how can therapy help?

Personal problems can have a way of taking over your life. You might find yourself repeating the same old pattern, or you might feel stuck and uncertain of whether it will be possible for you to change the way that you feel. Sometimes having a professional psychologist to talk to is the first step along the road to helping yourself.

People can find psychological therapy helpful for a host of different reasons, from a need for personal growth and development to assistance with personal problems. Some find that psychological therapy is useful when they are faced with difficult stages or transitions in their normal life cycle. Transitions may include career changes, relationship breakdown, children flying the nest, or retirement. Other people pursue psychological therapy to help alleviate distress, whether from pressures of living or through long-standing problems that have proved resistant to change. Indeed, individuals may choose psychological therapy for difficulties such as sexuality issues, fertility issues, identity issues, trauma (either recent or from the past), eating disorders, phobias, and many more. Others may choose psychological therapy because their life lacks direction or because their life makes no sense. dr. victoria is trained in modern psychological methods to help individuals resolve fears, panics and anxieties, and to help them break through depression or other forms of sadness.

Therapeutic  Approaches

Dr. Victoria Galbraith considers herself to be an integrative therapist which involves a carefully considered way of working that interweaves different therapeutic approaches. She works with the individual/couple in whatever way she feels resonates most with the material that they present. She will offer sensitivity, intuition, sound theoretical and psycho-therapeutic understanding and a thorough knowledge of evidence-based practice (scientific research that has been proven to work with specific conditions/difficulties). The therapeutic approaches that are available to Dr. Victoria within her integrative approach are as follows:

Humanistic Therapy

This approach forms the heart of Dr. Victoria’s work and she always uses this as the foundation of her work. This approach describes a number of therapies which give central focus to the person's perception of their own reality, seeking understanding more than interpretation. These therapies include person-centred, transpersonal, gestalt and existential therapy. Dr. Victoria places trust in her client’s innate wisdom and self-healing ability. She has a strong belief that the client is the expert on his/her life as only they know how they feel and only they have had their experiences. Dr. Victoria offers a relationship of safety and trust through which people can explore their issues and feelings, in order to arrive at self-acceptance and openness to their potential.

Psychodynamic Therapy

This approach looks at how childhood experiences might affect present relationships and life choices. As part of this, clients will explore how they relate to Dr. Victoria, as this is seen as a reflection of their significant early relationships. As clients start to distinguish between past and present, they move towards clearer relating, and a knowledge and understanding of themselves.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

This approach explores how our thoughts, beliefs and ideas affect the way that we feel and act. Many emotional difficulties arise through beliefs and assumptions which are often based on past experiences. These beliefs may have been helpful at the time but are less relevant or helpful in the present. CBT aims to modify thoughts and behaviour in order to find more helpful ways of viewing a situation, which in turn, will provide a more positive emotional outcome.

Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR)

This is a new therapy (developed in the 1990’s) that has proven incredibly effective in research studies and is the national institute for health and clinical excellence (nihce) recommended therapy for trauma related difficulties. Research also demonstrates its’ efficacy with other conditions, such as phobias. The EMDR method manipulates eye movements and accelerates the processing of pathologies and self esteem issues related to both upsetting past events and present life conditions. The basic premise is that when a trauma occurs it seems to get locked in the nervous system with the original picture, sounds, thoughts and feelings.  This material can combine fact with fantasy, with the resulting images that stand for the actual event and associated feelings about the event perhaps being overly negative.  The eye movements Dr. Victoria uses in EMDR unlock the nervous system and allow the brain to process the experience in a more holistic way. 

Couple Therapy

Couple Therapy is useful for people wanting to explore any close relationship with another person, for instance a partner, family member, friend or colleague. Dr. Victoria will not ‘take sides’ or apportion blame, but will help to explore what might be helpful and what harmful within the dynamics of the relationship.