CBT is a therapy that focusses on identifying and changing unhelpful styles of thinking or distorted belief systems. By changing cognitive patterns, it can lead to reductions in unpleasant emotions and facilitate the development of more helpful coping behaviours. CBT is a relatively short to medium term therapy and has been adapted to help treat many different mental health issues.
ACT is predominantly a mindfulness-based behaviour therapy that teaches skills for mindfully distancing from unhelpful thoughts and cultivating acceptance for difficult experiences, in order to live a values-driven life. The core processes of ACT work together to help develop psychological flexibility, which can improve resiliency, fulfilment and general well-being.
CFT is an integrative therapy that was developed for people who experience shame and high levels of self-criticism to learn how to be more compassionate towards themselves and others. The practice of compassion has been shown to be effective in regulating emotions, developing self-acceptance and promoting feelings of comfort or safety, even in the face of difficult experiences such as criticism or rejection.
DBT is a different form of cognitive behaviour therapy that was originally developed to treat people who experience extreme swings in their emotions and have the tendency to see themselves, their world and their relationships in quite a “black-and-white” way. This can cause high levels of emotional reactivity, anger, anxiety, depression or self-destructive behaviours. DBT incorporates four core modules for managing these experiences, including mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance and emotional regulation.
CPT is a time-limited therapy that was developed to treat post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It uses cognitive therapy techniques to help identify, challenge and transform unhelpful beliefs in order to reduce the ongoing negative impacts that the trauma has in a person’s life.
Schema Therapy is a medium to long term, integrative psychotherapy that was originally developed to treat the symptoms of personality disorders, but now can be used to treat a wide variety of issues including addictions and eating disorders. People may form maladaptive schemas if their needs were not met in childhood or adolescence and also develop unhelpful coping behaviours as a result. Schema Therapy can help a person to identify these maladaptive schemas and improve their ways of coping through corrective emotional experiences in therapy.
IPT is an effective, time-structured therapy for treating depression and mood disorders, eating disorders and addictions. IPT helps a person to improve the quality of their interpersonal relationships and enhance their social functioning, by identifying and changing unhelpful interpersonal dynamics and patterns within the current relationships the person has.
SFBT is a brief, goals-driven therapy that helps a person to develop solutions to their problems, rather than focusing on the causes of these problems. SFBT emphasizes a person’s existing knowledge in developing clear and realistic goals for their future and then visualising practical solutions for implementing these solutions in their life. These solutions may be based on what the person has used in the past, or what they have seen other people try or even what they imagine would be helpful.
Narrative therapy works by helping a person to separate themselves from their problems, which may have arisen from negative life events and become stories that shape how a person thinks, behaves or identifies themselves in life. This therapy allows a person to evaluate and gain new perspectives on the role of these life events or problems so that they feel empowered in “rewriting” a new narrative or life story to define themselves.
Existential psychotherapy developed from existential philosophers, such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre and over time emerged in many streams of humanistic and relational psychology. Existential psychotherapy is concerned with helping people accept and come to terms with concepts such as death, isolation, meaninglessness, freedom and personal responsibility. Where a person may have previously experienced deep anxiety or despair, this therapy helps them to find meaning and purpose in their future by promoting self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-motivated action.
Mindfulness therapies refers predominantly to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and stress-reduction programs whereby mindfulness meditation or mindful movements comprise the active components of the therapy. These approaches have been found to be helpful for those who have experienced recurrent depression.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. PTSD symptoms can vary in intensity over time. You may have more PTSD symptoms when you’re stressed in general, or when you come across reminders of what you went through. PTSD is a trauma disorder, however trauma may also arise in childhood or in response to any deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. It can cause feelings of helplessness, diminish the person’s sense of self and reduce their ability to feel a full range of emotions and experiences. Events that may cause trauma responses typically involve the loss of control, betrayal, abuse of power, helplessness, pain, confusion and/or loss.
People can experience high stress when there is an unbalance between the demands on their energy and the resources available to meet these demands, although the degree of stress can be moderated by different factors such as thinking styles, personality and coping skills. Many people need some degree of stress or pressure to motivate them to get things done, however health and performance can be negatively impacted by chronic high stress. Consequences of chronic stress can be cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, fatigue, anxiety or depression.
Sleep problems or insomnia can arise due to stress, illness, physical pain, caffeine intake, technology use, shift work or some disruption in normal routine. Ongoing sleep disruptions may indicate the presence of a sleep or mental health disorder. Common symptoms include being unable to fall asleep, waking several times at night, or feeling drained and tired when it’s time to wake up. Sleep issues can lead to irritability, poor concentration, impaired memory, daytime napping, lethargy and low mood.
Many people spend a good deal of time in a workplace, so it’s not surprising that workplace issues can have detrimental impacts on a person’s overall health and well-being. Examples of workplace issues include communication or performance issues, accidents or poor safety regulations, bullying and harassment, discrimination or unfair dismissal. Many workplaces have a Human Resources department that can assist to resolve difficulties in line with the Law, however these resolution processes can sometimes be complicated and lengthy and can impact on a person’s capacity to work for a period of time. If a person becomes injured at work, either due to a physical or psychological injury, they may be eligible for workers compensation to cover them for any time they are not working in order to be treated for their injury. A key goal of workers compensation is to support the person to return to work.