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Online Relationship Therapy

There are many reasons why people seek out relationship counselling and psychotherapy, from ongoing conflicts and communication challenges to infidelity, bereavement and grief, or family-related issues that are causing a rift. By working with a trained counsellor remotely from your own home, you’ll benefit from a confidential and safe space to discuss any issues, past or present, to help you improve your relationship.

What is Online Relationship Counselling and Psychotherapy?

While it may seem in the moment that your relationship is at breaking point, a trained psychotherapist can help you talk through your problems to help you find a solution and to see each other’s point of view. Many couples imagine that relationship counselling means sitting in a therapy room with a clinician, however, there is also the option to talk with a trained professional in the comfort of your own home with online sessions.

Our psychotherapists are trained to provide a supportive and non-judgemental environment to help you face any difficulty in your relationship. Though practically identical to face-to-face therapy, online therapy offers the option of receiving counselling or psychotherapy remotely through a secure platform for greater accessibility, convenience and approachability.

How Can Relationship Counselling or Psychotherapy Help My Relationship?

For some couples, just a few sessions of counselling can help them resolve their problems while for others, it’s the beginning of a long process of discovery in order to make a breakthrough. Your clinician will be able to help you in setting out expectations. Whether you’ve been struggling with the same argument for years or it’s a new issue that has arisen, a couple’s psychotherapist can help you work through the problem in a healthy way.

Communication is such a vital component of any relationship and finding new ways to talk through issues can help you move past rough patches and restore your relationship or amicably go your separate ways – an essential consideration where children are involved. Couple’s counselling or psychotherapy can be an incredibly rewarding experience that can make a marked di?erence to your partnership. Through choosing to work online, you can access to our highly skilled team from anywhere in the country.

Contact us today if you want to talk to an expert about your relationship or if you need any advice.

All the content on this page has been reviewed and vetted by Mark Vahrmeyer UKCP Registered Psychotherapist, Superviser and Co-Founder of Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy. For any questions or more information about the subjects discussed on this page please contact us.


Online Depression Psychotherapy

Depression is like a whole-body illness that a?ects not just your mood and thoughts but also your physical self, such as your appetite and sleep patterns, and how you view yourself, your capabilities and your emotions.

The symptoms of this condition vary from person to person, as well as in severity, but they can range from a feeling of helplessness and sadness to anxiety, insomnia, a loss of appetite, irritability and even suicidal thoughts.

How Can Psychotherapy Help?

There are several types of treatment available for depression, but the most effective is talking therapy in the shape of counselling or psychotherapy. Depression can be thought of as a ‘stickiness’ related to unexpressed emotion. A clinician trained in working with depression will listen to you without judgement, in a confidential and safe space to offer you the support you need to work through the problems that are troubling you. They can offer suggestions of strategies to deal with your depression and techniques to help you during the darker times.

Online depression counselling and psychotherapy makes it easier to speak with a trained professional, with sessions held remotely to make them more convenient and accessible. Depression can often make tasks feel insurmountable, so being able to speak to someone from your own home can also make therapy more approachable for many people.

Self-acceptance is fundamental in overcoming the destructive thoughts and beliefs one holds about themselves when they are depressed. Psychotherapy can help you recover trust in yourself and develop a better relationship with yourself through being in a relationship with your therapist.

Seeing a counsellor or psychotherapist work through depression enables you to learn a new approach in expressing your thoughts and feelings in the presence of another. Our clinical team are skilled in helping people deal with negative thoughts and feelings, as well as in providing objective advice and guidance to help you overcome the challenges related to this condition.

If you’re feeling depressed or want to talk to someone about how you’re feeling, get in touch with our team today and talk to someone.

All the content on this page has been reviewed and vetted by Mark Vahrmeyer UKCP Registered Psychotherapist, Superviser and Co-Founder of Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy. For any questions or more information about the subjects discussed on this page please contact us.


