Tag Archives: Stirling

Swedish National Audit Office report on CBT

Swedish National Office Report on CBT

In a study of the outcomes of using CBT as a primary and almost exclusive method of treating mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, the Swedish National Office has published a damning report. See here

Main findings of report on CBT

  •  The widespread adoption of the method had no effect whatsoever on the outcome of people disabled by depression and anxiety;
  • A significant number of people who were not disabled at the time they were treated with CBT became disabled thereby increasing the amount of time they spent on disability; and 
  • Nearly a quarter of people treated with CBT dropped out.
    From Swedish Audit Report. accessed HERE

Application and conclusions in the UK

CBT or cognitive behavioural therapy is the darling of the NHS, many charities and NICE. This is primarily because it claims to be evidence based.

CBT leads itself to being “evidenced based” through gathering self assessed feedback from clients. This is unreliable for a whole range of reasons, including:

  • Subjective self assessment does not permit one controlled stand across subjects. Introspective grading of experience is not possible.
  • Assessment reduces responses down to highly simplistic responses, often statistics and does not reflect human experience or allow for situational or environmental difference.
  • There is an influence on “wellbeing”, “getting well” or feeling “happy” when therapy is not always about these, we often feel “unhappy” for good reason”.
  • CBT often plays into the biomedical model of being “sick” and needing to feel happy despite this, rather than considering other explanations for symptoms such as psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural analysis, developmental or humanistic explanations or social and environmental causes / factors.
  • CBT is often highly simplistic. It has been termed “the art of the blindingly obvious” since it often leads subjects through exercises that reveal what they already new, providing little empowerment for change.

Illogical to use one method

Reducing provision down to one method is akin to only using one class of medical drugs, it simply does not make sense. Clients are complex and unique individuals going through a unique combination of social, biological, psychological, interpersonal and developmental processes, any of which alone may seem common or typical, but which form a vast array of potential combinations.  With that variety and complexity, thinking “one size fits all” is simply illogical.

Furthermore CBT is a simplistic method formed out of other methods, making it a method within an array of methods. For example it was developed in response to psychodynamic and humanistic thinking, and provoked revised psychodynamic, humanistic and cognitive behavioural analytic thinking. It makes no sense to home in on one incomplete stage of the ever changing face of psychological therapy and prioritise it at the expense of other methods.

Its just a tool (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is just ONE tool in the toolbox of multi-skilled psychotherapists.  Many therapists use CBT when it is appropriate, but “if all you have is a hammer, all you see is nails”. Why would anyone throw away all the other tools.

Integrated work for the unique client

Stuart uses CBT where appropriate, along with the deeper and more complex Cognitive Behavioural Analysis methods (including CBASP for long term depression). Stuart also uses psychodynamic psychoanalysis, humanistic and philosophical psychotherapy, mindfulness and clinical hypnotherapy. The approach is integrated and employs a kind of critical psychotherapy, in other words questioning what the outcome “should” be, and working with the client to determine what their desired outcome is going to be. Therapy is then tailored, incorporating methods such as CBT, CBA, IPT and psycho-education with research evidence and NICE recommendation behind them.

Key Words
CBT Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Analysis, CBASP, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, Psychodynamic therapy, Counselling, Psychology, Psychotherapist, Counsellor, Psychoanalyst, Analyst, Hypnotherapist, Mental health, Depression, Anxiety, Personality disorder, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling

Contact via the contact us page HERE

 

Dis-associative Disorders

Psychological therapy for Dis-associative Disorders

Dis-associative disorders are conditions where the sufferer dis-associates for periods of time. What this means in basic terms is they mentally “switch off” or “blank” in a way that may either appear to be day dreaming, or which may just resemble a silent few moments. In more severe cases two other presentations may occur: dis-associating into a different personality, or with a loss of consciousness.

Short blank disassociations

This is the most likely version to be seen, the person reacts to stress or an anxiety trigger by “being elsewhere”. it can also be the result of a flash back being triggered where a historical event is being recalled. The person may appear inattentive, distance, and seem to be ignoring you. This can lead to misunderstanding, conflict and accusations of laziness or inattention, especially in adolescents in education or when it occurs in the workplace. Depending on whether a task is under way at the time, it is possible for this task to be interrupted for a moment, or even, for example, for a cup of tea being made to be split or dropped.

It should be noted that it is very hard to tell these short blanks apart from epileptic “absence” seizures and  it is important to discuss them with your medical doctor and not assume they are psychological in nature.  It should be remembered however that it is more usual for psychological disassociation to be misdiagnosed as epilepsy.

Personality change disassociation

In more severe cases the personality of the sufferer undergoes a change in the disassociated state and a person may appear to have changed in their behaviour, attitude and even in what they believe and remember. What occurs in this state may not be remembered afterwards.

