If you are going through some kind of emotional difficulty or if you have a mental health condition, psychotherapy is a treatment that you should heavily consider.

What is psychotherapy?

A session will involve talking to a trained therapist, allowing you to search deeply into your problems and worries. This will either be as a one-to-one or in a group (for example your wife, husband or partner may also attend a session with you). Psychotherapy can help with a wide range of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression.
The therapy normally involves talking through the problems, but sometimes art, drama, music and movement can be incorporated. This will help you to express your feelings about other people, yourself or any worries that you may have.

The therapy is confidential which means that you are able to trust your therapist with things that may be embarrassing or personal to you.

Who are psychotherapists?

A psychotherapist is a trained professional in listening to people's problem and offering a solution. So, a psychotherapist will listen and discuss important issues, but they will also suggest solutions or guide you towards resolving your problems. The main aim of a psychotherapist is to help you change your attitude and behaviour.
What can psychotherapy treat?

Psychotherapy can treat a range of mental health conditions, such as:

• anxiety disorder


• depression


• long-term illness


• eating disorders (including binge eating, bulimia and anorexia nervosa)


• borderline personality disorder (BPD)


• obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)


• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)


• drugs misuse

What types of therapy are available?

(CBT) Cognitive behavioural therapy - a therapy that addresses maladaptive behaviours and emotions, examining how beliefs and thoughts are linked to behaviour. It gives you skills that will allow you to retrain your thinking and behaviour when dealing with situations.

Psychodynamic - (also known as psychoanalytic) is a therapy that encourages you to talk through your dreams and thoughts helping you to become aware of any hidden patterns or meanings that may be causing your problem.

CAT) Cognitive analytical therapy - works using some of the principles from both cognitive behavioural therapy and psychodynamic. It finds out how behaviour can cause problems and in-turn how to improve this through experimentation and self-help.

Humanistic therapy - helps you to take control of improving your own life.

IPT) Interpersonal therapy - looks at how a problem can be triggered due to a relationship, for instance bereavements or disputes. It helps you to cope by developing coping strategies.

Family and marital therapy - having therapy sessions with other persons in your family can help work to solve any problems that you may have

You will need to meet your therapist regularly for best results. This will usually be once a week, however, some clients will need more frequent sessions. If you only require a short-term course of psychotherapy, it could last anywhere in between six and twenty sessions.