Download 13. - Steps to Rational Living

Steps To Rational Living Psychotherapy Services- ‘Serious About
Emotional health’
Here to Help to Make Psychotherapy Accessible To Everybody Who
Needs it.
We are pleased to introduce to you our Psychological Services. We are Steps
To Rational Living Psychotherapy Services. We have BABCP accredited
Cognitive Behavioural Therapists and UK & Ireland EMDR accredited
therapists. Our therapists have got experience working in the mental health
field including primary and secondary care and the private sector providing
psychological therapies to the multi-ethnic communities.
We Customize Treatment Plans for Each Individual
At the core of our treatment philosophy is treating every sufferer as an
individual. After an initial evaluation, therapy is customized to the needs of
each individual client, utilizing the most current empirically supported
approaches and techniques available. Our therapist provides cutting edge,
state of the art cognitive behavioural treatments to sufferers.
Steps To Rational Living will provide help for all mood and anxiety disorders
including; depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety
disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder and
specific phobias.
Philosophy of Steps To Rational Living Therapy
Mental Health problems are a widespread problem affecting nearly one in four
in the UK. Mental Health problems do not only impact the sufferers, but also
their families, who often helplessly watch wishing there was something they
could do. The goal of Steps To Rational Living is to help sufferers and their
families to regain control of their lives.
Therapy at Home
We are also dedicated to helping those suffering from severe anxiety,
agoraphobia, PTSD, the elderly and those with physical health conditions who
are unable to attend initial treatment sessions with the Improved Access To
Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services by providing home visits and
therapist assisted exposures. We look forward to work in collaboration with
IAPT Services and General Practitioners to support this group of patients.
Individual Sessions
Sessions can be conducted in person at our office in Bolton area or online
and over the phone for individuals
Therapy / Support Groups For Mood, Anger And Anxiety Related
Conditions
Because of our commitment to the community of those suffering from
emotional and psychological problems, in addition to individual therapy, we
currently offer low-fee therapy / support groups for adults with depression,
anger problems, and related anxiety-based conditions.
Thursday, Friday Nights and Saturday Day Time Therapy / Support
Group for Adults:
Steps To Rational Living offers weekly low-fee therapy / support groups every
Thursday/Friday evenings and Saturday day times specifically for adults with
various types of mood and anxiety disorders. These groups provide a
structured format focusing on highly specialized Cognitive-Behavioural
Therapy (CBT) techniques. CBT has been extensively researched, and has
consistently been found to be the most effective treatment for most anxiety
conditions. For example in most anxiety disorders techniques used in this
group include Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Interoceptive
Exposure, Cognitive Restructuring, and Meta-Cognitive Therapy. The primary
goal of this group is to provide specialized CBT in an inexpensive group
format.
Group sessions are held each Thursdays evenings from 7:15 pm to 8:45 pm,
Fridays evenings18: 30 pm to 20:15 pm from our offices in the Bolton area. In
addition we run community based groups in the whole of the North West.
These groups are limited to twelve (12) members, and are led by one of our
professional staff therapists. Participation requires individual assessment prior
to admission. For more information, please contact Steps To Rational Living
at 01204 529908 or 07853192177.
Cognitive therapy helps people to understand the importance of thinking. It
views emotional and behavioural problems as being influenced by negative or
extreme thought patterns. These patterns become so habitual that they are
experienced as automatic and can go unnoticed by the individual.
In therapy, the client is taught how to uncover these negative patterns and
replace them with more adaptive ways of viewing life events. Through this
process, clients learn self-help techniques that can produce rapid symptom
shifts, solve current life problems, and improve self-esteem.
Cognitive therapy also addresses self-defeating behaviour patterns, such as
problems with assertiveness or intimacy.
How Cognitive Therapy is Different.
The cognitive therapist actively directs clients to the discovery of central
thinking problems.
The cognitive therapist engages clients as active participants by assigning
therapeutic homework.
Cognitive therapy focuses on the resolution of current, specific problems.
The therapist makes joint decisions with the client and regularly asks for
feedback to maintain a high degree of collaboration and empathy.
Useful Five Cognitive Techniques To Regain Control Of Your Life
These simple techniques can improve lives and has been shown to be a
highly effective form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). Please keep in
mind that simply knowing what the Five Steps are doesn't mean that your life
will change overnight. You can utilise these techniques whilst you waiting to
be seen by your therapist.