It is a matter of debate whether this is related to schizophrenia or not,  with some sufferers of disassociation adamant that it is a different condition entirely, and some sufferers of schizophrenia claiming that their condition is itself a form of disassociation.

Loss of consciousness disassociation

Often called Non Epileptic Attack Disorder (NEAD) or pseudo-epilepsy,  this is the ultimate disassociation response. The person will loss consciousness and will often shake or spasm as one would expect to see in epilepsy. NEAD is often initially misdiagnosed as epilepsy.

Most people are aware of flight and fight responses to danger. The third response however is that seen in the humble possum. The person loses consciousness, lies still playing dead, the body is flooded by natural pain killers, and for the predator the sufferer / possum appears to be a long dead and unpalatable prey. This state is often associated with loss of bowel or bladder control, again to make the prey smell “off”.  This is a highly primal response to extreme danger.

Causes of disassociation

Disassociation occurs when the sufferer has a history of being faced by traumas such as abuse or rape which can not be coped with at their mental state or age. Thus it is common for these conditions to be present in adult survivors of child sexual abuse or domestic violence. Essentially the subject learns to “opt out” of the situation they are incapable of handling.

Treatment of disassociation

There are two main strategies for addressing disassociative disorders:

1. Increase the sufferer’s ability to cope with stressful situations. This may involve cognitive behavioural therapy to reduce stress response with methods like stress inoculation therapy. It may also involve analysis of interpersonal relationships to adjust perceptions and behaviours which may otherwise lead to conflict. Interpersonal psychotherapy methods, CBASP, CAT or other analytic cognitive behavioural methods might be employed. This is therefore an attempt to use psychoeducation and personal analysis to better manage the condition day to day.

2. Addressing any history of abuse. Addressing PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) as a condition may reduce the underlying effects presented as a disassociative disorder. Psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioural analysis, trauma debriefing such as specialist hypnotherapy “trauma runs” can all be used if appropriate.

Co-morbid presentation

It is common for persons with disassociate disorders to have a history of different diagnosis, and to have elements of different mental health conditions. These might include depression, anxiety, self harm, mood disorders or OCD.

Key words
Disassociation, disassociative disorder, disassociative seizures, NEAD, non epileptic attack disorder, possum response, flight and flight, PTSD, post traumatic attack disorder, sexual abuse, domestic violence, survivor of childhood abuse, child abuse survivor, personality change, mood change, mood disorder, anxiety, depression, OCD, self harm, multiple personalities, multiple personality disorders, loss of memory, stress response, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioural analysis, cognitive behavioural therapy, CBASP, CBT, hypnotherapy, counselling, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, analyst, hypnotherapist, couhsellor, therapy, therapist, psychology, psychologist, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk, Stirling

Contact via the contact us page HERE

Professional Standards Authority Accredited Registers

Professional Standards Authority Accredited Registers

 

The PSA has launched a report on the new Accredited Registers that list professional healthcare personnel not subject to Statutory regulation. Accredited Registers are professional registers that meet the stringent PSA standards for professional practice. They include registers for complementary therapists and holistic therapists such as the CNHC, NHS (hypnotherapy society) and FHT, and registers for counsellors and psychotherapists including the BACP, COSCA and UKCP.

Real standards, real contribution to health

The report discusses the real standards required to be registered on an AR, standards that protect the public and ensure quality has been checked.

The report also concludes that the AR registers must play a vital role in the provision of integrated healthcare in the UK

Accredited registers in our psychoanalytic practice

 

Both of our practitioners, Denise and Stuart are registered on both the CNHC and FHT Accredited Registers under the hypnotherapy category. The CNHC representatives on the 13th March 2015 at the meeting in Edinburgh confirmed they recognised that counselling and analysis were vital job functions for hypnotherapists and delegates commented that hypnotherapists virtually always provided these additional therapies.

Stuart and Denise are registered with the Society of Stress Managers, a professional body representing Analysis, Stress counselling and Hypnotherapy, and the National Association of Counsellors Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists, both of which are CNHC accreditation routes. Although they use the titles of Analyst and Hypnotherapist, naturally psychotherapy and counselling are within their job functions, and as such they are registered and insured for these as well. Notably both therapists have received specific training in counselling, psychotherapy (including CBT), life coaching and psychology.

REPORT HERE

Key words
Professional standards authority, professional therapists, psychotherapy, counselling, hypnotherapy, psychoanalysis, analysis, CBT, cognitive behavioural analysis, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling, life coaching, regulation

Stage hypnosis fake nonsense from ITV

Fraudulent nonsense for cash

ITV are digging up the previously though dead nonsense of stage hypnosis 🙁

Scofield and a stage hypnotist are running the “back in the room” game show from this week.