Online Anxiety Counselling

There are various symptoms of anxiety, including an overwhelming feeling of fear, panic or worry, as well as physical signs such as sweaty palms, dizziness and palpitations. For those struggling with an anxiety disorder, these feelings can occur on a frequent basis and are isolating and distressing.

Anxiety is a problem that can be exacerbated if stressors are allowed to build. It’s important to get help and support if you’re finding yourself struggling with anxious thoughts on a regular basis. By speaking to someone about what you’re dealing with, you can understand what’s causing the negative reactions to your thoughts to be better equipped to tackle them.

How Can Online Psychotherapy Help?

Anxiety can be debilitating for many people but having specialist support in the form of psychotherapy can be effective in helping relieve the worry associated with this condition and encourage recovery. Our trained therapists can help you develop effective coping strategies and resolve the issues that are causing anxiety in your life, as well as help you identify the triggers for your anxiety.

There can be various reasons why your anxiety has developed, from stressful work or school environments to diffcult relationships, your health or social interactions. By talking through your issues and the causes for your anxiety, you can increase your self-awareness to manage your feelings and thoughts more effectively. Removing yourself from the situations that cause anxiety isn’t always possible but having an arsenal of techniques makes dealing with it easier, which can be a great comfort. And in a supportive and therapeutic relationship, you will no longer face your anxiety alone.

Online anxiety psychotherapy is just one form of treatment but talking to a trained professional can help you in many ways, from understanding your condition and what may be causing it, through to learning techniques to deal with the symptoms. Online psychotherapy enables you to benefit from the advantages of face-to-face sessions but from the comfort of your home for a more convenient and accessible solution. It also ensures you have access to our highly skilled team from anywhere in the country.

If you want to discuss online anxiety counselling with us, contact us today or take a look at our practitioners.

All the content on this page has been reviewed and vetted by Mark Vahrmeyer UKCP Registered Psychotherapist, Superviser and Co-Founder of Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy. For any questions or more information about the subjects discussed on this page please contact us.


October 19, 2020 by BHP Leave a Comment

Why does the difference between counselling and psychotherapy matter?

What a difference a year makes. For all of us the world is an inconceivably different place to a year ago. Not only are we all living with greater uncertainty, we have all had to enormously adapt to living, socialising, relating working, and not least, having therapy in a different way.

Almost exactly a year ago I wrote a blog on entitled ‘The Difference Between Counselling and Psychotherapy’, which has received some traction. More recently, the age old question pertaining to the difference between these to related disciplines has come bursting forth through a collaborative project SCoPEd project which seeks to set out training requirements and practice standards for counselling and psychotherapy. This project is receiving a lot of attention
(accompanied by fierce criticism) by many in the ‘talking therapies’ field. I have no wish to get drawn into the intricacies and politics of the actual project but do firmly believe that from a client’s perspective, standardisation of training requirements and robust practice standards that differ between counsellors and psychotherapists can only be a good thing. More so, I believe that they are essential.

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Many of my clients come to be after trying some form of ‘talk therapy’ which may or may not have been helpful. Many come because they are unclear about why they don’t feel better and have ‘stumbled’ across me and my practice via a search engine. Few really understand that there is a difference between counselling and psychotherapy and few understand what they may need and why that may be a psychotherapist.

The fact few understand this has nothing to do with the fact that there is a fundamental difference and put simply, the more I have trained and the more years of experience I have, the more cognisant I have become not only of the differences, but also of how to assess what someone needs and whether they are in fact suitable for therapy.

I have written extensively about the differences between psychotherapy and counselling in my blog a year ago and if you are interested, you can read them here. My blogs are aimed predominantly at lay people who may be considering entering into therapy, rather than at the counselling and psychotherapy community.

Why do clients need to understand the difference between counsellors and psychotherapists?           

