Psychological therapy is a way of helping people to work through a range of emotional, relational and mental health difficulties.

Psychological therapy provides a confidential space to meet regularly with a therapist to talk about issues which are problematic or areas of someone's life that are causing them suffering/distress. Generally you would meet individually with a psychological therapist, but sometimes it may be more appropriate for you to be joined by your partner or family. Sessions normally last for 50 minutes, but sometimes it may be appropriate to have extended sessions - your therapist would talk to you about this.

There are several different types of talking therapies (e.g. CBT, psychodynamic psychotherapy), which have been well researched. Offering psychological therapy is one of the main roles of a Clinical Psychologist. They are trained in a number of different types of psychological therapy. You may have an idea about the type of therapy you would like. If not, this is something which can be discussed with your therapist and is likely to depend on a number of factors, including; the issues/areas you would like to focus on, the changes you would like to make to your life, the goals you would like to work on in therapy.

Psychological therapy may be helpful for a wide range of difficulties including:

• Depression/low mood
• Anxiety
• Trauma/post-traumatic stress (PTSD)
• Grief, loss and bereavement
• Low confidence and self esteem issues
• Relationship difficulties (e.g. difficulties forming and/or maintaining relationships)
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Phobias
• Panic attacks
• Self harm
• Emotional difficulties that may lead to physical symptoms/medically unexplained symptoms

Individuals may also choose to enter into psychological therapy for personal growth and development.

This depends on many factors including; your goals in therapy, the nature of your difficulties, the therapeutic model we use and how many sessions you would like.

If you would like to talk more about starting therapy please contact us and we can talk through what you would like some help with and arrange an initial assessment session. If you're feeling a bit unsure about therapy and would like some more information to help you decide, please get in touch. Any conversations we have before an initial assessment session would be free of charge.