Psychological Treatments Talking Therapies

Transcription

1 Psychological Treatments Talking Therapies This leaflet gives a brief guide to some of the different talking therapies. It also suggests who might benefit from them Children and Families Community Services Mental Health Secure Services Specialist Services Adult Mental Health Page 1

2 What are Psychological Treatments? Psychological Treatments are often referred to as Talking Therapies. Psychological therapies involve talking about your worries and symptoms and finding out what might be interfering with your mental health and how you can help yourself to improve your quality of life. Talking therapies may be offered on their own or in combination with medication from your doctor. The talking therapy may also be supported with written information such as self-help material, questionnaires or written tasks agreed between you and your therapist. The NHS and a range of other agencies provide talking therapies. Information may be provided on the other available options. There is considerable demand for psychological therapies and you may have to wait for an appointment to be offered. You may be able to access psychological therapies through other organisations or through your work. What type of psychological problems may be helped by Talking Therapies? Talking therapies can be helpful for a wide range of psychological problems. They can help you overcome emotional difficulties and help you find ways of living your life in a more positive and constructive way. Talking to family and friends is often helpful but sometimes professional help may be needed. You may have symptoms such as: panic attacks, not coping with work or family life, wanting to run away or suicidal thoughts or wanting to harm yourself that may need professional help as well as the support of your family and friends. Problems such as obsessivecompulsive behaviour, anorexia or bulimia, self-harming, chronic anxiety or depression all suggest the need for specialist psychological help. Most people can benefit from talking therapies. They can help you think more flexibly, make you stronger emotionally and help to stop more serious problems from occurring. It is important to find what suits you best. Page 2

3 How do I choose between the different Talking Therapies on offer? Lancashire Care Trust offers a range of talking therapies including person centred counselling, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), psychoanalytic psychotherapy, systemic family therapy, psychosexual therapy, group therapy and psychosocial intervention. These may last for just a few sessions or for some time. Person Centred Counselling Counselling in the NHS is usually a short-term therapy. Counselling is a way of enabling a person to express their difficulties and help them to make choices or changes in their life. It does not involve giving advice or direction. Counselling has been found to be helpful when people have experienced recent stresses such as bereavement, illness, redundancy, or relationship breakdown. Counselling can also help mild to moderate depression or anxiety. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) CBT offers people help in changing patterns of thinking or behaviour that are causing problems. Changing how you think and behave also changes how you feel. It is a structured approach aimed at learning new coping strategies, and promoting lifestyle choices to attain or restore psychological wellbeing. The focus is usually on the here and now and therapy normally lasts around twenty sessions. CBT has been shown to help depression, anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder and some eating disorders, especially bulimia. Some studies have shown it can help long term fatigue or pain. It may also help schizophrenia, other psychoses and manic depressive illness. Page 3

4 Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Psychotherapy This offers help in exploring how present feelings and behaviours are influenced by events and emotions from the past that have been buried or bottled up. Psychosocial Interventions Psychosocial interventions focus on the social and psychological consequences of serious mental illnesses (such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder or personality disorder) and are aimed at providing practical support to aid recovery and prevent relapse. Family Therapy The aim of family therapists is to help family members find constructive ways to help each other while acknowledging the contexts of people s families and other relationships, sharing and respecting individual s different perspectives, beliefs, views and stories. Families can include a range of different individuals and family therapists will work with the group of people that define themselves as a family. Psychosexual Therapy This focuses on helping individuals or couples overcome the distress associated with a sexual dysfunction. The problem may have physical, emotional, communication and lifestyle components. Talking therapies will aim to identify the difficulties experienced and help to change the thoughts, feelings and behaviours to help with the difficulties. Group Therapy Group therapy enables people who share a common problem to participate in dealing with interpersonal problems and developing self-awareness. There are generally 8 12 people in the group who Page 4

