Counselling and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
"In a disordered mind, as in a disordered body, soundness of health is impossible." Cicero
WHILST HANDS-ON THERAPIES, EXERCISE CLASSES AND MEDITATION ARE ALL WONDERFUL WAYS TO HELP WITH STRESS, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION; SOMETIMES ALL WE REALLY NEED IS TO TALK.
In an ideal world we would all be able to unburden ourselves to friends and neighbours as part of our daily life but most of us do not live in that ideal world. Very often we work, run homes, clean and cook and put on a fixed smile. For many, there is little opportunity to have meaningful or in-depth conversations and little time to fit them in; but we all need to be heard to feel we are being listened to and we cope better with trauma and tragedy if we feel supported. For so many people today there is little family or community help. The days are long gone where families all lived near each other and neighbours were on hand to pick up the slack.
Very often when children grow up, they move to different towns or cities and lose that essential support network that is so important for well-being. Often people are out at work all day and are not available for a cuppa or a chat over the fence it is easy to underestimate the value of community, of having good neighbours and friends- the eyes and the ears who detect when someone is struggling perhaps with new motherhood or loneliness or just with coping with life.
This is where counselling comes in because at its simplest it is allowing someone to talk about their problems in an atmosphere of trust and warmth, in the knowledge that what they say will neither be judged or used against them. The job of the therapist is to provide a sympathetic and attentive ear and their skill lies more in the timing of what they say rather than the content of what is said.
Counselling can take many forms and sometimes the client or person who wishes to be helped needs a more active type of therapist, one who will help them explore their problems. If this is done in a supportive and non-judgemental way, this can be a powerful aid to changing thoughts and behaviour patterns. Often we are unaware of how things from our past get carried along with us and exert a negative influence on our behaviour and mood; and sometimes we need someone else’s help or insight to show us where we have become stuck. Counselling can be ideal after loss of any kind such as bereavement or divorce as it leads the person through all the different stages of grief whilst offering support.
Children can also benefit from therapy from an experienced counsellor or play therapist because often they feel as if they don’t have a voice and do not matter. Even very young children who aren’t able to talk about their emotions can be helped through play or art therapy; this can be their route to being heard and to express their emotions. Often events like separation or divorce or family bereavement can have a detrimental effect on children’s emotional development; help from someone experienced in these therapies can really make a difference.
The sessions are usually weekly and last for about an hour. Obviously the participant would have to feel comfortable talking about their problems but for many people it is a huge relief to speak about things that perhaps they have not expressed before.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT is a therapy which aims to alter someone’s perceptions, memories and thoughts about themselves, if these are considered to be the root of their problems. There has been much research into CBT and it actually has been proved to be more effective in treating depression than medication. It has been recommended to GPs as the most effective and quickest way of treating anxiety and mood disorders. The problem is that not many surgeries are able to offer CBT to their patients. In CBT, the client works with the therapist on the best ways to move forward and leave the problems behind. It is the practical and methodical approach which focuses on the present and does not need to delve too deeply into past problems and traumas. It uses a variety of techniques including relaxation, meditation and Neural Linguistic Programming (NLP).
The sessions are weekly and there is continuous assessment and evaluation of the client’s progress. It is especially suited to those who would like a viable alternative to drugs and don’t really feel the need to dwell on the past. Often a visit to a GP can result in a prescription for anti-depressants and although medication may be needed for a short time to help a person in transition, it is clearly a better long term solution to tackle the root cause of these sad or negative feelings. The more we understand about the causation of a problem, the easier it is to get rid of. Whilst it would be nice to think that all patients in need could have access to a talking, supportive therapy on the NHS, very often this is not the case.
The ultimate aim of these therapies is to free us from the shackles of our past and set us free to enjoy a happier future.
"The mind that is anxious about the future is miserable." Seneca
