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Who
can be helped by psychotherapy?
People suffering from a wide range of psychological and
emotional problems can be helped.
People with quite clear-cut symptoms such as phobias,
obsessions, compulsions or panic attacks often find much relief in
behavioural approaches that target the specific symptom.
Cognitive therapies extend these approaches, and pay particular
attention to recurring, self-defeating patterns of thought, in
conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Family therapy may be sought by a family where they have
relationship difficulties. It may be suggested to a family where,
for example, children have behavioural disturbances, or when one or
more family members develop symptoms. It may also help with
difficulties at a time of change in the family, such as a
bereavement, a birth, or when children are about to leave
home).
The psychodynamic therapies are used mostly with difficulties
arising from problems of living with oneself, or in relation to
others. People vary in their susceptibility to emotional distress,
often through a combination of temperament, family relationships in
childhood, and possibly experiences of trauma, loss, neglect, and
abuse. Circumstances may then trigger psychiatric symptoms, or
disturbed behaviour, including self-harm.
The focus is on helping people become more aware of hidden
patterns in their thoughts and feelings. Understanding, and
becoming more tolerant of themselves, they can be free to live more
fully. The demands and challenges of the present can then be
tackled anew, with the opportunity to make changes and find new
solutions.
Where the source of the problem concerns a particular event such
as a bereavement or unexpected trauma in a person with an otherwise
healthy personality, the therapy may only need to be brief. Where
such events touch on deeper problems, the issues are more complex,
and the person may need a longer term therapy. Sometimes there is a
need to combine medication and psychotherapy over a longer period
of time. The choice of therapy is decided upon individual need.
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Who is
qualified to carry out the therapy?
Psychotherapists in the NHS are mental health professionals with
a range of core professional backgrounds which may be either
medical (psychiatry) or non-medical (generally psychology, nursing,
occupational therapy and social work). Normally the psychotherapist
will be working as part of a specialist psychotherapy department or
service.
Independent psychotherapists (who usually work in private
practice) will have completed a specialist training registered by
the United Kingdom Council for psychotherapy. Some psychotherapists
with specialised psychoanalytic training are registered with the
British Psychoanalytic Council.
Counsellors are from a variety of backgrounds. The
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy governs
standards of training in counselling courses and administers
accreditation.
All psychiatrists working in the NHS have some basic training in
the different forms of psychotherapy, but only a minority have
extensive training in the field - these are the specialist
Consultant Psychotherapists.
Clinical psychologists are licensed to carry out psychologically
based treatments and most of the cognitive behavioural therapy in
the NHS is provided by them.
Nurses, occupational therapists and others use a wide variety of
psychological approaches in their work, but are not
psychotherapists unless they have a specialist training.
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