Therapies
What is psychological therapy?
Psychological problems affect about 3 in every 10 people in the UK every year. Psychology is the study of how people think, behave, react and interact with others. Psychological therapy aims to understand the problems people are experiencing by understanding how their thoughts, feelings and behaviour interact and influence each other. Psychological therapy is often referred to as a talking therapy, and clinical psychologists do not prescribe medication.
Before starting therapy patients will be seen for an initial assessment which can usually be completed in one session. Sessions are usually 50 minutes long. The aim of this assessment session is to determine whether psychological therapy would be helpful for you, identify the main problem or problems on which to work, and clarify which therapeutic approach would be most helpful for you. Following the initial assessment the therapist will aim to reach an understanding of the factors that have led to development of the problems you have outlined, and the factors which may be keeping the problem going. Therapist and client will then discuss ways to work on this in therapy.
Dr Suzanne Glendenning uses short-term problem-solving approaches such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), compassion focused therapy, metacognitive therapy, EMDR and other clinically-proven therapeutic techniques, in accordance with current national clinical guidelines such as those produced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). She abides by the Code of Ethics and Conduct of The British Psychological Society, and all sessions are held in the strictest confidence.
How long will therapy take?
The number of sessions required in therapy depends very much on the individual. It may take a number of sessions before therapy leads to any positive results for you, and sometimes discussing problems in therapy can lead to you feeling worse before things get better. This will be discussed during therapy sessions and we will also discuss other forms of support you may find helpful whilst in therapy. As a rough guide between 6 and 12 sessions is usually adequate and 20 sessions is generally regarded as an upper limit in clinical guidelines for treatment, such as those published by NICE.
Therapy sessions are usually held on a weekly or fortnightly basis, and this will be agreed with you taking account both of the type of therapy being used and your other commitments. As therapy progresses and problems start to improve it is often useful to space sessions more widely apart, for example monthly. Therapy is also likely to involve you completing ‘homework’, such as filling in diary sheets, or carrying out certain tasks, between sessions. These tasks help you to progress more quickly in therapy and will be discussed and agreed fully with you in session before you are asked to complete them. At all times in therapy we will be working together and you should feel free to ask questions or raise any issues which you feel uncertain or uncomfortable about at any time.
Referrals
Referrals are taken from patients themselves, or from GPs, psychiatrists or other health professionals. Dr Suzanne Glendenning is registered with several medical insurance companies, such as BUPA and AXA PPP, and also takes referrals regularly from medical rehabilitation companies.
Please feel free to telephone for a brief discussion if you are not sure whether psychological therapy can help with your problem, or want to ask about availability or fees. Following a brief discussion if we both feel it would be useful to meet an assessment appointment will be arranged for us to meet face-to-face to explore the problems you have been experiencing more fully. After this we will discuss what type of therapy may be helpful.
Get in touch
For enquiries about psychological assessment or therapy please call or text 07967 519076 or email sglendenning@virginmedia.com.
Dr Suzanne Glendenning is recognised by several major private healthcare providers and costs of therapy may be covered by your private health insurer.