Putting these techniques into practical use on a daily basis will take time and
practice.
Don't get upset if you don't or can't master them right away.
Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again the next time!
One of the most effective ways to learn to incorporate these techniques into
your list of coping skills is to work the steps in hindsight.
Working the steps in hindsight means you examine a situation that has
already occurred and use the techniques to process it as if you were still in
the situation.
STOP
Just stop and breathe for a moment. Are you Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired?
The HALT feelings are physically based and only temporary. Remember that!
Determine what the problem is
Sure there can be (and usually ARE) more than just *one* problem but even
still, write the problem(s) down on a piece of paper.
Come up with THREE possible courses of action
Start with one of your problems and come up with three (and only three - not a
hundred, not just one) possible things you could do.
Figure out which one is best for now
You don't have to make a lifelong commitment right now and if things don't
work out quite the way you'd hoped they would, you can work the steps again
and again and again - just like everyone else does!
DO IT!
I say that assuming you haven't chosen suicide. Obviously, that's the ultimate
final solution (assuming you'd succeed). Nothing will happen to change the
situation/problem until you actually DO something, no matter how small. A
change in your situation, outlook, etc. requires a change from within yourself.
In order for that internal change to have effect on the outside, tangible world,
you must take action to implement that change.
A Practical Approach
Instead of trying to implement the steps up-front, pick a recent situation where
you recognize that you felt or acted in a way that is not helpful for you. Then
apply the Five Steps. Start at the beginning and check the STOP. Working all
the way through the steps shows your conscious and subconscious mind that
there are other ways to cope with stressful situations. It is this preparation that
gears us up for implementing the technique in real-time scenarios.
Depression
Statistic and Facts: 80% of individuals affected by depression do not receive
any psychological treatment, and statistics show that diagnosis are growing at
an alarming rate, so is the prescription of ant-depressants. In addition, higher
rates of depression also show high rates of other negative health outcomes,
such as sleep disorders, obesity, gastric problems, heart disease and stroke.
Depression is not your fault or caused by something you did wrong
Depression can occur to anyone, at any age, and to people of any race or
ethnic group. Depression is never a "normal" part of life, no matter what your
age, gender or health situation.
Possible Causes of depression
Although scientists agree that depression is a brain disorder, the debate
continues about exact causes. Many factors may contribute to the onset of
depression, including tress – Stressful life events such as trauma, loss of a
loved one, a bad relationship, work responsibilities, caring for children and
aging parents, abuse, and poverty may trigger depression in some people.
genetic characteristics, changes in hormone levels, certain medical illnesses,
stress, grief, or substance abuse. Any of these factors alone or in combination
can bring about the specific changes in brain chemistry that lead to the many
symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder and related conditions.
Symptoms of Clinical Depression:
Persistent sad, anxious or "empty" mood or irritability
Sleeping too much or too little, middle of the night or early morning waking
Reduced appetite and weight loss, or increased appetite and weight gain
Loss of pleasure and interest in activities once enjoyed, including sex
Restlessness, irritability
Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment (such as
chronic pain or digestive disorders)
Difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions
Fatigue or loss of energy
Feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless
Low self-esteem
Thoughts of death or suicide
If you have five or more of these symptoms for two weeks or more, you could
have clinical depression and should see your GP.
How does Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) help Depression?
CBT treating for depression can be divided into its cognitive and behavioural
elements. In the cognitive element of treatment, your therapist will help you to
learn to identify the negative thoughts that are causes depression. You will be
taught how to challenge the reality of these thoughts and come up with
alternative balanced rational thoughts. CBT treatment
In the behavioural element of treatment, your therapist will help you to assess
how the different daily activities have an impact on your mood and how some
of them can be improve symptoms of depression. Your therapist will help you
develop an action plan, based on the behavioural activation approach. In this
approach you and your therapist will create a list of activities in order; from
less to more difficult to achieve. You will then work through the list from easier
to harder activity, as your feelings of mastery improves your depressive
symptoms reduces. Exercises at home are an essential component of CBT
treating for depression. Repeatedly applying these skills to stressful situations
makes a more rational approach more automatic and negative emotions less
intense.
As stated above depression causes people to lose pleasure from daily life,
can complicate other medical conditions, and can even be serious enough to
lead to suicide.
