Choosing a therapy
There are a variety of "talking therapies" available in Oxford. People often ask about the differences between them. I hope these notes will help you decide what approach is best for you.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), counselling, psychotherapy and analytic psychotherapy (sometimes called psychoanalytic psychotherapy) and intensive analysis are differing approaches to help those with a variety of problems including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, relationship problems, problems of sexuality and psychosomatic disorders.
"Making Sense of Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis" published jointly by the British Psychoanalytic Council and Mind contains useful descriptions of the various therapies. It is available online and can be helpful in trying to decide what approach will suit you best. http://www.psychoanalytic-council.org/docs/Mind.pdf
Sometimes CBT is suggested in the first instance because it has been found to be effective for some people and is time limited and therefore more affordable than longer term, more exploratory psychotherapy. For this reason CBT is often more available within the NHS than psychotherapy. CBT aims to help you change how you think and therefore what you do. If you would like to explore CBT further, you can follow links from the website of the Royal College of Psychiatrists http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/therapies/cognitivebehaviouraltherapy.aspx
Psychotherapy
Those for whom psychotherapy is better suited often have to look to the private sector. People often seek psychotherapy after completing a course of CBT either because they have not found it as helpful as they had hoped or because although it was helpful, they wish to gain greater understanding of their difficulties.
Psychotherapy can be brief and focused or extended. The booklet "Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy" published in 1999 by the British Confederation of Psychotherapists (now British Psychoanalytic Council) describes the aims and objectives of intensive psychotherapy. It explains that analytic psychotherapy aims for deep seated change and seeks to foster understanding of problems by increasing awareness of the client's inner world and its influence over relationships. The relationship with the therapist is crucial. The therapist offers a confidential setting where unconscious patterns in the inner world become reflected in the relationship with the therapist (transference). In becoming conscious of these patterns the capacity develops to understand and change them.
Sometimes people seek help for specific problems and at other times help is sought because of an underlying feeling of depression or anxiety, difficulties at work or the inability of form satisfactory relationships.
Children and Adolescents
Psychotherapy can help children with emotional or behavioural problems which are apparent at home or school. "Won't they just grow out of it" is a publication of the Child Psychotherapy Trust. It is useful in helping to determine when outside help is indicated. It can be viewed at http://www.understandingchildhood.net/documents/16Wonttheyjust.pdf
When I am asked to see a child or adolescent I ordinarily meet with their parents or carers first. I have prepared "Notes for Parents" Link which helps explain the process. More information is available from the Pegasus Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy website.
Jung and Analytical Psychology
Analytical Psychology is the school of depth psychology founded by the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, an early collaborator of Freud. One of Jung's contributions was in understanding the value of a symptom. He wrote:
(Collected Works Vol 4 pp 184-186)"In the whole of neurology hitherto, no one has ever thought of seeing in the neurosis an attempt at healing. . . From this follows the inquiring and expectant attitude of psychoanalysis towards neurosis. In all cases it refrains from judging the value of a symptom and tries instead to understand what tendencies lie beneath that symptom. If we were able to destroy a neurosis in the same way, for instance, as a cancer is destroyed, we would be destroying at the same time a large amount of useful energy. . . What psychoanalysis asks of the patient is the exact opposite of what the patient has always done. He is like a man who has unintentionally fallen into the water and sunk, whereas psychoanalysis wants him to act like a diver. It was no mere chance which led him to fall in just at that spot. There lies the sunken treasure, but only a diver can bring it to the surface. . . His former compulsion now has a meaning and a purpose, it has become work. . . Here we have the basic principle of all psychoanalytic treatment. "
A former patient wrote to Jung in the following terms. Though written rather poetically, it captures something of the essence of the analytic
(Commentary on "The Secret of the Golden Flower", Taylor, F. S. The Alchemists Heineman, 1951)experience:"Out of evil much good has come to me. By keeping quiet, repressing nothing, remaining attentive and by accepting reality -- taking things as they are, and not as I wanted them to be -- by doing all this, unusual knowledge has come to me, and unusual power as well, such as I could never have imagined before. I always thought that when we accepted things they overpowered us in some way or other. This turns out to be not true at all, and it is only by accepting them that one can assume an attitude towards them. So now I intend to play the game of life, being receptive to whatever comes to me, good and bad, sun and shadow for ever alternating, and in this way, also accepting my own nature with its positive and negative sides. Thus everything becomes more alive to me. What a fool I was! How I tried to force everything to go according to the way I thought it ought to."
Although Jung and Freud diverged in some respects, Jung always maintained the importance of analysis for problems to do with the "first half of life." Today especially as a result of Michael Fordham's work in the Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP) a great deal of integration between the work of psychoanalysts and analytical psychologists has taken place. This integration led to those qualifying from different child psychotherapy trainings to become members of the same professional body, the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP). Also due to these developments the SAP was a founding member of the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC).
Choosing a Therapist
I hope what I have written together with the suggested links will help in understanding the differences within the range of "talking therapies." It will be evident that there are clear differences between an approach like CBT and analytic psychotherapy. Whereas CBT seeks to change behaviour through altering thinking and is usually for a limited number of sessions, analytical psychotherapy looks at the symptom as an important signpost for exploration and understanding. It uses the relationship with the therapist as a tool towards understanding the client's inner reality and the way that influences his/her relationships in the outside world.
There are a number of reputable bodies which register psychotherapists. Registration ensures the therapist is accountable to a recognised body for adherence to a code of ethics and also participates in a programme of continuing professional development.
It may be helpful to "shop around" and meet more than one person. The "fit" for both client and therapist is important. Sometimes meeting for two or three consultations will be helpful to both parties in deciding whether to proceed.
To arrange a consultation, please telephone 01865 875890 or complete the email contact form.