how they feel and consequently how they behave. It also focuses how in turn their behaviour affects the way they think and feel. In other words, in CBT, a cognitive (evaluating your thoughts) and a behavioural approach (evaluating your behaviours) are combined to assist people in managing their problems in the present. Depending on the problem identified, a particular emphasis might be given to a cognitive or a behavioural approach in the sessions. For example, if you are struggling with a condition that triggers unhelpful behaviours (such as checking or cleaning rituals in obsessive-compulsive disorder), CBT therapy will mainly address the behavioural patterns.

Thereby, CBT operates under the premise that, by changing the way we think or behave when faced with a particular problem/situation, we can alter the way we feel. This model of therapy identifies negative thought patterns and/or behaviours, with the view to challenging them and creating more realistic ones. For example, if after a break-up you believe that ‘I’m a failure in relationships’, then you may feel anxious and low and start to withdraw. This behaviour, in turn, can lead to feelings of sadness and anxiety and consequently you avoid going out and meeting new people.

This vicious cycle of thoughts, feelings and behaviours can lead to isolation and increased feelings of unhappiness. Rather than accepting this negative thought pattern, CBT will help you to identify alternative ways of responding in order to disrupt this negative cycle. Instead of thinking that ‘I’m a failure in relationships’, you can choose to think about what has not worked out in this particular relationship, learn from it and move on. Thinking this way may lead to positive feelings and higher confidence, which can help you to open up to the possibility of meeting new people.

Unlike some other therapies, CBT is mostly embedded in the present. Whereas past events and experiences are taken into consideration, the main focus remains on current difficulties. CBT is usually a short-term therapy model varying from six weeks to six months.

What is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)?

EMDR is a unique, evidence-based, psychological treatment model designed to process overwhelming feelings, thoughts and images associated with memories of traumatic events. EMDR was initially developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma. However, recent clinical research has shown that EMDR can be effective for any psychological disorders where disturbing memories are central such as panic disorder, phobias, complicated grief, performance anxiety and OCD.

During EMDR treatment, thoughts, emotions, memories, images and sensations associated with the traumatic experience are processed through bilateral eye movements. More specifically, the therapist uses a hand motion technique to guide the client’s eye movements from side to side, similar to watching a pendulum swing. This helps the client to remain anchored in the here-and-now whilst processing the effects of the traumatic memory. Thereby, thoughts and feelings that are associated with the traumatic event are replaced with more positive ones which in turn decrease overall distress and enhance emotional well-being.

Overall EMDR therapy aims to:

• Reduce the impact of the traumatic memories
• Help you to reduce levels of stress, anxiety and hypervigilance
• Reduce feelings of isolation, hopelessness and depression
• Help you to cope with day-to-day routine better and regain normality in your life
• Increase enjoyment and pleasure in your activities and relationships
• Increase self-esteem and confidence

What can I expect if I receive EMDR?

• We will agree on key traumatic memories that you want to work on
• There will be some repetition of this process which is part of the reprocessing experience
• I will continue to work with you and focus on specific memories until the intense affect associated with them has decreased.

EMDR can significantly accelerate the healing process after a traumatic experience. The number of sessions required will depend to the complexity of the psychological difficulties being dealt with. In general, the more isolated the traumatic memory being treated, the shorter the treatment tends to be. EMDR is designed to be used as a stand-alone process, but can also be effectively integrated with other therapeutic approaches.

What is Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT)?

DIT is a structured, short-term, individual therapy. DIT targets specifically symptoms of anxiety and depression and helps to improve how people function in their relationships. More specifically, it aims to increase people’s awareness on their current emotional difficulties, such as anxiety and depression, and how they are linked with what is going on in their relationships. DIT focuses on identifying and addressing problematic interpersonal patterns that may be traced back to early relationships and are repeated in current ones.

DIT could help you develop healthier ways of being in, as well as coping with, important relationships in your life. The main principle of this therapy model suggests that psychological distress overall dissipates when people are able to address relationship issues more effectively.

With the DIT approach, you’ll be actively encouraged to reflect on what you think and feel about yourself and others, aiming to enhance your awareness of your interpersonal difficulties. This new awareness will help you to identify problematic relationship patterns, which in turn could support you in addressing them more effectively while, at the same time, relieving your symptoms of distress and enhancing your interpersonal functioning.

What is Psychodynamic therapy?

Psychodynamic therapy encompasses the work of all analytic therapeutic models, from the classical Freudian psychoanalysis to contemporary analytic models such as relational psychoanalysis. Psychodynamic therapy has been clinically applied to a wide spectrum of psychological disorders with a wealth of research supporting its effectiveness.

The core principle of the psychodynamic approach asserts that current emotional difficulties may have their origins in early experiences. It suggests that unresolved past experiences and conflicts remain in the unconscious and can influence one’s behaviours and relationships in the present. Therefore, it aims to bring unconscious experiences into consciousness, helping the individual to develop deeper insight and awareness of deep-rooted feelings and memories that can influence their behaviour and relationships. Exploring one’s thoughts and feelings about past and present experiences as well as the connection between them enables unresolved conflicts and distressing symptoms to be processed.

Psychodynamic therapy can be particularly helpful, but not limited to, with deeper-seated issues such as:

• Bereavement and loss
• Chronic stress and anxiety
• Low self-esteem and low confidence
• Persistent depression
• Recurrent emotional and/or behavioural problems
• Relationship difficulties

Psychodynamic therapy can also be very useful to people who are curious about themselves and how they operate in relationships. Therefore, psychodynamic therapy can be beneficial and lead to increased self-awareness and confidence, better relationships and a greater ability to manage stress.