One of the effects of depression is feeling immobilized. It's hard to push
yourself to do normal self-care activities, and pleasure seems all but absent
from your life. Feeling immobilized is not only a symptom of depression-it's a
cause. The less you do, the more depressed you feel; and the more
depressed you feel, the less you do. It's a negative spiral that maintains
withdrawal-and prolongs depression.
As stated above, the solution is to push yourself to higher levels of activityeven though you don't feel like it. A technique called activity scheduling can
re-energize you and offer significant help in overcoming depression. The initial
steps of the technique involve monitoring and recording your daily activities
and rating them for levels of pleasure and mastery. The later steps encourage
you to schedule in advance increasing numbers of pleasurable and mastery
activities.
How Some Early Childhood Experiences Affect Adulthood
Our adulthood is just an extension of our childhood experiences. As adults all
of our behaviours and personality traits are just extensions to the childhood
experiences we have been through long ago. Negative or traumatic
experiences in childhood can create long-lasting scars and making us suffers
emotional problems as adults.
There is no doubt that emotional stress in adult life affects us on both mental
and physical level in life-changing ways. We all so know that when we are
stressed, chemicals and hormones can flush our body and increase levels of
emotions such as anger, anxiety and low mood. But when children face
stressful situations and especially unpredictable stressors, they are left with
deeper, longer-lasting scars. When the young brain is thrust into stressful
situations over and over again without warning, and stress hormones are
repeatedly ramped up the aftereffects we suffer as children follow us into
adulthood in both mental and physical way.
Types of abuse and neglect
Child abuse and neglect refers to any behaviour by parents, caregivers, other
adults or older adolescents that is outside the norms of conduct and involves
a substantial risk of causing physical or emotional harm to a child or young
person. Such behaviours may be intentional or unintentional and can include
acts of omission (i.e., neglect) and commission (i.e., abuse). The five main
subtypes of child abuse and neglect are physical abuse, emotional
maltreatment, neglect, sexual abuse and witnessing family violence.
Mental health problems
Persisting mental health problems are a common consequence of child abuse
and neglect in adults. Mental health problems associated with past histories of
child abuse and neglect include personality disorders, post-traumatic stress
disorder, dissociative disorders, depression, eating disorders, alcohol and
substance abuse, dysfunctional relationships, anxiety disorders such as low
self esteem, social anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder, panic attacks, etc.
Trauma Treatment
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy Offers
New Hope!
We are proud to say that EMDR is one of the several modes of therapy
offered by Steps To Rational Living. Our therapists are additionally trained in
other mind-body models of trauma treatment. We are well aware that not
many are familiar with EMDR or what it involves. So, we are offering a
workshop on Saturdays in our Bolton clinic to discuss this very matter. We will
also talk about its benefits, as well as how we are able to utilize EMDR at
Steps To Rational Living. We hope that the information will benefit those who
have come to know the struggles of emotional and psychological problems as
a result of prior trauma.
For those who have never heard of EMDR before, the EMDR UK & Ireland
Website: http://www.emdrassociation.org.uk/home/index.htm contains some
very useful information. This extremely informative website includes a brief
history of EMDR and how it works, in addition to the history of how it was
initially developed.
EMDR is designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic
memories such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic childhood
experiences such as sexual and physical abuse or neglect, domestic abuse,
work related trauma or bulling, vehicle accidents, or other overwhelming
experiences. Many people who have suffered for years from anxiety or
distressing memories, nightmares or insomnia can now gain relief from this
revolutionary new therapy. Research shows that EMDR is rapid, safe and
effective. EMDR does not involve the use of drugs or hypnosis. It is a simple,
non-invasive patient-therapist collaboration in which healing can happen
effectively. This powerful short-term therapy is also highly effective for a wide
range of disorders including chronic pain, phobias, depression, panic attacks,
eating disorders and poor self-image, stress, worry and performance anxiety.
EMDR also treat people who have been traumatized by early losses and
bonding with parents, persistent troubling memories, anxiety and depression.
Many patients who have made slow progress in the past, or who have not
benefited from more traditional therapies say that with EMDR they have finally
found something that works for them.
If you have any questions about EMDR, or any of the other services
mentioned above, do not hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to
answer any questions you may have. We are fortunate to have staffs that are
well trained in such a diverse array of treatment methods, and we hope that
all prospective patients will take advantage of our services to the absolute
fullest.
