The Gaskell House Psychotherapy Centre

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Information leaflet produced for patients by Gaskell House

This therapy is based on gaining a detailed understanding of the ways in which your current difficulties are based on and maintained by the thoughts, beliefs and expectations you have with the aim of enabling you to change them.

The cognitive approach to therapy has a particular focus on understanding and working on your interpretations, evaluations and beliefs. It aims to help you understand the immplications and conclusions you draw about yourself on the basis of your thoughts and interpretations of things which affect your life. There are three basic concepts:

a. Automatic Thoughts: These are immediate ideas or interpretations which spring to mind. they may be negative, in which case you may valuate yourself in a critical way.

b. Rules for living: These are the ideas and beliefs which guide our lives (e.g. I must be successful, I must be approved of).

c. Beliefs about self and others: These are systems of beliefs (sometimes called schemata) which form the basis of how we judge ourselves and our experiences and how we judge others and their experiences.

Method

The therapy will start with a period of assessment. Your therapist will encourage you to look at immediate problematic issues and how you see and evaluate them, rather than dwell on the past, and you may be asked to fill in questionnaires or keep a diary. You will tend to focus on specific situations from your day to day life rather than on large areas. By the end of this, you should have a clear, mutually agreed picture of the problems and of how they are maintained. This will take you on to the next stage which will be about learning techniques and procedures to change your ideas, beliefs and attitudes towards yourself and your environment, and how you deal with situations through the setting of mutually agreed goals between yourself and your therapist. The main target will be on producing change outside the therapy sessions.

Timing

This is a short-term therapy, usually carried out on a one to one basis at a mutually convenient time that you will arrange with your therapist. It normally lasts for a maximum of 16 sessions. The frequency of meetings will again be arranged with your therapist and could be weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

Confidentiality

The proceedings of the session are confidential. This is essential if people are to trust each other. Your therapist will also respect confidentiality, with the proviso that he/she will discuss events from time to time with a small group of colleagues for the purpose of supervision. Your therapist, however, has a duty to inform your family doctor that you are receiving therapy from Gaskell House.

There are uncommon limited situations when the therapist must disclose therapy material elsewhere; the therapist will discuss this with you first. This may be when someone's safety is at risk, or to comply with the Children's Act.

Holidays And Absences

The therapist will give the group good notice of planned breaks, and you are asked to do likewise if you plan to be away. If you have to be absent at short notice, you can leave a telephone message between 9.00am and 4.45pm at Gaskell House reception on 0161) 273-2762.

Child care

Unfortunately we do not have creche facilities at Gaskell House and so if you have a baby or small child you will have to arrange for someone to look after him/her. In this form of psychotherapy it is not usually possible to have your child in the therapy room during sessions.

Medication

The use of medication for psychological difficulties is not a bar to psychotherapy treatment, though we discourage the use of minor tranquillisers, such as valium. It is important that you do not stop any medication without discussing this with the G.P. or psychiatrist supervising it. Your therapist will not supervise your medication.

Gaskell House Psychotherapy Center
Swinton Grove
Manchester M13 0EU
England
Tel: 0161 273 2762            Fax: 0161 273 4876
email: gmcgrath@psy.cmht.nwest.nhs.uk

   
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North West Institute
of Dynamic Psychotherapy