Framework


The theoretical framework I use to understand my clients is called integrative, which means that it draws from a number of different disciplines as appropriate. I often work with CAT which is a short, time limited framework, typically lasting no longer than sixteen sessions, and which has a definite beginning, middle and end. This allows for the task to be defined, and saves you feeling you are embarking on endless counselling with no end in sight.

I use CBT methods within that, setting tasks and homework so that the sessions effectively carry on out of the room. My understand of human process is psychodynamic, in that I believe that we often do things because we are unaware of the way we have been brought up, but I do not believe that the problem is 'inside' us - more that it is how we relate to ourselves and others. This understanding is to be found in CAT which is a restatement of psychodynamic principles in cognitive terms.

Latterly I have been using EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) accredited training for trauma, abuse and depression. This suggests that difficult experiences become ‘locked’ in our brain and that reprocessing in therapy can help us integrate them into our more healthy self.