Talking therapies are psychological treatments for mental and emotional problems like stress, anxiety and depression.
There are lots of different types of talking therapy, but they all involve working with a trained therapist.
This may be one-to-one, in a group, online, over the phone, with your family, or with your partner.
The therapist helps you understand and cope with the problems you’re having.
For some problems and conditions, one type of talking therapy may be better than another.
Different talking therapies also suit different people.
Talking therapies on the NHS
You can get some talking therapies, like counselling for depression and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), on the NHS.
You can refer yourself directly to an NHS psychological therapies service without a referral from a GP.
NHS psychological therapies services are also known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services.
Find an NHS psychological therapies service (IAPT)
If you prefer, see a GP and they can refer you and share relevant information about you.
Guided self-help
Guided self-help is recommended as a treatment for some types of depression, anxiety, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
With guided self-help you work through a CBT-based workbook or computer course with the support of a therapist.
The therapist works with you to understand your problems and make positive changes in your life.
Guided self-help aims to give you helpful tools and techniques that you can carry on using after the course has finished.
During the course your therapist will support you with face-to-face, online or phone appointments.
See some more self-help therapies.
Counselling
Counselling is a talking therapy where you talk in confidence to a counsellor. They help you find ways to deal with difficulties in your life.
You may be offered counselling on the NHS if, for example, you:
- have some types of depression
- are struggling to cope a recent life event, like a bereavement
- are having fertility problems
Counselling on the NHS may be offered as a single session or a course of sessions over a period of weeks or months.
Read more about counselling.
Counselling for depression
Counselling for depression has been specially developed to help people understand the underlying causes of their depression.
Counselling for depression is available through NHS psychological therapies services (IAPT).
It’s usually offered to people who have mild to moderate depression and have already tried other therapies, such as guided self-help, or other therapies are not suitable for them.
Behavioural activation
Behavioural activation is a talking therapy that aims to help people with depression take simple, practical steps towards enjoying life again.
It may be offered one-to-one or in a group with regular meetings or phone calls with a therapist.
The aim is to give you the motivation to make small, positive changes in your life.
You’ll also learn problem-solving skills to help you tackle problems that are affecting your mood.
You’ll usually be offered about 16 to 20 sessions.
Interpersonal therapy (IPT)
IPT is a talking treatment that helps people with depression identify and address problems in their relationships with family, partners and friends.
The idea is that poor relationships with people in your life can leave you feeling depressed.
Depression can in turn make your relationships with other people worse.
You may be offered IPT if you have mild to moderate depression that hasn’t responded to other talking therapies, such as CBT.
IPT is usually offered for 16 to 20 sessions.
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a talking therapy that’s been developed to help people who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
People who have PTSD may experience intrusive thoughts, memories, nightmares or flashbacks of traumatic events in their past.
EMDR helps the brain reprocess memories of the traumatic event so the negative images, emotions and physical feelings they cause have less impact.
EMDR can be a distressing process, so it’s important to have a good support network of family and friends around you if you plan to try it.
A course of treatment is likely to be 8 to 12 sessions.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
Mindfulness-based therapies help you focus on your thoughts and feelings as they happen, moment by moment.
MBCT is used to help prevent depression coming back, and to help some types of anxiety and stress.
MBCT combines mindfulness techniques like meditation and breathing exercises with cognitive therapy, which is about learning how to manage your thoughts and how they make you feel.
Find out more:
- mindfulness
- Every Mind Matters: self-help cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques
Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Psychodynamic psychotherapy looks at how childhood experiences and thoughts you’re not aware of (your subconscious mind) affect your thinking, feelings, relationships and behaviour today.
You talk to a therapist, one-on-one, about your thoughts and feelings. This type of talking therapy may be offered for around 16 sessions.
Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) may be offered on the NHS to people who have depression or depression plus a long-term health condition.
Couple therapy
Couple therapy can help people who have depression that may be linked to problems in their relationship with their partner. It’s sometimes called behavioural couple therapy (BCT) or couple therapy for depression (CTfD).
Couple therapy usually includes 15 to 20 sessions over 5 to 6 months.
It may be offered by an IAPT service if other therapies, like CBT, have not helped. Your partner will need to be willing to go through therapy with you.
Video: Psychological therapies for stress, anxiety and depression
Animated video explaining self-referral to psychological therapies services for stress, anxiety or depression.
Psychodynamic/psychoanalytic-based treatments are evidence-based forms of therapy which can effectively treat emotional problems and a wide range of mental health conditions such as depression, complex trauma, personality disorders, eating disorders and anxiety. This kind of therapy addresses underlying issues and causes, often from your past, which may be concerning you, or affecting your relationships with others. In your sessions you will be encouraged to talk freely and to look more deeply into your problems and worries. It differs from many other talking therapies in that it aims to help people make deep-seated change in personality and emotional development, alongside relieving troubling symptoms. It can help you discuss feelings you have about yourself and other people, particularly family and those close to you.
