About

When is psychological therapy required?

Psychological therapy is required when you are living in a permanent state of distress or anxiety – leaving you feeling stuck or trapped. You don’t feel in control, you are overly anxious and you avoid or put tasks off. The distressing experience or feeling may be cyclic, but difficult to get rid of – especially when your day-to-day functioning begins to be affected.

The reasons for the onset of psychological difficulties may be related to sudden stresses such as bereavement or traumatic life changes. In other situations, problems may be linked to longer standing difficulties, such as painful childhood experiences. Psychological problems may also build up over time inadvertently and be brought to a head by the proverbial last straw.

What to expect?

Psychological therapy starts with an assessment in the first session – discussing the difficulties you have had or are experiencing. This will enable me to establish which psychological approach would be best suited, as well as the number of sessions you might find helpful in treating your difficulty.

In practice, the first assessment session allows you the space and time to communicate your difficulties. This is normally done through guided questioning. The assessment has a dual purpose: to give me an overall understanding of the difficulties while enabling you to assess if you felt heard and understood. At the end of the initial assessment, you will receive a generalised summary of my clinical impressions. At this point it will be determined if this service is suited to your needs or not. Should the therapy be continued, an initial number of sessions will be contracted, commencing the therapeutic intervention.

Common problems people might wish to seek help for

If you experience one or more of the following psychological difficulties, you may require therapy:

Anxiety:

Generalised Anxiety, Health Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Phobias, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Mood disorders:

Depressive Disorders

Developmental Disorders:

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Other psychological difficulties also include:

Low self esteem or loss of confidence, Stress, Feelings of despair, Obsessions with ruminative thoughts

Confidentiality

Being a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, I adhere to the Professional and Ethical Standards of the British Psychological Society and Health & Care Professions Council. I view confidentiality of the utmost importance, which means that all the information discussed within the therapeutic process is kept confidential.

Should a request to supply a report or letter be required, you as a client will first be consulted. Except for a full psychological assessment report, only essential information will be provided to the referrer or health insurer. Please note there are exceptions when it comes to confidentiality. I am required by law to disclose information when concerns involve child protection issues. If in doubt, this can be discussed with me in your first session.

Themes of interest

Anxiety

We are living in times with various external pressures and stressors. This could leave us feeling trapped or stuck and cause us anxiety. Anxiety can take on many different forms …

Men and Depression

Men and Depression by Dr Lawrence Howells, Chartered Clinical Psychologist When people are depressed they tend to feel down for the majority of the time. They find that things they …

Depression

How can we understand depression? It is important that we distinguish between feeling depressed and having a depressive illness/depression. Feeling “depressed” can be an everyday feeling and may include such …