At present the distinction (in the minds of many) is blurry. Many counsellors believe the two terms to be interchangeable and are thus aggrieved by any proposed framework that should distinguish between the two disciplines: most counsellors think they are psychotherapist; few psychotherapists consider themselves counsellors.
The distinction matters from a duty of care perspective. Deeper work with clients dealing with complex trauma, personality disturbance and psychiatric disorders requires an in-depth understanding of how to identify these issues and an assessment of our ability to work with such clients and the client’s ability to ‘make use’ of the therapy, their robustness.

Turning clients away

My practice is generally full as my work is long-term, however, when considering taking on a new client I undertake a clinical assessment of their suitability for therapy. I aim to answer the question: ‘can I help this person?’ It may seem counter-intuitive, however, I am far more likely to turn down clients pre- or post-assessment now than when I first started out as a counsellor.

Why? Because I now know what I do not know and where my limitations lie.

A GP will not undertake surgery as they have been trained in general practice. They can however, recognise that a patient needs to see a specialist who can offer an expert opinion and in-depth complex treatment. A GP is invaluable precisely because they are aware of what they do and don’t know and work within their limitations.

This is the ethical responsibility that I believe all counsellors and psychotherapists would carry at the forefront of their minds, however, without training in formulating (our word for diagnosing) how can a clinician know what they don’t know? Herein lies the problem.

Do no harm

The Hyppocratic Oath, subscribed to by medical professionals the world over applies to us too.  In trying to help (rescue, fix, therapise, relate to) a client, unless we are acutely aware of what we are dealing with, we can do more harm than good.

Is there a place for counselling?

Unequivocally yes. Counselling is enormously beneficial and most psychotherapists started their careers as counsellors in some capacity. Counselling is often all a client needs and it can bring about enormous change for many. However, it is not appropriate for more complex or serious relational or personality disturbances.

In turning clients way it is not solely or even frequently because their requirements lie beyond my abilities; I often suggest to prospective clients that counselling may be more appropriate for them, especially if they have no prior experience of ‘talking therapy’ and are wanting to work-through a time limited issue.

And beyond psychotherapy?

The clients I do turn away as their requirements lie either beyond my knowledge base or holding capacity, I do so from a position of ‘doing no harm’ and making an often tough ethical decision. It may be that that person requires psychiatric support but it may also be that their level of disturbance is best treated by a multi-disciplinary team. And then there is, of course, psychoanalysis.

Inaccessible for many – sadly as Freud saw Analysis as being something that should be accessible for the general population – provides something that psychotherapy cannot: the ability and framework within which to work at depth with powerful regression.

To summarise, difference simply must be acknowledged and accepted between the professions for the safety and well-being of clients and patients. To do otherwise is plain hubris.

To enquire about psychotherapy sessions with Mark Vahrmeyer, please contact him here, or to view our full clinical team, please click here.

 

Mark Vahrmeyer, UKCP Registered, BHP Co-founder is an integrative psychotherapist with a wide range of clinical experience from both the public and private sectors. He currently sees both individuals and couples, primarily for ongoing psychotherapy.  Mark is available at the Lewes and Brighton & Hove Practices.

 

Further reading by Mark Vahrmeyer

Love in the time of Covid

Why am I feeling more anxious with Covid-19?

Coronavirus Lock-Down – Physical Health Vs Mental Health

Why psychotherapy sessions should end on time

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Filed Under: Mark Vahrmeyer, Mental Health, Psychotherapy Tagged With: Counselling, Psychotherapy, psychotherapy services

August 3, 2020 by Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy Leave a Comment

Psychiatry, Psychology and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

I am aware that these terms often get confused, so will use this blog to offer some very brief definitions and distinctions. Full disclosure – I’m biased, the psychodynamic model is ‘my bag’, however it’s also really important to point out that, the research suggests a pretty equal efficacy between therapeutic approaches and that the working relationship with the therapist is more important than the particular model of therapy they practice. 

