COGNITIVE THERAPY (CBT)  

Aaron Beck first introduced Cognitive Therapy.  Since then it has evolved to be used with many different kinds of disorders.  It is useful for targeting specific difficulties like anxiety and depression by teaching you skills to become aware of your thought patterns and the emotions and behaviours that occur with these.  Change can be facilitated through re-evaluation of these patterns, and learning alternative ways of behaving in your everyday life.  Homework will be given so you are learning to apply strategies for yourself and experiment with different behaviours. Treatment can be effective in a short space of time.  6 or 8 sessions can be sufficient to give you skills that you can then continue to use in the future.

DIALECTIC BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (DBT)  

This style of therapy was developed by Marsha Linehan specifically for Borderline Personality Disorder.  It uses a combination of Mindfulness meditation, cognitive behaviour therapy, psychotherapy and skills training .    Skills are taught to help with regulation of emotions, and there is regular contact with the therapist to help put these skills into practice.   Elements of this approach are also useful with a wide range of other difficulties.  In particular Mindfulness is great for relaxation and focussing, and the skills training can also be useful for many issues.

COGNITIVE SCHEMA THERAPY  

This is an integrative approach to therapy which explores patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating in the present, and helps to link these to their development in childhood in order to increase self understanding and facilitate change.   It combines the use of cognitive work, imagery, gestalt and emotion-focus techniques, object relations, and the therapeutic relationship.  It can be short term or longer term work, depending on the issues involved, although it is   typically used with more long-standing difficulties. 

Home    Psychologists    Cognitive Therapy    Psychotherapies      Group Therapy      Questions      Links     Contact