Therapies

These therapeutic approaches seek to blend traditional CBT principles with concepts new to behavioural psychotherapies such as mindfulness, acceptance, compassion, metacognition, spirituality and the therapeutic relationship in order to help the client. Third-wave CBTs have a number of core components that distinguish these approaches from first-wave behavioural therapy and second-wave CBT, specifically an emphasis on openness, awareness, compassion and action. Third wave therapies are interested in helping you be more present and at ease with yourself, others and the world.

Types of third-wave cognitive-behavioural therapies include dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), schema therapy (ST), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural treatment (MBCT) or compassion-focused therapy (CFT). These treatments have been associated with adaptive self-regulation and sustained motivation across a number of health domains, for example, in depression and addiction.

Relational and neurobiological approaches to psychotherapy draws on current research and understanding in the treatment of trauma and trauma-related issues. This includes an integration of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Ogden et al., 2006), Internal Family Systems (Schwartz, 2001), mindfulness-based approaches (Pollack, Pedulla & Siegel, 2014) and clinical hypnosis. It helps clients develop meta-awareness or perspective, the language to communicate painful feeling states and understand how their body responds to trauma. This type of approach helps clients accurately identify triggered, implicitly remembered feelings, beliefs and responses.

Rather than focusing on desensitising the event memories, the approach prioritises transformation or repair of trauma-related states through cultivation of new experiences. This includes learning mindfulness skills thus, new habits of observation and discovery, and increases client's capacity to regulate their nervous system and distressing feelings.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a structured form of therapy that helps people process and recover from distressing or traumatic memories. It uses guided side‑to‑side eye movements (or other forms of bilateral stimulation) which helps the brain reprocess “stuck” traumatic memories, reducing their emotional intensity.

EMDR is best known as an evidence‑based treatment for post‑traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and is recommended in clinical guidelines (including NICE in the UK) as a first‑line therapy for PTSD, though it is also used for other trauma‑related and anxiety conditions.