Paid to pretend!

Contestants are not being hypnotised, they are being PAID to act like idiots, and are therefore deliberately volunteering and colluding with the “hypnotist”.

Incorrect terminology and descriptions

Hypnosis is wrongly described as a “dark sleep”, which it simply is not, and this idiotic series will wrongly tell people all sorts of things about hypnosis, made up in the name of entertainment.

Bad for the public, bad for the profession

HypnoTHERAPY and the use of clinical hypnosis is a professional therapy and form of psychotherapy subject to voluntary regulation, national occupational standards and monitoring via the Professional Standards Authority Accredited Registers. It is recommended by organisations including NICE and Anxiety UK as a useful therapeutic tool. CNHC (regulator) registered hypnotherapists are not permitted to engage in stage hypnosis, since it is UNETHICAL.

Professional Therapists

The CNHC, the voluntary regulator which covers hypnotherapy, and the other PSA accredited registers have banned therapists from having anything to do with stage hypnosis, because it is unethical and brings the whole area into disrepute. Shame on ITV for reintroducing this sham!

The public should look for CNHC registered hypnotherapists, or hypnotherapists subject to any of the other PSA accredited registers (such as CNHC or FHT). Professionally qualified and AR registered therapists have nothing to do with this nonsense.

Clinic becoming busy

Psychoanalysis, Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy, Counselling in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling and Glasgow

Currently there are no more spaces at any clinic this week (today is the 11th Sept).

Spaces filling up fast in Edinburgh, Falkirk and Stirling next week, especially the Thursday and Saturday clinic days.

Psychotherapy personal and couples appointments in Edinburgh, Falkirk and Stirling

For next week please contact us ASAP to still book in, availability is not too bad the week after although the Wednesday is pretty much full already and other days have various regular clots already taken.

We will do our best to make appointments available ASAP, and especially for those in immediate distress.

Psychoanalyst, clinical hypnotherapist, counsellor, psychotherapist, life coach, psychologist

Stuart is a CNHC registered hypnotherapist (voluntary regulator) and is on both the CNHC and FHT AVR schemes (accredited voluntary registers). He is a NACHP registered counsellor, hypnotherapist and psychotherapist, a senior accredited NCP psychotherapist, an IPP psychoanalytic psychologist, a SHTC life coach and complementary therapist, am FHT complementary therapist and a SSM analyst, hypnotherapist and stress management counsellor / consultant. He has clinics in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling and Glasgow.

 

Key Words

Hypnotherapy, psychoanalysis, CBT, life coaching, psychotherapy, NLP, counselling, counsellor, psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, psychology, psychologist, psychoanalyst, life coach, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling, Glasgow.

Phobias

Treating Phobias with Hypnotherapy, CBT and Psychoanalysis in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling and Glasgow

Phobias are irrational fears or fears that are out of rational proportion.  A phobia can be one of many common types and based on primal primitive fears, such as a fear of spiders or heights. It might also be personal and based on traumatic experience, such as being afraid of loud noises or dogs, if for example you had heard gun shots or been bitten respectively.

Why do phobias occur?

Phobias are a strong aversion to whatever is the key characteristic of the fear, such as the spider, bird, wasp, noise or other key part of the situation. The mind associates this trigger or feature with extreme danger. The natural reaction therefore is to avoid and be fearful.

Treating phobias with CBT cognitive behavioural therapy in edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk, Stirling

CBT looks at the perception and resulting behaviour being shown. Therefore with a phobia one might examine why you find the spider (for example) scary, and address that perception. You might then experiment with different behaviours to try in response. SIT or stress inoculation therapy is a form of CBT which uses gradual challenging of the fear to learn new perceptions and responses as fear reduces.

Treating phobias with hypnotherapy and NLP Neuro linguistic programming

Hypnotherapy, and it’s off shoot NLP, can be used in a variety of ways. These include positive suggestion to change perception directly. These can be given in a variety of ways. Visualisation can be used as a very mild and easy form of SIT. Metaphor and other complex methods can be used to change perception and context. Visual and resource anchoring can be used to design the emotions desired in the situation, for example enabling the person to feel more confident and calm when confronting what was a fearful situation before. With all the variations, the key aspect is to learn a new way of feeling, perceiving and behaving.

Quick fixes and phobia “cures”

In recent years various quick fixes have been marketed, usually using “EFT tapping” which is a form of distraction, and NLP which is an off shoot which uses little bits of hypnotherapy. These quick fixes rely on a sudden disruption of the old reaction spurring the person into “getting on with it”. Neither address the underlying cause, emotions, deeper perceptions or related fears. They can help some people with mild phobias or slight fears, but are not recommended by us for serious fears or phobias. If it was that easy to overcome phobias, the person would not need a few “slight of hand tricks” to do it, they would simply challenge it themselves.

