Frequently Asked Questions
What is psychodynamic counselling? Psychodynamic counselling is a talking treatment in which you will be encouraged to find words for your thoughts and feelings. It means being honest with yourself and taking responsibility for change. This form of treatment requires a commitment and willingness to get in touch with what may be painful feelings. It is a change based therapy, not just exploration. The therapists role is to listen carefully then help you make links between your current situation, your past experiences and your interaction with the therapist in the counselling setting. Elucidation of unconscious patterns of behaviour, defences used as a coping mechanisms are explored in relation to how they profoundly influence current relationships and behaviour. This process enables you to reflect on your experiences, increase self-awareness, and move forward. The aim is to discuss your emotional difficulties, make links with past experiences and their impact on current relationships with others to help you to find a way through these difficulties whilst providing emotional support and a safe place to explore and reflect.
What is CBT? Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - CBT - works with present day distress and focuses on how thoughts affect the way you feel. CBT helps identify and understand emotional problems in terms of the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviour in the here and now. You and your therapist set goals and methods to manage current symptoms and overcome the problem in the present. CBT involves homework assignments to work on between sessions trying out new methods of approaching emotional difficulties. Typically what happens in a CBT session is that the therapist discusses with the client what they want to achieve, creating aims and goals of the therapy so as to manage your symptoms using specific techniques. Interventions such as exploring and changing negative thought patterns using formulations in CBT such as a diagrammatic representation of how you perceive yourself, the way you operate in the world around you and changing current thoughts and behaviours. The NHS recommendation is anything up to 18 or 20 although frequently clients have fewer sessions than that, they may have 6 sessions. Other times longer term therapy is introduced as a supportive talking treatment. So technically 6, 10 sessions although it can go up to 18 20 or on to longer term work.
What is EMDR? Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing – EMDR - has been successfully used to effectively treat a wide range of mental health problems including: anxiety, panic attacks, depression, stress, addictions, pain relief, phantom limb pain, self-esteem and performance anxiety, phobias, sleep problems, complicated grief. It is a way of utilising the mind to heal and recover naturally in the same way the body does. Much of our natural healing and coping mechanisms occur during sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro 1987, developed EMDR by utilising this natural process in order to successfully treat trauma related symptoms. Similar to using a cast or crutches to aid the body back to recovery, EMDR assists the mind to heal back to recovery. There may be scars but you can gain your life back. EMDR utilises the natural healing ability of your body and the processing of past traumatic events helps you break through the emotional blocks that are keeping you from living an adaptive, emotionally healthy life. It is described as an adaptive Information processing model that stimulates the brains information processing system to facilitate a more adaptive resolution of distressing material.
What should I expect in an EMDR Treatment Plan? EMDR is an 8 Phased Protocol.
Phase 1 A treatment plan is collaboratively created with your therapist addressing any questions and setting expectations.
Phase 2 Grounding and stabilising skills are created e.g. a ‘safe place’ to use in and outside of your sessions.
Phase 3 During Assessment, specific questions are asked about a particular disturbing memory and to activate the negative experience and desired adaptive resolution.
Phase 4 sets of rapid Eye Movement (EMs), similar to REM sleep, using various forms of bilateral stimulation are recreated and applied across your visual field, such as a bar of moving lights or headphones. These are alternated with brief reports about what you are experiencing, such as thoughts, images and feelings that arise during sets of EMs. You are encouraged to just allow the brain to work through the experience and continue processing until the past disturbing experience has been updated and adapted to a present perspective. The memory changes in such a way it becomes desensitised and loses its intensity simply becoming a neutral past memory.
Phase 5, integrates the installation of new insights and perspectives into your daily life.
Phase 6 A body Scan works through any residual somatic feelings left over.
Phase 7 Closes that target memory.
Phase 8 Re-evaluates any other associated memories that may also heal at the same time.
What is TFP? Transference-focused psychotherapy -TFP- is a psychoanalytic treatment designed to help individuals with personality disorders by utilising the relationship between therapist and patient to explore and understand the patients emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. During the sessions the therapist focuses on the therapeutic relationship through the lens of exploring the patients splitting defences. Splitting defences involve seeing things in extremes, all good or all bad, and are used as coping mechanisms for conflicting emotions about something or someone they find difficult to manage or intolerable. External dyadic relationships are identified when they come into the therapeutic relationship to engage the process of working through that leads to a more integrated cohesive sense of self and identity, promoting emotional stability. The primary goals of TFP are to facilitate psychological growth and promote healthy ways of relating to oneself and others. TFP is primarily designed to treat individuals with personality disorders, especially borderline personality disorder. BPD, self-harm and substance use disorders often co-occur due to shared risk factors, leading individuals to use substances as a coping mechanism for intense emotions and stress.