We are a specialist service offering individual and group psychotherapy, an intensive group programme, a training setting for NHS professionals to become qualified psychotherapists, and consultation and education to health and social care professionals in the region.
This is with the same therapist and at the same time of the same day each week. The aim is to understand your problems at a deeper level. Even short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy requires commitment of between six and 12 months or 25-40 sessions. Longer-term therapy usually lasts between 12 and 24 months or 40-80 sessions. Sessions last 50 minutes and can be conducted either in person, online or via telephone.
Weekly groups take place at the same time of the same day each week and last from 12-24 months. They can be facilitated by one or two staff members and may have between eight and 10 participants. Group sessions last 75-90 minutes. There are also specific evidence-based interventions such as Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT) which are typically provided in a group format.
People with mental health difficulties can often feel isolated, stigmatised and misunderstood, which can contribute to their distress. Groups are a powerful way for people to connect with one another and explore themes of similarity and difference together, facilitated by an experienced professional.
The programme values the idea of community spirit. We recognise the importance of individuals contributing to, and receiving of care from, a therapeutic community. Getting people together in groups creates the opportunity to look not only at the psychological difficulties themselves, but also how they influence our relationships with others. When we interact with each other, situations emerge which can be used positively to facilitate a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.
The intensive group psychotherapy programme has been in operation since February 1994. It offers an opportunity to increase understanding of your psychological, emotional and social difficulties, in order to produce inner personal change.
Current staff
All colleagues on the team are qualified mental health professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds such as nursing, social work, occupational therapy and clinical psychology.
Our staff specialise in psychodynamic psychotherapy and may have other specialist areas of interest, such as working with adolescents and young adults, trauma-focused therapy, or group work.
We are an educational setting with a responsibility to train psychodynamic, psychoanalytic and group psychotherapists. Some of our staff are undertaking specialist qualifying training whilst working in the service full time. We also offer placements to honorary or visiting therapists from a range of professional backgrounds.
Our current staff are:
Dr Nathan Babiker, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and Consultant Clinical Psychologist (Service Lead)
Steve Wheeler, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist (Deputy Service Lead)
Michael Dwyer, Psychological Therapist
John Fletcher, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
Toni Fox, Psychodynamic Psychotherapist
Sarah Jones, Psychological Therapist
Nigel Runcorn, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
Mark Sumpter, Psychological Therapist
Emily Thomas, Psychological Therapist
Accessing the service
People referred to this service must be currently under secondary mental health services, and usually have longstanding mental health problems such as complex trauma or personality disorder. They may have tried other therapies before undertaking psychodynamic psychotherapy.
A professional worker you have regular contact with, such as a care co-ordinator, psychologist or psychiatrist, should speak to you about the referral first and involve you in the decision. If you agree to be referred, this person will then contact us. We do not currently accept self-referrals.
A member of the team will review your referral and may contact the referrer for further discussion. When there is enough information to decide that psychotherapy might help, we will send a letter to you with information to complete and send back. We will include a stamped envelope.
What to expect
Psychodynamic psychotherapy occurs in a safe setting and relies on very clear boundaries of confidentiality. You will first be offered an assessment with one of our team to see whether psychodynamic psychotherapy would be suitable. This assessment may take place over several sessions. If psychodynamic psychotherapy is not recommended, or a different approach would be more suitable, they will discuss this with you and write to you and your referrer to confirm this.
The psychotherapist will be interested in what is in your mind and will encourage you to talk freely. They may speak less than other therapists, and could seem more neutral and less openly reassuring, but they will be attuned to your emotional responses and empathetic. They will also be interested in your feelings about them, and what these might reflect about other relationships in your life, past and present.
Many of the people who come to our service have had upsetting or traumatic experiences, particularly in childhood. As psychodynamic psychotherapy can involve looking at the past, it may put you in contact with these experiences and the challenging feelings they bring. Your therapist will ensure that you understand this and discuss whether you feel able to undertake this aspect of the work.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy does not involve the therapist giving advice. Instead, you are supported to come to your own conclusions about your difficulties over the course of the therapy. The therapist may share ideas or an interpretation of the issues you discuss, but they will not give specific directions, techniques or coping strategies to practise. Therapies like cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) provide these kinds of techniques and might be more suitable for some people.
How do I make comments or a complaint?
If you are currently receiving treatment, you can speak with your psychotherapist. If you are unable to do so for any reason, you can contact the service lead Dr Nathan Babiker using the number above.
If you have a complaint and wish to speak to someone outside the service, you can contact the Trust Complaints Manager on 01332 623700 (ext 33469) or email [email protected].
Further reading
British Psychoanalytic Council
https://www.bpc.org.uk/information-support/
UK Council for Psychotherapy
https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/psychotherapy-training/psychotherapy-approaches/#psychoanalysis-and-jungian-analysis
Royal College of Psychiatry
https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/psychotherapies
