PSYCHOTHERAPIES WE USE
CLINICAL NEURO-PSYCHOTHERAPY
Clinical Neuro-Psychotherapy is an integrative psychotherapeutic approach that takes into account the dynamic interplay between mind, body, social interaction, and the environment on the client's well-being. Recent research indicates that clinically proven talk therapies significantly enhance positive behaviour, brain functioning, and even brain structure, especially in the prefrontal cortex regions, orbito-frontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampus and amygdala.
EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITISATION & REPROCESSING (EMDR) THERAPY
EMDR therapy is an interactive psychotherapeutic approach proven for the effective treatment of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). EMDR therapy is not a traditional talk-therapy like most other psychotherapies. As such, it is based on the adaptive information processing (AIP) model, which supports the notion that our minds have a natural capacity to process whatever has happened to us in a healthy and adaptive way.
Significantly stressful/traumatic experiences can overwhelm the brain's natural processing and healing capacity, resulting in those experiences being ineffectually processed, getting caught up in the subconscious, often in their entirety (i.e., distorted thoughts, images, emotions, bodily sensations experienced during the traumatic incident(s)). Given a specific trigger event, this can result in the re-emergence and reliving of the trauma of the original incident, causing much emotional distress.
EMDR therapy works by stimulating the brain in ways that lead it to process unprocessed distressing memories to a point of natural restoration and adaptive resolution, decreased emotional charge (desensitisation), and linkage to positive memory networks (reprocessing).
Significantly stressful/traumatic experiences can overwhelm the brain's natural processing and healing capacity, resulting in those experiences being ineffectually processed, getting caught up in the subconscious, often in their entirety (i.e., distorted thoughts, images, emotions, bodily sensations experienced during the traumatic incident(s)). Given a specific trigger event, this can result in the re-emergence and reliving of the trauma of the original incident, causing much emotional distress.
EMDR therapy works by stimulating the brain in ways that lead it to process unprocessed distressing memories to a point of natural restoration and adaptive resolution, decreased emotional charge (desensitisation), and linkage to positive memory networks (reprocessing).
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that is the most widely used evidence-based practice for improving mental health. Rooted in empirical research, CBT focuses on the development of person coping strategies to change unhelpful patterns in cognitions (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes), behaviours, and emotional regulation, thereby improving personal functioning and solving current issues.
Following a traumatic incident, it often happens that a person blames himself/herself for things they had no or little control over. E.g., someone being involved in a motor vehicle accident, which were not their fault, feeling guilty for a family member's injuries or resultant death. CBT supports the client to develop a more realistic perspective, helping them to come to terms with the outcome.
Following a traumatic incident, it often happens that a person blames himself/herself for things they had no or little control over. E.g., someone being involved in a motor vehicle accident, which were not their fault, feeling guilty for a family member's injuries or resultant death. CBT supports the client to develop a more realistic perspective, helping them to come to terms with the outcome.
EXPOSURE RESPONSE PREVENTION THERAPY (ERPT)
Exposure Response Prevention Therapy focuses on the identification of cognitions, emotions and physiological arousal that accompany a fear-inducing stimulus, and breaking the pattern of escape that maintains the fear. This is accomplished by exposing the client to progressively stronger fear-inducing stimuli. Fear is minimised at each of a series of steadily escalating steps or challenges, referred to as a hierarchy, which can be explicit or implicit until the client is able to face the fear-inducing stimulus and better manage their fear response. The psychologist providing the necessary support, the client is in control of the procedure, being able to terminate the procedure at any time during a session, should the client become emotionally overwhelmed.
We have found that the ERPT procedure being preceded by an appropriate number of EMDR sessions, most clients suffering from phobias were able to progress more rapidly through ERPT than following a pure ERPT approach.
We have found that the ERPT procedure being preceded by an appropriate number of EMDR sessions, most clients suffering from phobias were able to progress more rapidly through ERPT than following a pure ERPT approach.
COGNITIVE PROCESSING THERAPY (CPT)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a specific type of cognitive behavioural therapy that has been effective in reducing symptoms of PTSD that have developed after experiencing a variety of traumatic events, including child abuse, combat-related incidents, rape, and natural disasters.
