PSYCHOTHERAPY

Most people experience anxiety or depression at some stage of life and need to come to terms with pain or disappointment. Often this can be resolved by the individual without outside help. Sometimes, however the difficulties persist causing unhappiness at home and at work. This may be because current difficulties are stirring up feelings from the past of which the person is not consciously aware. Psychotherapy can enable individuals to understand hidden aspects of themselves.

Psychotherapy can help those who:
· feel anxious and unable to cope with the burdens of life
· experience an underlying sense of sadness or dissatisfaction
· lack confidence or feel they are not adequately fulfilling their potential
· experience difficulty making or sustaining relationships or who are repeatedly drawn into unhappy partnerships
· find it hard to come to terms with a life change such as bereavement, divorce or job loss
· express emotional problems through physical symptoms

Psychotherapy has been repeatedly scientifically demonstrated to be of benefit for most people in most situations. Benefits might include the lifting of a depression or no longer feeling afraid or angry or anxious. You may experience a significant lessening of the distress of depression or anxiety. You may be better able to cope with social or family relationships, and so receive more satisfaction from them. You may better understand your personal goals and values and thus grow and mature as a person.

How does psychotherapy work?

In a reliable setting the person coming for help is encouraged to use the time for reflection. Whatever is foremost on the individual's mind is brought to the session. This can be feelings, thoughts, memories, dreams. The therapist listens and tries to help the person make sense of feelings and behaviour.
As the relationship with the therapist develops the individual discovers new insights, and more appropriate ways of coping with problems and feelings can be found.
Sessions are regular and frequent so as to give as much continuity and support as possible.

At The London Therapy Centre we use three major approaches in treatment:

The psychoanalytic approach focuses on the way in which the client organises his/her internal world. It examines early childhood experiences, issues of self-esteem, intimacy, how one feels about oneself, relationships with others, painful memories and experiences. The relationship with the psychotherapist is very important for it serves as a vehicle to understand how the client relates to others, past and present, in his or her world.

The humanistic-existential approach focuses on understanding the client's view of the world in the here-and-now and how s/he experiences his or her world. The emphasis is on current life situations, transitions, dilemmas, relationships, and how a particular world view affects one's perception of the world. This approach is concerned with responsibility, action, awareness, and growth. It assumes that each person has a unique potential for growth and the task of psychotherapy is to facilitate the fulfillment of that human potential.

The cognitive-behavioural approach examines the client's beliefs and behaviours. Individuals hold beliefs about themselves and relationships that affect behaviour. Negative beliefs lead to maladaptive behaviours. By examining and challenging these beliefs with new information, subsequent new behaviours can change. This approach also examines behaviours directly so that new, more adaptive behaviours can be developed. This approach is especially beneficial for changing habits, learned behavioural patterns, phobias, and many forms of depression.