Why should I choose a therapist? You could seek counselling for many different reasons. You may be aware of feelings or aspects of your behaviour which interfere with your capacity to live a satisfying life. You may be severely affected by a personal crisis, such as divorce, redundancy or bereavement, relationship breakdown. Whatever the source of your unhappiness, psychotherapy implies a wish to think about and understand painful feelings in order for you to achieve a more satisfying resolution.
How can therapy help me? Psychotherapy can help you gain a deeper understanding of your problems and the experiences that gave rise to them. Psychotherapy takes place in the context of a relationship with your therapist. The aim is for new and better resolutions of understanding problems, leading to a greater capacity for satisfaction in relationships, work and social and life events. The aim is to help and support you discover what is going on in your life and to unravel any repeated patterns of behaviours that are no longer serving you well. This helps to gain insight and clarity into who you are and gain greater autonomy and control of your life.
What can I expect? On receipt of your enquiry you will be given an appointment for a private Consultation for assessment. There is a minimum of two assessment sessions. You will be asked to complete some paperwork and a questionnaire prior to assessment. This will greatly help in assessing your needs. The evaluation process may take longer up to a maximum of six weeks. During the evaluation period you may be referred to a more suitable organisation that better suits your needs. During the evaluation process you will have the opportunity to discuss the day time of your weekly sessions and length of your Therapy Agreement. You need to be able to make a commitment to attend once weekly sessions at a regular time and day. I offer individual therapy once a week for 6, 12, 24 weeks and ongoing.
Confidentiality? Therapy takes place in confidential surroundings in my private practice or online. Sessions are confidential and your privacy will be respected. However in accordance with the BACP code of ethics and statutory obligations to protect the safety of yourself and others the counsellor reserves the right to share information with other health professionals involved in your care or the relevant authority. I will discuss confidentiality with you in the first session. Confidentiality of internet/telephone communication e.g. email, text, cannot be 100% assured as with online communication (e.g. Skype/Zoom/Vsee/Teams) which are vulnerable due to constantly emerging new threats. The work is being undertaken in accordance with the laws of the practitioner’s own country, any disputes are subject to that country’s law.
Recording of sessions At times sessions may be recorded for the purpose of improving our work together. Recordings are shared with clinical colleagues for supervision purposes only and are duly destroyed shortly after. You will be asked permission to record sessions in writing. You may always refuse recording of sessions. If you have any other questions or concerns about recordings, please ask your therapist who will be happy to discuss this with you.
GDPR Clients have a right under data protection to see clinical notes and basic records of attendance, held for 7 years (DPA 1998), confidentially and securely, separate from the client’s identity. Please note I do not maintain any ‘data base’ and use an external hard drive rather than online 'Cloud' storage. Counselling notes take the form of basic records of attendance including brief notes of session, date and time of attendance, start and finish of therapy and fees paid for accountancy purposes. Our work does not involve assessing the validity or truth of your experience or reconstructing the event, I do not write detailed notes or accounts of trauma, physical, sexual, emotional, domestic abuse, therefore clinical notes cannot be relied upon as legal witness statements. Any other aide memoires for therapist and supervision purposes are suitably destroyed thereafter for client confidentiality purposes.
What happens if I cannot attend a session? I will offer you a regular appointment, once a week at a set time and day. The regularity of the sessions is an important part if the psychotherapy process. If you are unable to attend your appointment, it is important to let the therapist know in advance. Two weeks notice must be given for non attendance otherwise all sessions must be paid for regardless of reason for absence.
Clinical Will A Clinical Will is set up as an ongoing process with the aim that, should anything happen to your therapist, you will be contacted so that you will be informed and offered a referral service. I understand that this might be a distressing time for my clients, should this event occur, which is why this process is set up to ensure clients have as much containment during this process as possible.
What are the Fees? Concessions are offered subject to availability.
Individual adults £70-£90 (50 mins) weekly sessions
Supervision £80 (50 mins) fortnightly sessions
How can I book an appointment?
For counselling and psychotherapy please see contact page...
To book an initial consultation call or email:
Anthea Hollingworth MBACP
Tel: 07933 093 197
Email: info@counsellingclinic.co.uk
Location: Putney SW15 & Southampton HAMPSHIRE SO30
For counselling and psychotherapy Putney SW15 South West London, Southampton SO30, Hampshire please see contact page...
Counselling and psychotherapy Putney SW15, South West London, Southampton SO30, Hampshire
