Useful
links
Please note that these
links are to external websites. The NACHP has no responsibility
for comments and information located on these websites.
Click on link to go to website
Dr Michael Yapko PhD
NACHP's President of the
International Board of Reference.
UKCHO (UK Confederation
of Hypnotherapy Organisations)
The umbrella body for the hypnotherapy
profession in the United Kingdom.
MIND (National Association for Mental Health)
The National Association for Mental Health in the United
Kingdom campaigns on behalf of
those with mental illness.
DirectGov
Government website for mental health.
Mental Health Foundation
Helping people survive, recover from and prevent mental
health problems.
Samaritans
24 hour confidential emotional
telephone support for people who are experiencing
feelings of distress or despair, including those
which may lead to suicide.
Broken
link?Please let us know, and we'll fix it.
Mail us with the details at: mail@nachp.org |
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WHAT
DO YOU MEAN BY…
...Counselling?
Counselling
is, in its simplest form, a structured conversation between
two or more people. It encourages new ways of thinking
and signposts resolutions to problems.Your counsellor
will listen and learn to understand and respect you as
a person. The trusting relationship that develops is
non-judgmental and therefore allows a process of exploration
to take place in a safe and secure environment.
Unlike other types of
psychotherapy, counselling does not usually involve
giving advice or getting the client to take a particular
path to resolve his or her issues. Counsellors do not
judge or exploit their clients in any way, remaining
neutral to the values and beliefs the client may hold.
This is often quite different to, say, cognitive behavioural
therapy, where the therapist may challenge the currently-held
beliefs if they appear to be damaging the client's
thining process.
Clients
explore various aspects of their life and feelings
openly with the counsellor. Feelings
such as anger, anxiety, grief and embarrassment that
may have been kept inside for many years can be expressed
to the counsellor, who will reflect the client's problems
and listen to them without becoming burdened or polarised
by them. One of the key things in counselling, as with
all forms of psychotherapy, is the relationship between
the counsellor and the client; the relationship
develops over the counselling sessions, thereby increasing
the trust between the counsellor and client,
enabling the client to aspects of their
life that may trouble them in ways which they may not
have considered or been able to accept in the past.
In this way, the counsellor may help the client
to consider new options open to them for dealing with
issues and difficulties, and help them to decide the
best way forward for them.
..Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is simply the use of hypnosis as a psychotherapy
tool. On its own, hypnosis is a very pleasant and relaxing
experience as well as being a natural, pleasant and
healthy state of mind.
Fiction,
stage hypnosis and films have created a false image
of the hypnotised person in a state of deep sleep,
without control and being made to do things that they
would normally refuse to do. This leads people either
to fear hypnosis or to expect a ‘miracle’ cure.In fact, we
are all hypnotised to some degree almost everyday of
our lives. It can be while we are absorbed in a book,
or watching a film, or any time when the conscious mind
is immersed in something to the exclusion of the ‘outside’ world.
Have you ever been “lost
in thought”, or “come
to” and realised that had been daydreaming?Hypnosis
is actually a state of deep relaxation and heightened
awareness that enables you to tap into the powerful
and positive resources of your subconscious mind.
This can help you to bring about the positive changes
you desire. You can hear everything that is going
on and you can come out of hypnosis any time that
you wish to. The subconscious in the part of you
that stores memories and experiences and deals with
emotions, dreams and automatic functions which are
beyond our normal conscious control, such as heartbeat,
breathing, digestion, blinking of the eyes and the
general running of our bodies.
Habits become ingrained
at a level below the usual day-to-day awareness and
much nearer to the subconscious level and, under
normal circumstances these habits are very difficult
to change. Suppressing the desire to eat sweet or
fattening foods usually ends in frustration and subsequent
compensation by eating more of the very thing you
are trying to avoid. Smokers who try to force themselves
to give up something they believe they need, or enjoy,
or cannot do without experience a similar reaction
and usually end up saying that they have “no
willpower”. Hypnotherapy is used
in two main ways: either
- as a therapy tool for administering suggestions for
change, such as stopping smoking, weight control, increasing
confidence etc. or,
- for removing deep rooted fears and phobias.
Each
client is a unique individual, with a unique set
of strengths and resources available to them at the
subconscious level. Every individual person possesses
within themselves all the necessary abilities to
overcome their problems or fears. By making available
to YOU your own natural energies and power, it is
YOU who effect any changes necessary. You, the client,
are in total control of the entire situation – the therapist, or hypnotherapist,
is a professional guide showing you how to tap into
your own inner resources and power.In the pleasant
and relaxed state of hypnosis your therapist is able
to suggest areas of beneficial change. The hypnotic
state enables unconscious processing of ideas and acceptance
of change much faster than is usually possible in a
fully conscious state.The benefits of hypnotherapy,
and self-hypnosis, are all encompassing – it
is an effective way of overcoming many problems in
life. When practised regularly hypnosis can help to
reduce stress levels, increase self-confidence and
motivation and improve your enjoyment of life.
...Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is an
umbrella term that includes many techniques designed
to help deal with aspects of our emotions or behaviour
that we wish to change. Modern psychotherapy has
evolved since Freud. Techniques including those used
in counselling and hypnotherapy bring new perceptions
that lead to beneficial changes in how we feel and
how we act. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is
considered to be the most widely used form of psychotherapy.‘Cognitive’ therapy aims to uncover any
irrational and problematic thinking styles that often
accompany psychological distress. Put simply – how
you think is how you feel. So the aim of a cognitive
therapist is to challenge, and ultimately change,
negative and destructive thoughts and allow the client
to lead a more productive and satisfying life.
By changing how
you think you can also change how you feel. Simple
to learn strategies provide clients with practical
and powerful ‘life-skills’.
This form of therapy has been proven to be especially
effective in treating anxiety and depression.‘Behavioural’ therapy
works on the premise that unhealthy behaviours are
learned and can therefore be unlearned as well. An
individual may act or react in a certain way that
is not healthy but may be as a result of events that
may have happened previously.
A behavioural therapist will
help a client to see this situation and develop more
effective techniques for dealing with it in the future.
Techniques that may be used are training in assertiveness
and relaxation and gradual desensitisation to feared
objects. Behavioural therapy has been proven to be
highly successful in a broad range of specific problems
such as phobias, repetitive habits (nail biting, bed
wetting, etc.) as well as anxiety and depression.Put
these two strategies together and you get CBT – Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy – a set of strategies that
creates a balanced approach to understanding and treating
common life-problems. This approach allows examination
not only of the manner in which an individual views
themselves and their environment (cognitions), but
also the way in which they act on that environment
(behaviour).
Ultimately the Cognitive Behavioural therapist
will seek to effect positive and lasting change
by working with the client to modify their unhealthy
thoughts and/or behaviours.Psychotherapy offers
new ideas and possibilities, new ways to behave
and new directions to follow. It offers us new
choices in the way we deal with situations and
provides us with the resources we need to make
those changes possible.Each of us is a unique person
in our own right. Your psychotherapist will utilise
the techniques that are most appropriate and integrate
them in the best way for each individual client.
PLEASE NOTE:
Psychotherapy in any of its forms is not a substitute
for medical care. If you feel unwell you are advised
to consult a doctor.
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