​Surrey Therapy Solutions
EMDR, CBT, MBCT, CFT
MBCT is a structured, evidence-based approach that combines mindfulness
practices with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). It was developed to help people
manage depression and has been adapted to help people manage stress and
anxiety (Mindful Based Stress Reduction/ MBSR). Mindfulness involves cultivating a
compassionate and lucid awareness, a sense of knowing what is happening in the
external and internal world as it is happening. These mindfulness-based approaches
aim to increase awareness of negative thought patterns and to identifying healthier
ways of responding. Recent guidelines from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) reccommend MBCT as an effective treatment for depression and the risk of relapse.
EMDR is a therapy used to treat a range of psychological difficulties that typically
originate in trauma. EMDR is recommended by the National Institute of Health and
Care Excellence (NICE) for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
In addition to its use for the treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, EMDR has
been successfully used to treat: self-esteem and performance anxiety; anxiety and
panic attacks; depression; stress; phobias; complicated grief; addictions and sleep
problems.
The goal of EMDR is to properly process traumatic memories, reducing their impact
and helping the person to develop coping mechanisms. This requires a person to
recall distressing events while receiving bilateral sensory input, which typically
involves side to side eye movements. With this reprocessing, the memory changes
in such a way that it loses its painful intensity and simply becomes a neutral memory
of an event in the past. Other associated memories may also heal at the same time
which can lead to a significant improvement in many aspects of your life.
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CBT is based on helping people to identify and change negative patterns of thinking
and behaviours that contribute to emotional distress. CBT helps the person to
identify and challenge distorted thinking, to replace the negative thoughts with more
balanced and realistic ones and to engage in behaviours that support and reinforce
new ways of thinking. It is a psychological treatment that has been shown to be
effective for a wide range of mental-health problems. CBT is recommended by the
National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) for anxiety disorders and depression.
CFT can be particularly useful for those with a history of trauma who experience
specific difficulties with shame, guilt, fear and self-criticism. CFT aims to teach us to
understand our minds better so that our unpleasant emotions are easier to manage,
and our positive and pleasant emotions are easier to generate. The approach helps
people develop and work with experiences of inner warmth, safeness and soothing,
via compassion for both self and others. By teaching individuals how to cultivate a
compassionate mindset, CFT helps reduce negative self-judgements and promote
emotional healing.