Integrative therapy
Integrative therapy is a holistic approach to therapy where the therapist integrates different modalities in a way that is unique to both them and the client. A core aspect of this approach is the idea that no single therapy is right for everyone.
Integrative therapists may draw on parts of Humanistic, Psychodynamic, Existential or Behavioural theories, for example. It is not just a mishmash of different theories, rather a personalised model unique to therapist and client, drawn from the therapist’s depth of understanding of multiple approaches combined with the client’s unique needs.
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Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic therapies are grounded in personal development, growth, and the belief that individuals have the inherent ability to overcome challenges and reach their full potential when given the right support.
Humanistic therapies tend to focus more on the ‘here and now’, and therapists will work to create a safe, supportive space where clients can fully explore their thoughts, feelings and aspirations. This approach to therapy tends to be client-led, believing that clients are the experts in their own lives.
Humanistic therapy, however, is an umbrella term. It includes many specific individual modalities that sometimes therapists integrate, and which are sometimes practiced by themselves. These include but are not limited to:
- Gestalt therapy
- Existential therapy
- Person-centred therapy
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Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is derived from psychoanalytic therapy and focuses on how a client’s past experiences and unconscious processes influence their current behaviour and relationships. The idea is that through a trusting therapeutic relationship where the client can explore childhood experiences, emotional difficulties and repetitive relational patterns, we can bring the unconscious mind into consciousness and start to make sense of them.
Psychodynamic therapy will typically focus on recognising, understanding, expressing and overcoming emotional conflicts and repressed feelings to improve the client’s interpersonal experiences and relationships.
The psychodynamic approach is designed to help individuals with a wide range of problems and can be beneficial for those who have lost meaning in their lives or have difficulty forming or maintaining personal relationships. While suitable for everyone, it is often most appreciated by individuals with a capacity for self-reflection and a curiosity for their internal life and behaviours.
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Body Movement Psychotherapy
Body Movement Psychotherapy (also known as Dance Movement Psychotherapy) holds space for the client’s embodied experience to be expressed and brought into awareness as part of a process of change. It is a practice that involves talking, moving the body, and exploring communication creatively with the therapist in ways that sometimes can’t be put into words.
Injuries, illness, stress and trauma profoundly affect the body and depending on the client’s unique perspective, practices such as breath work and gentle intentional movement can
help to shine a light on patterns of tension and ways of being that no longer serve you. This can be a deeply moving and creative process that promotes self-acceptance, self-compassion and emotional resilience in the safety of a therapeutic space. Embodied practices related to mindfulness and grounding can be particularly helpful for people struggling with anxiety.
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EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy can help individuals who are living with the continued impacts of negative or traumatic past experiences.
The underlying theory of EMDR states that difficulties in the present can have their origins in memories that have not yet been fully processed. EMDR helps individuals process these painful memories in a way that can reduce the distress associated with them. It is a structured approach to working with individuals and their traumatic memories, following eight phases of treatment whilst working together to allow the mind to heal from difficult emotional wounds.
EMDR therapy is client-centred and relational and is often integrated into longer term therapy. It can be effective for treating a large variety of mental health issues and is an evidence-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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CBT
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a therapy that explores the impact of an individual’s thoughts and beliefs on their feelings and behaviours. It focuses on coping skills for various mental health difficulties, linking the things you think to the things you do.
CBT is often a short-term treatment which combines in-session exploration of thoughts, feeling and behaviours, with activities you can do outside of the session. Sometimes these activities include writing in a journal, completing a worksheet or doing a task. CBT is a collaborative and goal-oriented way of finding new ways to cope with problems, and is commonly used for conditions like OCD, anxiety, eating disorders and depression.
CBT is often available via the NHS as part of a short course of therapy. At Hastings Therapy Centre we have therapists who work with elements of CBT as part of their practice, but this is usually just one element of a broader approach working with clients.
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Group therapy
Group therapy is where you work as a group of people together and it can take many different forms. With the facilitation of a qualified therapist, group members create a supportive environment where individuals can share their experiences and receive mutual support.
Groups can be helpful in that you can clarify your difficulties through discussion with others. You can experience firsthand that others are facing the same difficulties as you, and you can make progress together. Group therapy can help with a range of mental health difficulties and is particularly suited to those struggling with making and maintaining relationships or social anxiety.
Traditional group therapy usually involves working with a therapist on a one-to-one basis first as part of preparation for joining the group.
We sometimes run other groups at the centre which are less like traditional therapy and more about creating a reflective space together; for instance, where a therapeutic practice such as creative writing can be nurtured and shared with therapeutic benefits.
Below is more information about a group currently running at Hastings Therapy Centre:
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Coaching
The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as ‘partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential’.
Coaching helps individuals to take a step back, think, reflect and talk through challenges they are facing in their life. A coach listens actively and poses questions about individuals’ thoughts, feelings, values, needs, wants, beliefs or behaviour to expand new ways of thinking. This process helps individuals to gain clarity, understanding and a new perspective. The coach then supports individuals’ learning to make progress towards what they want to accomplish.
Why seek coaching?
Coaching can help build confidence and motivation. It can help you solve a problem, confront a challenge or make a change that you haven’t managed on your own. It can help you explore dilemmas so you can make decisions that are right for you. It can help you break old patterns and build new helpful habits. It can help you find direction and hope for your future.
Coaching is not therapy and is not a treatment for mental health concerns but, like therapy it can go deep, it can be challenging, and it can be transformative.