Treatment to CURE Depression, Social Anxiety, OCD. Bi Polar Disorder|Which Therapy  Should I Use?
Channel: Land of Peaceful Mind
Date: 2020-05-07

What issues are we covering here?

Emotional issues primarily impact the way we feel. The most common are anxiety and depression (though depression can also have a strong impact on our thinking).

Behavioural issues include addictions, eating disorders and weight problems, stopping smoking, anger issues, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), ADHD, procrastination.

The term 'Mental health problems' overlaps with many emotional and behavioral issues but includes some more intransigent issues such as schizophrenia and other psychoses, personality disorders and bi-polar disorder (manic depression).

Social problems that can impact on our emotional health include things like relationship issues, abuse, sexual issues, confidence issues and bullying.

1. Choosing a therapy.

Unless you've had a strong recommendation from someone (other than the therapist) who you trust, initially pick a mainstream 'proven' therapy rather than an alternative therapy. I'm not saying alternative therapies don't work (I use several to supplement my work), just that you have little chance of knowing what works unless you happen to have access to truly independent studies.

If you had a medical problem, you'd normally consult your doctor and only resort to alternative treatments if you're not happy with the mainstream results. You'd be wise to do the same with therapy.

Alternative therapies can often be effective as a supplement to mainstream approaches, but are usually not so effective on their own.

For example I'm a qualified and experienced hypnotherapist and a 'Master NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Practitioner' and NLP trainer. But I cannot recommend either as a prime approach. NLP can be effective for treating phobias and increasing confidence, but generally little else on its own. Hypnotherapy is offered to help people stop smoking, but typical success rates are significantly below 50% (a great deal better than NHS treatments but a lot lower than combined treatments which, for many therapists, approach 100% and are often guaranteed). Too many clients tell me how much money they've wasted on alternative therapies.

Mainstream therapies include CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy), related approaches such as REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy) and Psychodynamic and Humanist Counselling.

The most highly accredited, widespread, effective and proven therapy today is CBT. It's the therapy most recommended by independent accrediting organisations such as NICE in the UK (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) and has been the subject of massive development and research around the world. CBT focuses on resolving current issues and spends little time, if any, on exploring the past.

CBT can resolve any problem other than psychosis and bi-polar disorder which generally need medication combined with CBT to help manage them.

Psychodynamic approaches, which focus on childhood experiences and the unconscious, can be very effective but are generally a lot more time consuming and therefore expensive. I now only use this approach where there are childhood traumas that need revisiting to resolve a current problem.

Humanist, primarily 'person-centred' counselling, is a lower-cost (per session) approach because it requires relatively little training for the therapist. It generally involves the client talking and the counsellor listening and reflecting. Useful for issues such as bereavement but, like psychodynamic approaches, tends to be time consuming and therefore, unless it can be obtained free, more expensive overall and significantly less effective than CBT.

2. Choosing a therapist:

If you're seeking a CBT therapist, consult the BABCP (British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies) website and click on 'Find a Therapist'. Choose a therapist who is geographically convenient for you.

Make sure you choose an accredited therapist. Non-accredited therapists will be cheaper (per session) but as they're less trained or experienced you'll need more sessions and probably end up spending more for a lesser result.

If you're seeking a psychodynamic or humanist counselor, go to the the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) website and again use the 'Find a Therapist' facility.

Make sure you choose a therapist who's experienced in treating your problem.

The most highly qualified and, usually, experienced therapists are Chartered Psychologists. Clinical Psychologists tend to work in hospital settings and are more highly trained in helping patients cope with brain dysfunctions and brain damage. Chartered Counseling Psychologists usually have broader training as therapists and tend to work in private practice.

3. Medication

You don't need medication for anxiety issues. It's generally only a stop-gap and not a cure. Get some CBT which is a highly effective and rapid treatment. Only use medication if there's a long wait or you cannot afford CBT.