What... problems I help people with

For me, people's problems are more obstacles to be overcome than illnesses to be treated.  So although I treat the mental health diagnoses which respond best to therapy, for me a person with a mental health diagnosis is like someone living in a bad place: people can live in several places at once, change where they live, or move from one place to another. And if diagnoses are like places, then therapy is like journeying to a better place with the help of a guide:  The task is to start from where you are now, take the best route out, get the things you need and end up somewhere where you want to be. The problems I help people most often with are:

Work problems

These include choosing a career getting a job, doing the job, handling conflict or bullying and stress, getting rewarded, getting ahead, and surviving job loss. Some jobs are more stressful than others, but according to the Office of National Statistics, in any week, 1 in 8 workers in the UK have enough symptoms to have a psychological disorder. Occupational Psychology and experience of organisations have shown me what helps people overcome these problems and thrive: skills in careers development, self-presentation, self-management, creativity, conflict management, and leadership. In addition, clinical work has taught me how to raise people's emotional intelligence at work by improving their awareness, communication and control of feelings.

Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety includes obsession, worry, fear, phobia and panic.  Depression includes low mood caused by grief, loneliness, low self-esteem, oppression, meaninglessness, and pessimism.  According to the ONS, in any week 1 in 6 people in the UK have enough symptoms of anxiety and/or depression to have a psychological disorder.  I find that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), visualisation and mindfulness meditation work for these problems.

Relationship problems

These include finding the right relationship, becoming intimate, making relationships work, managing toxic partners, and surviving break-ups.   I find that Assertiveness training, Non-violent Communication, and Cognitive-behavioural relationship skills work for these problems.

Psychological Trauma

Including the effects of accidents, violence, torture, abuse, rape and injury.  According to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, in any year about 1 in 30 people have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  I find that Affect Management Skills Training, Lifespan Integration, EMDR and CBT need to work together to resolve these problems.

Addictions

These include addictions to alcohol, cocaine, sex and the internet.  According to the ONS, in any year 1 in 14 people in the UK are dependent on alcohol or drugs.  I find that motivational interviewing, relapse prevention, and building a more satisfying lifestyle help for these problems.

What methods I use

Like many therapists I call myself integrative. That is, I use the "mental maps" of several forms of psychotherapy: cognitive behavioural, psychodynamic, developmental, transpersonal, and so on.  Each of these forms of psychotherapy offers a partial map, which charts some problems and some treatment routes but ignores many others.  Devotees of each of these forms of psychotherapy behave as if the problems and treatments they're missing don't exist.  "Eclectic" therapists try to solve the difficulty by looking back and forth from one map of psychotherapy to another, but they risk getting lost and going round in circles.  Integrative therapists aim to stitch psychotherapy maps together to show where each problem is in relation to the others and how each treatment links to the others, so that they can offer the client joined-up therapy and a complete way out.  However, stitching psychotherapy maps together is a tricky thing to do, which is why few therapists achieve a complete and successful integration.  I believe I have built a way to succeed with integration, by putting different maps of the mind into a common framework and system of psychotherapy I call PsycNav™.  It considers the client's personality, problems, history, situation, process, motivation, thinking and perspective, to work out where they are now and how they can get where they want to go. PsycNav™ helps me to integrate Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, EMDR, NLP, Lifespan Integration, Transpersonal, and many other approaches so that the client gets the right help at the right time.

What therapy feels like

Therapy is a journey of the mind and the heart, so like any journey it has lows as well as highs.  The therapist needs to pace the journey so that you explore the depths of your feelings and then come up from the depths to experience clear insights and new energy.  You can expect to face hard truths and feel raw emotions, but know that you only have to go as deep as you choose.  Also, like any big journey, it involves effort. The therapist is there to challenge, guide, coach and support you, but you need to say which way you want to go, and you need to overcome your problems yourself.  The more effort you put in, the further you'll get.  As you get further you'll start to feel calmer, more positive, more certain about who you are, and clearer about where you want to go in life.

What therapy can change and what it can't

There are many cases, both in history and in the news, of people finding the power to transform themselves and their lives.  We now also know that the power to change by learning and growing new brain cells extends throughout the lifespan.  Therapy harnesses these powers, and in studies it has been shown to change people so that on average they end up feeling better than 80% of people like them who didn't get therapy.  Nevertheless therapy has its limits: it's quicker and easier to change:

• what is new than what is old
• what is small than what is large
• what is learned than what is innate
• what is simple than what is complicated
• what is seen than what is unseen
• what is in you than what is in your world

The therapist is there to help you, in the words of the prayer, to change what you can change, to accept what you cannot change, and to learn the difference.

What the risks are in therapy

Around 5% of clients in research studies feel worse after a course of therapy.  Some get more bad news while in therapy.  Others get therapy which is too brief to solve their problems. A few get therapists who miss the problem, don't make them work, or use overly distressing techniques.  I reduce such risks by doing a thorough assessment, giving homework, and keeping distressing techniques to a minimum.  You can also reduce the risk by telling a therapist if you start to feel worse, so they can change direction.   That said, even the best therapy will be uncomfortable at times as you accept hard truths, express bad feelings or try new behaviours.   The therapist is there to help you pace the discomfort so you grow stronger until you are able to win the good things in life.

Contactable at: +44(0)7971 597331, or at info@jeremyslaughter.com