Treatment involves psycho-education regarding PTSD, thoughts and emotions, developing client awareness of the relationship between thoughts and emotions. Treatment involves the identification of "automatic core beliefs and thoughts" that may be maintaining the PTSD symptoms; formal processing of the trauma, identifying unhelpful thoughts about the trauma; developing skills to identify and address them, thereby modifying any maladaptive thinking; and helping the client to develop the ability to use these adaptive strategies outside of treatment to improve their overall functioning and quality of life.
Treatment involves psycho-education regarding PTSD, thoughts and emotions, developing client awareness of the relationship between thoughts and emotions. Treatment involves the identification of "automatic core beliefs and thoughts" that may be maintaining the PTSD symptoms; formal processing of the trauma, identifying unhelpful thoughts about the trauma; developing skills to identify and address them, thereby modifying any maladaptive thinking; and helping the client to develop the ability to use these adaptive strategies outside of treatment to improve their overall functioning and quality of life.
VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) IN THERAPY
According to the Journal for Psychological Medicine 2017 Oct; 47(14), mental health care is facing a technological revolution, with Virtual Reality (VR) being at the forefront for treating a variety of Posttraumatic Stress Disorders, Vicarious Traumas, as well as various phobic and anxiety disorders.
Although not a specific therapy in its own right, Virtual Reality technology combined with psychotherapies such as ERPT, EMDR, CBT, and CPT has been proven to significantly help people suffering from these disorders, helping them to achieve a better, more fulfilling life - a life free from anxiety and panic.
Living with our clients through their trauma, we help them to offload and reach closure thereof, rebuilding their self-confidence and continue to live a quality life.
In others, such as phobic experiences, we accompany and support clients through the difficulties of their experience and the conquering thereof - whether it be driving through the city or along the freeway under various climatic and other conditions, or having their dangling from an eighty-floor building, or travelling on a jet airliner, or their personal space being encroached by small, confined environments, or delivering a speech, or facing their fear for animals, insects or spiders.
Although not a specific therapy in its own right, Virtual Reality technology combined with psychotherapies such as ERPT, EMDR, CBT, and CPT has been proven to significantly help people suffering from these disorders, helping them to achieve a better, more fulfilling life - a life free from anxiety and panic.
Living with our clients through their trauma, we help them to offload and reach closure thereof, rebuilding their self-confidence and continue to live a quality life.
In others, such as phobic experiences, we accompany and support clients through the difficulties of their experience and the conquering thereof - whether it be driving through the city or along the freeway under various climatic and other conditions, or having their dangling from an eighty-floor building, or travelling on a jet airliner, or their personal space being encroached by small, confined environments, or delivering a speech, or facing their fear for animals, insects or spiders.
MUSIC PSYCHOLOGY IN THERAPY
Music is a fundamental attribute or the human species, speaking to us on a very deep level. The human brain and nervous system are hard-wired to distinguish between music and noise, and responds to rhythm and repetition, tones and tunes. Dr Alfred A Tomatis, an ear, nose and throat specialist in as early as 1947 identified the relationship between the ear and the voice. As such, Dr Tomatis showed that listening already starts with the foetus in the womb, particularly as human hearing becomes functional 18 weeks after conception. This discovery was made official in 1957 by the Academy of Science and Medicine in Paris.
Following Dr Tomatis's findings, a variety of very interesting research studies suggest that music enhances the human body, mind and soul.
Following Dr Tomatis's findings, a variety of very interesting research studies suggest that music enhances the human body, mind and soul.
The most highly publicised mental influence of music is the "Mozart effect." Struck by the observation that many musicians have unusual mathematical ability, researchers at the University of California, studied how listening to music affects cognitive functioning in general, and spatial-temporal reasoning in particular. The general finding has been that listening to a Mozart piano sonata over a period, consistently boosted IQ test scores of students to an extent, also improving spatial reasoning and short-term memory. Accordingly, researchers speculate that some forms of music, particularly music composed by Mozart, act as an "exercise" that warms up selected brain cells, allowing them to process information more efficiently.
Music therapy, particularly the sonatas of Mozart, have proven effective in a variety of conditions, e.g., improving listening skills, cognitive ability and creativity, reducing stress levels, improving mood/depression, and even physical/physiological conditions, e.g., improving balance, heart functioning and blood circulation, tinnitus, even stroke recovery.
At present, we are experimenting with the utilisation of Mozart's sonatas as part of our psychotherapeutic approach, particularly with regards to the treatment of clients suffering from PTSD and C-PTSD.