Psychological therapy can be defined as ‘the talking cure’. It is the treatment that helps people deal with their problems by gaining a better understanding of themselves, the way they live their lives and especially how they relate to others.
Psychological therapy is a collaborative process. It differs from ‘advice giving’ in that the focus is to enable you to develop and draw on your own skills and strengths in order to move forward.
The psychologist’s part in all of this is largely to observe and reflect where you may be falling into unhelpful or destructive thought patterns, beliefs or behaviours. The aim is to gradually introduce alternative, more constructive patterns. Many people find it difficult to see what triggered their feelings of distress and unhappiness, as it could manifest as “a general feeling of dissatisfaction with life”, which is hard to pin down.
Psychological therapy is done in a space in which you should feel safe and secure to integrate or deal with your difficulties. The difficulties you experience may seem overwhelming at times – especially when you don’t understand your own thought patterns and emotions and find it difficult to express yourself. The therapeutic process will give you the opportunity to verbalise and organise these thoughts and experiences, which will ultimately give insight to enable change and integration.