Counselling

Psychotherapy

Counselling, psychological therapy, psychotherapy (not to be confused with psychoanalysis) or talk-therapy are often used as interchangeable terms, which can be confusing for many people. However, they all these terms refer to services that help people deal with problems that can derail them in life and create psychological problems.

Some people may seek assistance because of difficulties with depression, anger or anxiety. Others may want help with a long-standing problem or condition that is interfering with their lives or physical health.  Often people get counselling for short-term transitional problems they want help navigating, such as feeling overwhelmed by a new job, grieving the death of a family member, loss of a job or a relationship difficulties.

Psychotherapy can also help people learn to cope with stressful situations, overcome addictions, manage their chronic illnesses and break past the barriers that keep them from reaching their goals.

There are many different styles of therapy and psychologists can work in a range of ways, but a good psychologist will draw on techniques that are best suited to the client’s specific needs and allow for the client’s individual characteristics and preferences.

Types of therapy

There are many therapy models and they can vary considerably in the degree to which they are supported by research, with some having very strong evidence base while others are less rigorously tested. Some common therapies are cognitive-behavioural (CBT) Acceptance and Commitment (ACT), interpersonal (IPT), Emotion Focused (EFT), Humanistic and Psychodynamic therapy. Mindfulness-based therapies are gaining in popularity and are well supported by research. However, it would be safe to say that the most well supported therapeutic approaches are Cognitive-Behavioural therapies.

Therapy can be for an individual, couples, family or other group and it takes specialist training to provide effective therapy in these various modalities. In addition, some psychologists are trained to use hypnosis and mindfulness strategies, which research has found to be effective for a wide range of conditions including pain, anxiety and mood disorders.

Therapies used at LPP LPP psychologists only use therapies they have significant training and experience with and that have a strong evidence-base, meaning they have been shown to be effective through extensive research with the particular problem being treating.

For some conditions, therapy and medication are a treatment combination that works best. For, psychologists work with other professionals such as General Practitioners, paediatricians and psychiatrists to ensure coordinated care particularly for people who may benefit from combining medication with psychological therapy.

Counselling can help with:

• Depression
• Bipolar Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive disorder
• Generalised anxiety and panic attacks
• Social anxiety
• Phobias
• Grief and loss
• Trauma
• Stress management
• Pain management
• Sleeping difficulties
• Problem Gambling
• Perinatal depression and anxiety
• Parenting difficulties
• Childhood behavioural difficulties
• Developmental difficulties and disorders
• Pervasive personality difficulties