Treatment and Talking Therapies
Talking is good for you!
Talking therapies can help you work out how to deal with negative thoughts and feelings and make positive changes. They can help people who are feeling distressed by difficult events in their lives as well as people with mental health problems. This information is for anyone who wants to know more about the different types of talking therapy that we offer. The information mainly uses the words 'talking therapy' and 'therapist', although the words that other people use may be different.
Talking about your thoughts and feelings can help you deal with times when you feel troubled about something. If you turn a worry over and over in your mind, the worry can grow.
But talking about it can help you work out what is really bothering you and explore what you could do about it.
Talking is an important part of our relationships. It can strengthen your ties with other people and help you stay in good mental health. Being listened to helps you feel that other people care about you and what you have to say.
What are talking therapies?
We often find it helpful to talk problems through with a friend or family member, but sometimes friends and family cannot help us and we need to talk to a professional therapist.
Talking therapies involve talking to someone who is trained to help you deal with your negative feelings.
Talking therapies give people the chance to explore their thoughts and feelings and the effect they have on their behaviour and mood. Describing what's going on in your head and how that makes you feel can help you notice any patterns which it may be helpful to change.
It can help you work out where your negative feelings and ideas come from and why they are there.
Understanding all this can help people make positive changes by thinking or acting differently. Talking therapies can help people to take greater control of their lives and improve their confidence.
Talking therapies may also be referred to as:
- talking treatments
- counselling
- psychological therapies or treatments
- psychotherapies
The various terms used to describe talking therapies often mean different things to different people.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends certain therapies for certain problems, but other therapies might work for you just as well.
- Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT)
- Dialectic behaviour therapy (DBT)
- Psychodynamic therapies
- Humanistic therapies
- Other kinds of talking therapy
- Support and information
Here's Esmee's experience of counselling within our service
Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT)
How do they work?
By looking at how we can react differently to our thoughts and feelings (for example, challenging negative thoughts) and how changing the way we behave can help us feel better (for example trying new activities).
What form do they take?
Sessions are clearly structured. The therapist directs the conversation. They are focused on current problems and practical solutions.
How can you receive CBT?
CBT can be delivered in the following ways:
- Telephone
- Video (via ICS or Microsoft Teams)
- Text Type Messaging (via Microsoft Teams)
- Face to face in a range of localities
How long do they take?
Talking Therapies treatments are generally between 6-12 sessions.
What are they helpful for?
A range of problems includes depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, managing long-term illnesses, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress, and schizophrenia. NICE recommends CBT for all these.
Who will they suit?
People who want a therapy that works towards solutions, with clear goals and using practical techniques.
Here's Ian's experience of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy within our service
Other kinds of talking therapy
Group therapies
In groups led by a facilitator (someone who helps to introduce members of the group to each other and who helps the conversation flow), people find solutions together and learn from each other. NICE recommends group therapy for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and for children and young people with mild depression.
In group therapy, you don't just talk about yourself, you're listening to other people - that takes the burden off your problems. You realise you're not the only one.
Couples, relationship or family therapies
This is a specifically designed integrative, behaviourally based therapy working with the couple to treat the depression / anxiety of the service user.
This is for cases where the service user and their partner want to work together to improve their relationship and where the depression is impacting on the couple and / or family relationships and where improving the relationship will help alleviate the depression and anxiety.
Relationship Counselling provides a caring, supportive and non-judgmental environment to help clients find a way through any difficulties they might be facing in their relationship/s.
Family counselling can help when siblings aren't getting on, or when parents and children are going through a divorce or separation.
Forming a new family is a challenge and it is at this point that many parents contact us for some support to help everyone settle.
Or maybe your found family is looking to implement some new rituals and wants a bit of guidance.
Mindfulness-based therapies
Some therapies combine talking with 'meditation'. Your therapist may offer to teach you meditation practices to help you relate to thoughts and feelings with greater awareness. NICE recommends that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can be particularly helpful for people who have recovered from depression and want to prevent future relapses.
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)
A way of stimulating the brain through eye movements that seems to make distressing memories feel less intense. It is used for a range of traumas, including past sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, accidents, and injuries, phobias, addictions, and fear of performing in public. NICE recommends for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Computerised cognitive behavioural therapy
No talking required! You work through a series of exercises on your computer screen and learn self-help techniques for managing problems in your life. NICE recommends 'Beating the Blues' for mild to moderate depression, and 'FearFighter' for panic and phobia.
Find out how our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners can help