Healing Is Possible With The Power of Eye Movement Desensitisation
Reprocessing (EMDR)
Origins of EMDR
EMDR is an integrative psychotherapy practice based upon Adaptive
Information Processing. It was originally developed by Francine Shapiro
(1995, 2001) to treat PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and other
trauma responses but has also been successful in treating many anxieties
disorders, phobias, and complex grief.
Healing from childhood negative experiences is possible at any point in life
with the power of EMDR. EMDR is an evidence-based intervention that helps
people to recover from the physical and emotional symptoms associated with
experiencing distress and trauma in their life, such as sexual abuse, childhood
neglect, road traffic accidents and violence. EMDR is also successful in
treating other complaints such as performance anxiety, self-esteem issues,
phobias, and other trauma related anxiety disorders
How EMDR Works
When a person is very distressed their brain cannot process information as it
ordinarily does. One moment, or several, can become frozen in time.
Remembering the trauma can feel as bad as going through it the first time. In
addition, such memories can have a lasting negative effect on the way a
person sees the world, relates to other people and lives their life. EMDR
protocols involve bilateral stimulation of the brain, where the emotional rightbrain that holds the painful memory is connected to the more mature left-brain
processes of rational thinking and present-time reality. The EMDR-trained
therapist then helps the client evaluate the content that arises from these
bilateral stimulations, until all symptomology from the trauma is removed.
Unlike prolonged exposure therapy (PET), EMDR does not necessarily
require the client to relate his or her trauma aloud or cover it in any particular
sequence. The therapist just follows the client along his or her journey through
memory while periodically asking what he or she is noticing. When each new
stage of the memory is reached, the therapist “installs” the memory with eye
movements or tapping. Essentially, an EMDR session allows a client to
mentally visit a disturbing memory in brief doses while simultaneously
focusing on an external stimulus. Not only does EMDR help clients create
new associations with traumatic memories, it also helps reduce sensitivity to
external events that can trigger those memories while allowing them to learn
to exercise control over the future.
What Is an Actual EMDR Session Like?
During an EMDR session, you will work individually with an EMDR trained
therapist who has gotten to know you and understands the issues or
situations that are troubling you.
The therapist working with you will help you identify a specific situation related
to the problem you wish to work on. While you are picturing the troubling
event you will experience a non-invasive form of rhythmical stimulation of your
brain's information-processing system. This can be done in several ways.
Most often you will be asked to move your eyes back and forth to follow the
therapist's fingers or a light--hence the "eye movement" portion of the
treatment's name.
You will be asked to notice what comes into your mind. Since each person
processes information in a unique way, there is no right or wrong way for a
client to do EMDR.
The therapist will guide you in processing your experience and will also
discuss it with you. In this way, it will become less upsetting and more
associated with positive beliefs and feelings about yourself.
During the treatment session you may experience intense emotions, but by
the end of the session, most people feel much better.
Psychoeducation
Steps To rational Living offer psychoeducation groups to help our clients to
learn a new language, along with the “nuts and bolts” of their personal
process and recovery. Psycho-Education is a tool used by our therapists to
help clients develop and practice skills that can be utilized in the “real world”
outside of treatment. The skills can include, but are not limited to: Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy, The Brain Model, Relapse Prevention, Communication
Skills, Feelings and Emotions, and Boundaries. Our clinicians are specifically
trained to reach clients in ways that best suit an individual’s learning style and
preference. Some people learn through experience and practice, while others
prefer to complete worksheets and homework between sessions. The
therapist will assess a client’s best learning style, and will implement that
throughout the course of treatment. Clients will then walk away with materials
to be used once treatment is complete.
The length of treatment and the length of sessions:
At Steps To Rational Living each CBT session is 50 minutes. EMDR sessions
are typically 90 minutes longer. We typically provide 12-20 sessions, but the
duration of treatment will be determined by you and your therapist, based on
the type of problem you present, your general life circumstances and trauma
history. The precise length of treatment can be best estimated as the
treatment proceeds.
Treatment cost:
There is a sliding-fee scale based on income. We accept insurance. We
are registered with most of the main medical insurance companies,
which includes BUPA, AXA PPP healthcare and many others
Contact us to become a patient: Landline: 01204 529908, Mobile:
07853192177
Email: [email protected]
Bolton Clinic:
60 Bridge Street
Bolton,
BL1 2EF.
Please note: If you are thinking about harming yourself or someone else,
please call 999 for immediate assistance.
What
Is
Cognitive
Therapy?