Psychiatry: – which isn’t a therapy but the branch of medicine that seeks to treat ‘mental disorders”. As its part of medicine, it seeks to take a scientific, biological view of the disorders and its main source of treatment is ‘medicine’ or psychiatric drugs, such as anti-depressants or anti-psychotics. These ‘disorders’ are seen primarily through the prism of chemical imbalances and this is what is known as biological Psychiatry.  However, within Psychiatry there are differences, for instance, – Social Psychiatry. Social psychiatry, challenges the traditional psychiatric view that mental illness is caused by abnormal thoughts and actions relating to biological imbalances and stresses the importance of social factors, such as relationships, and the wider contexts of a person’s life. 

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Counselling Psychology:-A counselling psychologist will have first completed a degree in Psychology and then an additional counselling training. In theory their approach, or at least the ‘psychology part’,  will be based on theories resting on experiments and scientific deductions, for instance the British Psychological society states that “As a science psychology functions as both a thriving academic discipline and a vital professional practice, one dedicated to the study of human behaviour – and the thoughts, feelings, and motivations behind it – through observation, measurement, and testing, in order to form conclusions that are based on sound scientific methodology.”.

A critique of this would be around the critique of scientific methods, for instance A few years back, scientists at the biotechnology company Amgen set out to replicate 53 landmark studies that went on to be widely accepted as fact. They were able to replicate the findings of the original research only 11 percent of the time. This proves a general critique of science, which is that is inherently flawed as it is undertaken by humans and therefore always, although often subtly and perhaps unconsciously, driven by unconscious subjective and paradigmatic factors. 

 

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Johnathan Shedler, working in America, contrasts the psychiatric and psychodynamic approach, arguing that, “a psychiatric diagnosis alone is a poor and limiting way of understanding a person” as it, “fosters the fiction that we can treat emotional pain as encapsulated illness separate from the person having the pain.” 

In my experience many patients have adopted this split way of viewing themselves, it’s very seductive, the idea we are in control and can pick and choose between our emotions rather than having to surf whatever waves they may throw up,  this can appear comforting, however its isn’t because it’s a fallacy. A recent humorous Instagram, post suggests: – “1. Avoid emotional burnout by never experiencing emotions in the first place.” 

Shedler describes the difference between having therapy and having meaningful therapy; – If someone has had meaningful therapy, they will be able to describe the relationship with their therapist, what it was like and what they learnt about themselves, some patients can have had lots of therapy but not be able to describe these aspects as they and the therapist have seen therapy, as a “provider of techniques. “

A critique of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is that it is often unfocused, that it has no clearly defined goals and no clear direction, which is a fair point but one that is an inherent part of a truly analytic approach. Barnaby Barratt, author of ‘Beyond Psychotherapy-Radical Psychoanalysis’,  defines Psychodynamics as relating to, “an understanding of the human condition that is non-manipulatively interested in the meaning of life’s events for the participant and one that is holistically interested in ‘mind, body and spirit’”, I.e. is interested in the dynamic interplay of these aspects of being human without taking sides, but simply in allowing the conflicts inherent in being human to be explored and brought to consciousness so that whatever uneasy peace may be possible, can be facilitated, and that folks in relation to being human in my opinion  is as good as it gets. 

 

Paul Salvage is Psychodynamic Psychotherapist trained to work with adolescents from 16-25 and adults across a wide range of specialisms including depression, anxiety, family issues, self awareness and relationship difficulties. He currently works with individuals in our private practice in Hove.

 

Further reading by Paul Salvage –

Analytic Therapy for Addictions

Loss

Post Natal Depression in Mothers & Fathers

The Therapeutic Relationship and the Unconscious

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Filed Under: Paul Salvage, Psychotherapy, Relationships, Society Tagged With: Counselling, Depression, Psychodynamic

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Our working practices have fully incorporated online therapy in addition to a re-opening of our Hove and Lewes practices for face-to-face psychotherapy in accordance with Government guidelines and advice on safe practice and social distancing.