About your Central London therapy
Below, I have answered some of the questions clients commonly ask when they are considering whether therapy is right for them.
Types of therapy available
Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
Multi-systemic therapy
How does therapeutic assessment and diagnosis work?
Assessment is a vital initial stage in any therapy. It identifies problems you want to address, and helps you and your therapist understand your issues in the context of ongoing treatment. Not all clients have been diagnosed with a clinical condition, but if your symptoms do fit into a diagnostic category, your analyst will assign and inform you of any provisional diagnosis. A firm diagnosis may subsequently be assigned once more information has been obtained and other conditions excluded. Diagnoses are based on the most recent diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5).
What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)?
CBT is a type of talking therapy. It is recommended as the ‘first-line’ of treatment for almost all psychological conditions because of its high levels of effectiveness. CBT therapists believe that our thoughts specify our emotions, our behaviour and our physical sensations. By identifying and modifying unhelpful ways of thinking (directly) or modifying our behaviours (indirectly), psychological problems can diminish or completely disappear.
What is Multi-Systemic Therapy?
Multi-Systemic therapy takes into account the variety of environmental factors in our life (e.g. work and family) that influence our way of thinking. It is an intensive therapy that focuses on addressing these environmental systems.
How much therapy do I need?
The amount of therapy a client needs depends on the nature of the difficulty they are looking to address, the speed at which they master therapeutic techniques and the
time they spend applying strategies between sessions. Generally, the minimum number of sessions we recommend is six, and for some clients the total will be twenty or more.
Will personal information remain confidential?
Only individuals working for Equanimity, all of whom are bound by professional codes of conduct, will have access to your information. At a practical level, this means that only your therapist and therapist’s supervisor will be aware of the content of your sessions, and of any personal information pertaining to you. However, in accordance with professional guidelines, in some exceptional cases, confidentiality may be breached. This can be the case, for example, when information is received concerning an unreported serious crime, when the client or another individual is at serious risk of harm, or when personal information is requested by a court of law.
Are all Equanimity therapists qualified and experienced?
In order to ensure the highest standards of mental health provision, all of my colleagues have been personally vetted and approved by me. All of Equanimity’s therapists will have achieved an undergraduate psychology degree and subsequent postgraduate training in an evidence-based psychological therapy. They will all be in possession of professional accreditation associated with their branch of therapy, and will all have a minimum of six years’ supervised psychological therapy experience. They will also have demonstrated evidence of the appropriate ‘soft’ skills of empathy, client-centred, non-judgmental approaches, and collaboration which are vital to any therapist.
