What we do

An important aspect of all the support we offer will be the opportunity for you to regularly record how your mood changes from week to week.  This will help us to focus in on particular problems you have while also helping you to identify the ways your mood may have improved.

Employment support

If you are being seen within our service, you may also be able to get support from our employment service.  Here are some of the things we do:

• Confidence building and assertiveness skills at work
• Training of interest to you as a step toward work
• Interview skills
• Support with your C.V.
• Support with retaining your job

What is a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner?

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) are trained professionals who use guided self-help techniques based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to assist you to identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviours and equip you with ways in which you can help yourself through your problems. PWPs work with people who may experience the following: depression; anxiety; panic attacks; stress; excessive worrying and mild phobias.

How does the process work? 

Once you have been allocated a PWP they will call you to arrange your first appointment with them. This is usually a face to face appointment so you can see the person you will be working with. Sessions last for 30 minutes and are either over the telephone or face to face.

What is guided self help? 

Guided self help is not counselling. Usually you will be working with your PWP through a workbook specifically designed for your problem based on scientifically proven techniques. This will involve doing some work in-between the sessions which you will then review with your PWP e.g. keeping a record of when you feel anxious. Being willing and motivated to try these tasks will affect the speed of your recovery so it is important you are able to find time to do them. Don’t worry if you think you’ve done a task incorrect, this is useful information that you can tell your PWP to help you overcome obstacles you may encounter.  Your PWP will also tell you about other things you may find useful for example books, CDs or websites or inform you about other services or groups within the service or borough.

What is a High Intensity Therapist? 

High intensity therapists offer more intensive support than what is offered by a PWP. Your therapist may be a Psychologist or CBT Therapist and s/he will usually see you once per week for around 50 minutes and you will decide together what you want to focus on in therapy.  The most important aspect of therapy will be that you work together with your therapist to help you to reach your goals.  Additionally, it will be important for you to be able to build on what you do during therapy sessions by also completing activities between sessions that will be agreed on with your therapist.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy? 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a very effective form of therapy. CBT has been found to be very effective in helping people that feel low or anxious. It aims to help you look at different aspects of your problem and understand how your thoughts, feelings and behaviour are linked. Your therapist will work with you to create a safe environment where you can discover what changes you can make to live more healthily, be more confident and feel better. CBT sessions tend to be focused on one or two target problems. The aim is for you to learn new skills to help you cope with difficulties. You might be asked to try your new skills outside the sessions so that you can practice and grow in confidence.

What is Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy?

Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy or DIT is a time limited and structured psychotherapy, typically delivered over 16 weekly sessions. It aims to help you understand the connection between presenting symptoms and what is happening in your relationships through identifying a core repetitive pattern of relating that can be traced back to childhood. Once this pattern is  identified, it will be used to make sense of difficulties in relationships in the here-and-now that contribute to psychological stress.

Therapy comes in many forms, each having a particular focus and emphasis. DIT focuses mostly on relationship problems. When a person is able to deal with a relationship problem more effectively, his or her psychological symptoms often improve. DIT aims to help people recognise specific relationship patterns and to make changes in their relationships. There is a growing body of scientific evidence demonstrating the benefit of this approach.

Your therapist will encourage you to reflect on what you think and feel, thereby enhancing your ability to manage current interpersonal difficulties. It aims at relieving your symptoms of distress, enhancing your interpersonal functioning and your capacity for understanding yourself and others. During this therapy, your therapist will help you find more appropriate ways of being and coping with difficult relationships in your life.

What is Couples Therapy for Depression?

This therapy is evidence based and was developed to help people suffering from mild to moderate depression who also experience difficulties in their relationship. When a person experiences depression this can impact on their relationship and sometimes problems in relationships can lead to one or both partners becoming depressed or anxious. Couples therapy for depression deals with both depression and relationship distress. The therapy aims to help improve interactions between partners, to communicate more helpfully and work together.  It helps partners understand one another’s emotions and the things they do. As well as gaining an understanding for one another, the couple learn skills. This can lead to a more fulfilling relationship where differences between partners become less problematic.  Couples are invited to attend four assessment sessions to identify whether Couples Therapy for depression would be a helpful therapy for them. If this therapy is identified as being suitable, the couple will then be invited to attend up to 16 weekly therapy sessions.

What is Behavioural Couples Therapy?

Behavioural Couples Therapy (BCT) aims to improve couple relationships, especially where depression or anxiety are affecting one or both of the partners. It helps couples with both overcoming depression and alleviating relationship distress. This is achieved in a number of ways such as enhancing the partners’ understanding of depression, helping them improve communication and resolve conflict, as well as working towards increasing positive experiences and decreasing negative ones. When distress in relationships is resolved the chances of depression returning are expected to be reduced, which makes BCT particularly suitable for distressed couples who are also dealing with depression. However, BCT is also suitable for couples who are not distressed in the relationship but where one of the partners is suffering from depression or anxiety.

What is EMDR?

The mind can often heal itself naturally the same way the body does, this natural mechanism often happens during sleep particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. EMDR was developed using this natural process in order to successfully treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.