Tailored Approach
As well as being a Chartered Psychologist, Patricia holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
She is also a qualified Eye Movement Desensitising Reprocessing (EMDR) trauma therapist and through her experience is able to draw on other approaches such as Mindfulness, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Schema Therapy and Compassion Focused Therapy.
As such Patricia is able to tailor a therapeutic approach that addresses the unique difficulties faced by each individual patient.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a talking therapy where patients are helped to recognise how their thoughts and behaviours affect how they feel. During therapy patients are brought to an awareness of how their thinking patterns and behaviours can become unhelpful and through the guidance of the therapist they begin to shift these unhelpful patterns to ways that are more positive.
CBT aims to stop negative cycles by breaking down things that make you feel sad or anxious. By making your problems more manageable, CBT can help you change your negative thought patterns and improve the way you feel.
Another important aim of CBT is to enable the client to get to a point where they are equipped to tackle problems that arise in life themselves, without the need for further therapy.
Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a psychotherapy used to help the brain process distressing memories. This approach helps reduce the distress caused by the difficult memory and allows the patient to develop positive ways to move on from the past. Developed for the treatment of trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), EMDR can also be useful in the treatment of other conditions such as Panic Disorder and OCD.
Both CBT and EMDR are evidenced based therapies which are recommended in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines.
Below is an example of some of the issues that can be helped through therapy.
Anxiety disorders including panic attacks, OCD, phobias, excessive worry
Anxiety associated with high functioning autism
Low mood or depression
Problems associated with loss or change (e.g. bereavements, separation, divorce)
Issues related to adoption and fostering including attachment issues
Self-harm
Family relationship problems
Living with illness and disability
Trauma, including abuse
Borderline Personality Disorder
