Janine Ayling

CBT has been used as a psychological intervention since the 1960’s and is one the most commonly practised and scientifically proven forms of therapy to assist people experiencing emotional difficulties. CBT teaches people how to recognise their habitual negative thought patterns and provides them with the skills required to consciously challenge those patterns and make positive changes. Whilst breaking long-standing habits can be difficult, CBT enables individuals to regain control over problematic thoughts and bring about immediate improvements to their mental well-being.

Many people find today’s pace of life, and the unrealistic expectations they place on themselves, result in an overall inability to achieve and maintain equanimity. Rather than focussing on a task, or what is presently happening around us, we often become distracted by a wandering mind and unproductive thoughts. Research has shown that the more an individual succumbs to excessive worry and distracted thought patterns, the more vulnerable they become to anxiety, stress and depression.

For over 30 years, mindfulness-based practices have been shown to deliver a variety of physical and mental health benefits. Simple mindfulness practices create internal space to focus on the present moment without judgement and establish a path to quieting the constant, and at times overwhelming, assault from difficult thoughts that rob us of serenity and contentment.

Systems Theory explains a person’s emotional state as the combination of effects from various, interrelated ‘systems’ such as family, society and work. It supports the belief that an individual can be more fully understood when viewed as a component of the larger, surrounding system. This approach is successfully applied in counselling to assist people understand which systems are most profoundly contributing to feelings of distress or lack of well-being, so treatment can be better targeted. Because each system is interconnected, by making improvements around one system, the others are also positively affected.

An extension of Systems Theory, IFS is an evidence-based approach which goes further by describing how each person’s psychological state is affected by multiple inner parts or sub-personalities. Sometimes parts can be at odds with one another which can cause feelings of inner conflict and emotional instability. Gaining an understanding of how various parts function in their efforts to support the complete psychological system allows a person to experience self-acceptance, functionality and wholeness.

EFT is an approach that has been successfully used since the 1980’s to give people a deeper understanding of their emotions, how to regulate them and ultimately how to transform them. EFT is based on the notion that our emotions form the neurological cornerstone of who we are as individuals and affect the way we think and act. By providing a framework that ultimately teaches how to address primary emotions that signal our core needs, significant improvements can be made to an overall sense of well-being, both individually and as part of a relationship.

Many of us waste considerable energy worrying about things which are beyond our control – and then struggle to control them anyway. ACT is a scientifically proven mindfulness-based approach that emphasises the way to identify difficult thoughts, emotions, memories, beliefs and sensations and to cease struggling with them by changing our relationship with them. Once the incessant noise of the struggle has been respectfully ‘turned down’, commitment can be made to rich and compassionate values-based living. When individuals offer themselves kindness and acceptance in the place of self-loathing and shame, a greater sense of maturity and integrity results.