Types of Therapy Offered at The Awareness Centre

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of behavioural therapy that uses various mindfulness strategies to help us accept the difficulties that we face in life. ACT does not aim to directly change or stop unwanted or negative experiences. Instead, this type of therapy aims to help individuals to accept these experiences as a normal part of life. Over time, this helps people to then choose a direction in which to take action and make positive changes.

This type of therapy is primarily focused on human behaviour, and looks to eradicate maladaptive or unwanted behaviours. These behaviours could be addictions, anxiety, phobias, or obsessive-compulsive disorders. Behaviour therapists are of the belief that behaviours are learned, and can therefore be unlearned. They will look into the thoughts and feelings that lead to the behaviour, or occur as a result of the behaviour, which will eventually give them a better understanding of what you are dealing with.

Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is a time-limited therapy that marries together the ideas from analytic psychology and cognitive therapy. A CAT therapist will analyse past events and experiences to understand why their client feels, thinks, and behaves the way they do. From there, the therapists can help the client to problem solve and develop new ways of coping. Together, the therapist and the client can recognise ineffective patterns.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of mind therapy that aims to help you manage your problems by changing how you think and behave. CBT encourages you to talk about how you think about yourself, the world, and other people as well as how what you do affects your thoughts and feelings. CBT is among the most common types of therapy, and at TAC, we are proud to offer our clients multiple specialists within this area of therapy.

Cognitive Therapy is based on the principle that thoughts and perceptions can impact our feelings and behaviours. It looks at ways to reassess negative thoughts so individuals can learn more flexible, positive ways of thinking that will subsequently influence behaviours and emotions.

Based on cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) looks to help those who experience emotions very intensely. The approach was originally created in the late 1980s to help people with borderline personality disorder, however, it is now used to help with modern-day mental health challenges.

When something traumatic happens, for some people, the memory of the experience can start to come back to their minds quite vividly. This forces them to relive the event with the same intensity, in the form of flashbacks or nightmares. EMDR works by altering the way these traumatic memories are stored in the brain, therefore making them easier to manage.

Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) is a type of interpersonal therapy, meaning that it looks at the way that we relate to others and how this impacts the way we see ourselves. This approach aims to help you understand the links between what you’re struggling with and what is happening in your relationships. One of the core beliefs of DIT is that when we can deal with relationship problems more effectively, our psychological symptoms tend to improve.

Also known as Jungian analysis, Jungian therapy is a psychoanalytic approach that was developed by Carl Jung who is considered, alongside Freud, to be one of the pioneers of modern depth psychology, particularly of the unconscious mind.

Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic process that focuses on an individual’s unconscious and deep-rooted thoughts. Developed by Sigmund Freud, it takes the view that our current behaviour, thoughts, and feelings are directly influenced by our childhood and past experiences. Over time these can become repressed and may manifest themselves as depression or other negative symptoms.

Psychoanalytic therapy is a form of talking therapy based on the theories of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic therapy explores how the unconscious mind influences thoughts and behaviours, intending to offer insight and resolution to the person seeking therapy.

Psychodynamic therapy is a therapeutic approach that embraces the work of all analytic therapies. While the roots of psychodynamic therapy lie predominantly in Freud’s approach of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Otto Rank, and Melanie Klein are all widely recognised for their involvement in further developing the concept and application of psychodynamics.

Existential therapy is a type of therapy that looks to explore difficulties from a philosophical point of view, focusing on the human condition holistically, highlighting our capacities and encouraging us to take responsibility for our successes.

Gestalt therapy is guided by the relational theory principle, that every individual is whole (mind, body and soul), and that they are best understood in relation to their current situation. It combines this theory with the present state, focusing strongly on self-awareness.

Human Givens therapy is based on the premise that humans have a set of innate needs (or ‘givens’), which determine our sense of wellbeing. It is believed that these needs have been refined over thousands of years and that we have in-built resources to help fill these needs.

Also known as client-centred therapy, the Person-Centred approach is a humanistic type of therapy that deals with ways in which individuals perceive themselves consciously, rather than how a counsellor can interpret their unconscious thoughts or ideas.

Psychosynthesis is a therapeutic approach similar to psychoanalysis. It is based on the idea that every person only uses a small part of their potential, and that we are all capable of leading fulfilling lives. It explores thoughts, feelings and sensations with the hope of uncovering an inner wisdom.

Reality therapy is a person-centred approach that focuses on the ‘here and now’ rather than issues from the past. It promotes problem-solving and making better choices to achieve specific goals.

Also known as solution-focused brief therapy or brief therapy, solution-focused therapy is an approach to therapy based on solution-building rather than problem-solving. Although it does acknowledge present problems and past causes, it mostly focuses on exploring your current resources and future hopes.

TA is a widely recognised form of modern psychology, designed to promote personal growth and change. TA is based on the theory that each person has three ego-states: parent, child and adult. These are used, along with other key TA concepts, tools and models to analyse how individuals communicate and to identify what is needed for a better outcome.

The core aim of transpersonal psychology is to explore human growth and help people to discover a deep and more enduring essential self that exists beyond the conditioned ego. The methodology behind this therapeutic process is a combination of spiritual traditions from around the world, which are integrated with elements of contemporary psychology.

Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses art and other artistic mediums to help you explore and express thoughts and emotions without necessarily using words. Art therapy can be useful If you find it difficult to say what you are feeling, particularly if you are experiencing confusing or distressing emotions. Doing something with your hands, such as holding a pen or paintbrush, can also help you to feel more grounded and connected to the world around you.

Also known as dance movement therapy, dance therapy is a type of therapy based on the theory that a person’s movements reflect their thinking patterns and feelings. The aim of dance therapy, therefore, is to use dance and movement to facilitate emotional, mental, spiritual, and social growth. Dance therapy has been proven to help with many conditions, including anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, eating problems and trauma.

Dramatherapy is a type of therapy that allows you to explore emotional difficulties through the medium of drama. This could involve a variety of activities including writing and learning scripts, improvisation exercises or activities using puppets and masks.

Music therapy is a type of creative therapy that involves listening to and/or playing music. The therapy utilises the social and communicative nature of music to foster self-awareness, communication skills and self-esteem, facilitating positive changes in behaviour.