Psychological Assessment and Intervention, Richmond-upon-Thames

Services

Therapeutic Approaches

I work integratively, which means I am able to draw from various therapeutic approaches and often incorporate more than one approach into the treatment plan. The main psychological therapies I integrate into my work are detailed below.

Person-Centered Therapy

Person-Centered Therapy is a humanistic approach that works to understand personal experiences from the client’s point of view. This approach helps people reconnect with their inner values and sense of self-worth. This process facilitates self-discovery, self-acceptance, and it provides a means toward healing and positive growth.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that mainly focuses on the present and future. CBT explores negative thinking patterns and beliefs and the way they impact our emotions and behaviour. CBT aims to challenge unhelpful thinking patterns and in doing that, change the behaviour that may be maintaining the problem.

Modified Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (MDBT)

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) was developed for people with borderline personality disorder but it is a very effective therapy for people needing help managing self-destructive behaviours such as self-harm, addiction, and eating disorders. DBT uses techniques such as mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness to help people cope better with distressing emotions and situations.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is similar to CBT in that it explores thinking styles. Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying and struggling with their inner emotions and instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives. With this understanding clients begin to accept their problems or new life circumstances and commit to making necessary changes in their behaviour. This form of therapy can be very effective for clients struggling to come to terms with a diagnosis as well as for substance abuse and certain anxiety disorders.

Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)

Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) integrates techniques from CBT with concepts from social and developmental psychology. It aims to help promote mental and emotional healing by encouraging people in therapy to be compassionate toward themselves and others. Compassion is an emotional response believed to be an essential aspect of well-being and developing compassion often improves mental and emotional health. It is often used when working with body image issues and low self-esteem.

Solution-Focused Therapy

Solution-Focused Therapy is a goal-directed collaborative approach to psychotherapeutic change that is conducted through direct observation of clients’ responses to a series of precisely constructed questions. It concentrates on finding solutions in the present time and exploring the client’s hope for the future to find a quicker resolution of one’s problems. It is brief therapy and is helpful when working with adolescents, addiction, relationship problems and when carrying out animal assisted therapy. It can stand alone as a therapy or be used alongside other therapies.

Therapeutic Approaches

I work integratively, which means I am able to draw from various therapeutic approaches and often incorporate more than one approach into the treatment plan. The main psychological therapies I integrate into my work are detailed below.

Person-Centered Therapy

Person-Centered Therapy is a humanistic approach that works to understand personal experiences from the client’s point of view. This approach helps people reconnect with their inner values and sense of self-worth. This process facilitates self-discovery, self-acceptance, and it provides a means toward healing and positive growth.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that mainly focuses on the present and future. CBT explores negative thinking patterns and beliefs and the way they impact our emotions and behaviour. CBT aims to challenge unhelpful thinking patterns and in doing that, change the behaviour that may be maintaining the problem.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) was developed for people with borderline personality disorder but it is a very effective therapy for people needing help managing self-destructive behaviours such as self-harm, addiction, and eating disorders. DBT uses techniques such as mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness to help people cope better with distressing emotions and situations.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is similar to CBT in that it explores thinking styles. Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying and struggling with their inner emotions and instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives. With this understanding clients begin to accept their problems or new life circumstances and commit to making necessary changes in their behaviour. This form of therapy can be very effective for clients struggling to come to terms with a diagnosis as well as for substance abuse and certain anxiety disorders.

Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)

Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) integrates techniques from CBT with concepts from social and developmental psychology. It aims to help promote mental and emotional healing by encouraging people in therapy to be compassionate toward themselves and others. Compassion is an emotional response believed to be an essential aspect of well-being and developing compassion often improves mental and emotional health. It is often used when working with body image issues and low self-esteem.

Solution-Focused Therapy

Solution-Focused Therapy is a goal-directed collaborative approach to psychotherapeutic change that is conducted through direct observation of clients’ responses to a series of precisely constructed questions. It concentrates on finding solutions in the present time and exploring the client’s hope for the future to find a quicker resolution of one’s problems. It is brief therapy and is helpful when working with adolescents, addiction, relationship problems and when carrying out animal assisted therapy. It can stand alone as a therapy or be used alongside other therapies.

I work in Richmond-upon-Thames offering psychological assessment and intervention (adolescent and adult) for a wide range of mental health and adjustment problems including:

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Depression/low mood

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Anxiety/stress

OCD
Social anxiety
School and work stress
Bullying – workplace, school & cyber
Transition/Adjustment difficulties

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Addiction (Alcohol, Drug & Gambling)

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Relationship difficulties

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Abuse ( Emotional, verbal & Physical)

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Anger management

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Self-Harming behaviours

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Bereavement & Loss

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Women’s health & Fertility

Coming to terms with a diagnosis
Fertility counselling (miscarriage, IVF, egg donation/sharing, surrogacy).
Perinatal mental health

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Body Image/ Eating issues

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Low Self-Esteem and Confidence

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Parenting/Supporting parents with children with emotional, behavioural or psychological difficulties.

I work in Richmond-upon-Thames offering psychological assessment and intervention (child, adolescent and adult) for a wide range of mental health and adjustment problems including:

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