THERAPY APPROACHES

Schema therapy is a compassionate, needs-based approach that helps us understand how early experiences shape patterns in how we think, feel, and relate to others. It recognises that when core emotional needs were unmet or overwhelmed, we may develop coping patterns that once helped us get through, but can later create distress.

In therapy, schema work supports gentle awareness of these patterns and what sits beneath them, making space for greater flexibility, self-understanding, and self-compassion.

Schema therapy is integrated alongside other evidence-based approaches, including skills from dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and compassion-focused therapy (CFT), to support emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and compassionate self-response.

EMDR is a type of therapy designed to help people heal from distressing or traumatic experiences. When something overwhelming happens, the brain sometimes doesn’t fully process the memory, and it can get “stuck,” causing ongoing emotional pain, flashbacks, or anxiety. EMDR helps the brain reprocess these memories in a way that feels less upsetting. During a session, the therapist guides the person to briefly focus on a traumatic memory while using eye movements or other forms of gentle, rhythmic stimulation (like tapping). This helps the brain reprocess the memory properly, reducing its emotional charge and allowing the person to feel more at peace with what happened. EMDR is often used for trauma, but it can also help with anxiety, grief, phobias, and more. 

I use several mind–body approaches within therapy to support emotional wellbeing and nervous system regulation. Mind–body approaches recognise the close connection between the body, brain, and emotional experiences, and work by supporting the body to feel safer and more regulated so that difficult thoughts, memories, and feelings can be processed with greater ease. 

These approaches may include EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) tapping, somatic and body-based awareness strategies, sensorimotor approaches, polyvagal-informed strategies, grounding and stabilisation techniques, breath-based practices, sensory-informed regulation strategies, and gentle movement-based practices. Mind–body approaches are used alongside talk-based therapy and are offered collaboratively.