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.