5 meet regularly with a therapist and talk about their concerns. Different approaches can be used in groups including cognitive behaviour therapy and psychodynamic therapy. How do I access Talking Therapies? Whatever your psychological problem, the first step is to discuss how you are feeling with your GP, social worker, community psychiatric nurse (CPN) or other healthcare worker. He or she will then be able to refer you to the most appropriate service. Usually you will be seen first for an assessment and you will be given an opportunity to find out what you need to know about the therapy before you consent to the treatment. You may express a preference for the type of talking therapy that you would like to receive. This will be taken into account when a referral is made, however there may be times when the talking therapy that you would like is not the right one for your problems. You will be given the opportunity to discuss the options with the therapist. What are the benefits of Talking Therapies? There is evidence that talking therapies are helpful in treating psychological problems. Studies into the effectiveness of different therapies have proved that most common psychological difficulties can be helped by one or more of the therapies on offer by Lancashire Care Trust. People who have mild to moderate psychological problems as well as those with severe and enduring mental illnesses have responded well to talking therapies. Are there any risks with Talking Therapies? There are risks with therapies, focusing on your problems can make you feel worse, and therapy can sometimes affect your relationships with friends and family in a negative way as well as a positive way. Strong feelings may come up in therapy and you may feel vulnerable or angry. There is also the possibility that you may become dependent on your Page 5

6 therapist, and have strong feelings of attachment to him or her. It is part of the therapist s job to understand these feelings and to help you deal with them as they arise. It is not unusual to feel worse before you feel better. You should begin to feel the benefits and not consistently feel unheard, humiliated or used. If the approach is not right for you, or you feel that it is not helping you, then you may stop sessions. Good therapists regularly check that you are getting something out of it, and will suggest ending sessions if you are not. It can help you in judging your own progress by keeping a thoughts and feelings diary. It can also happen that there is a genuine mismatch, either with the therapist as a person or with the particular type of therapy, and this is difficult for both parties. A good therapist will listen to any of your concerns and will monitor the process and bring these matters up for discussion. Are there alternatives to Talking Therapies? There are alternatives to engaging in therapy. You may prefer to contact a support group or helpline to talk through your experiences. There may be medication that can provide you with benefit. Your GP or health care professional can help you in discussing the options. Page 6

7 Other sources of information British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy BACP House, 5 St John s Business Park, Lutterworth, Leicestershire LE17 4HB. Tel: British Psychological Society St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7DR. Tel: enquiries@bps.org.uk Mind Infoline: The Wellbeing and Mental Health Helpline provides an information and listening service for people in Lancashire. It is available between 7.00 pm and pm Mondays to Fridays and from noon until midnight on Saturdays and Sundays Tel: Freephone Page 7

8 This information is intended as a guide only. If you are concerned about the mental health of yourself or another person, you may wish to consult your GP for further advice. Other sources of information: The Wellbeing and Mental Health Helpline This provides an information and listening service for people in Lancashire. It is available between 7:00pm and 11:00pm Mondays to Fridays and from 12:00 noon until 12:00 midnight on Saturdays and Sundays. Freephone Customer Care If you wish to pay a compliment about the Trust s services, make a comment, raise a concern or complaint, please contact the Customer Care Department on , freephone or customer.care@lancashirecare.nhs.uk If you have problems reading the print we can provide this leaflet in large print, audio book or Braille. W przypadku jakichkolwiek problemow z odczytaniem tekstu z przyjamnoscia dstarczymy Panstwu ulotke z duzym drukiem, tasme do odluchu lub tekst w jezyku Braille. Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the copyright owner. Data Protection Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust adheres to The Data Protection Act The Trust will endeavour to ensure that your information remains secure and confidential at all times. For further information regarding data protection please visit the Trust s website or ask a member of staff for a copy of our leaflet entitled Sharing Information With Us. Copies of this leaflet are available from: Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, Sceptre Point, Sceptre Way, Walton Summit, Preston PR5 6AW Tel: communications@lancashirecare.nhs.uk Website: Date Produced: Review Date: Leaflet Code: Name of Leaflet: April 2015 April /2015 Psychological Treatments Talking Therapies Page 8