What to expect when seeking help for phobias in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow or Stirling

You can contact us on stuart@psychoanalysis.center for a free confidential email chat first before any commitment. We will also send information files on our service. If you decide to proceed you will need to book an assessment session. Here more details case history is collected and options explored. Phobia cases vary considerably in length from 4-5 sessions with milder phobias, to many more sessions in sever cases, or cases with related issues such as developmental, relationship or post traumatic issues.

Stuart is a CNHC registered hypnotherapist (CNHC is the UK voluntary regulator for complementary therapies including hypnotherapy set up with UK Government funding and support). He is CNHC and FHT AR scheme registered. AR schemes or accredited  registers are the schemes overseen by the Professional Standards Agency for healthcare professionals not subject to statutory regulation. Stuart trained 1993-96 in clinical hypnotherapy, psychoanalysis and stress counselling, being assessed on over 200 client cases and over 1,000 client hours. Since then he has completed extensive post graduate and CPD training including a MSc Psychology and his second Bachelor degree.

 

Anxiety UK

Anxiety Conditions Edinburgh Glasgow Falkirk Stirling

Dear Colleagues in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk, Stirling
As we are all aware, money is tight.
Anxiety UK run a scheme based on ability to pay for people suffering from anxiety related issues.

Anxiety Conditions, Charity rates

This might include, IBS, GAD, NEAD, phobias and general anxiety / stress
I now have the facility to take a limited number of clients under this scheme in the above areas.
This is part of our non profit making (cost covering) scheme.
As some of you might be aware, I am an ASM (now Society of Stress Managers and CNHC AVR route) trained (psycho)Analyst, stress counsellor and clinical hypnotherapist, therefore specialising in this work. By all means ask me for details, but in brief this required over 200 client cases, over 1,000 client hours, external city and guilds assessment and since then I have gained a MSc Psychology. I am on 2 AVR schemes. I have regular clinical and peer supervision.
Please, if you can not help anyone with the above issues, pass on the paragraph below.
Kindest regards,
Your collegue, Stuart
Our helpline number is 08444 775774 or via our web site www.anxietyuk.org.uk or maybe a link to our generic leaflet herehttp://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/AUK-Information-Booklet-FINAL.pdf

Psychoanalysis Psychotherapy Edinburgh

Back providing Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, Counselling, CBT, NLP Edinburgh

Sorry to say that both of us picked up a tummy bug via our work in the last week and therefore had to take time off to recover and then ensure we did not pass it on. We feel strongly that it is our responsibility to cancel appointments if there is a risk of passing on a nasty flu or other bug.

Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, Counselling, Life Coaching, Psychoanalysis Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow

Since 1993, as a student and since 1996 as a full graduate, Stuart has provided Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, coaching, psychoanalysis, stress counselling and general health education training ( as part of a Level 4 NVQ Training & Development NVQ)

Standards for Hypnotherapy, Counselling, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, CBT, NLP

The most important standards are the AVR scheme standards. AVR or Accredited Voluntary Register are the registers maintained by the Professional Standards Agency. The PSA maintain standards for those healthcare personnel who are not subject to statutory regulation.

Denise is a CNHC registered hypnotherapist –  an AVR register.

Stuart is both a CNHC registered hypnotherapist and a FHT registered therapist, both are AVR registers.

Psychoanalysis in Edinburgh

Back in edinburgh tomorrow (Saturday) all day providing psychoanalysis and integrated psychotherapy for a range of issues. From the diary it looks like a day of sexual therapy issues, developmental and disassociation issues, drug abuse issues and relationship based issues.

Probably plenty of disassociation and rejection themes so narrative work and examining object relations will probably dominate.

The great thing about this job is that although you can predict likely session content, there are always surprises, since in psychoanalysis the client brings their own story without the constraint of fixed session planning.

I (Stuart)  provide psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, counselling, hypnotherapy, cbt, Nlp, mindfulness and eastern Psychology in edinburgh, Falkirk and Glasgow, Scotland.

Masculine and feminine

Gender Traits in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy

Clients often wonder if dividing certain traits and behaviours, especially in communication, into male and feminine, is gender specific.

Generally male and female traits are those which historically are more associated with one gender or the other, but not exclusively so. For example Lacan makes clear that the male phallus identity is not biological but about what it means to be male. Kabbala gender is about the female intuitive trait and male logical trait in everyone.

Simply the expressions continue to be used loosely in a non gender specific way, accepting that every person has both non competing sides.