MOOD DISORDERS
DEPRESSION.
Careful assessment is needed to clarify the correct diagnosis and to allow an appropriate treatment plan to be developed.
Psychological therapy and lifestyle changes are the mainstay of treatment for mild to moderate depressive disorders.
Medication is useful in more severe cases or where psychotherapy is not sufficient on its own.
The combination of both forms of treatment along with lifestyle changes provides the most effective way to help moderate to severe disorders.
BIPOLAR SPECTRUM DISORDERS
Careful assessment is needed to clarify the precise diagnosis.
A three pronged approach is necessary to address bipolar spectrum disorders and it is best to use a combination of:
Psychotherapy,
Medication.
Lifestyle changes in order to get the best results.
Psychological treatments are important but the nature of these disorders makes the use of medication much more important than in many other mental health disorders.
A combination of therapeutic approaches provides the best solution to help control mood swings and to minimise disruption to a person’s life.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety is part of our survival “fight or flight” response to the world around us.
A little anxiety can help us to perform at our best while too much gets in the way of our being able to live normal lives.
Anxiety disorders include:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder.
Agoraphobia.
Panic disorder.
Social Anxiety Disorder.
Phobias.
EATING DISORDERS
I offer assessment of eating disorders and am happy to develop treatment plans and to undertake treatment plan reviews.
TRAUMA
DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA
A trauma is anything that interferes with normal functioning and covers a wide spectrum from a broken leg to attachment problems to sexual abuse.
When such things happen they can interfere with our social, personal, mental and emotional development and produce effects that can affect our whole lives. This is why it is important to identify trauma early and to access high quality treatment to minimise future difficulties.
COMPLEX PTSD
Unlike acute PTSD, which usually arises in relation to a specific, life-threatening incident, Complex PTSD develops when our early environment is not "good enough" to allow our psycho-social development to proceed along normal lines.
This can happen for many reasons; from a parent dying during early childhood to poverty, from parental mental illness to abuse or neglect or even be due to outside events like chronic bullying at school or growing up in a war zone. In other words, in situations where those who are supposed to help us, and protect us as we develop, have been unable to meet these needs due to a whole range of causes from misfortune to malice.
Instead of supporting the development of a secure sense of safety from which to explore our world, adverse situations like these, arising during our childhood, mean that our mind develops in survival mode. This can result in our having difficulties being in the world - which is perceived as threatening. We can end up with no sense of ourselves, low self-worth, problems regulating our emotions (which can lead to problems like eating disorders or substance misuse), and difficulties with relationships both with ourself and with others.
Complex PTSD makes us more liable to develop other mental health problems as we grow and mature into adulthood.
While medication can help with some of the symptoms of complex PTSD, as well as some of the secondary mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, the mainstay of treatment is long-term, individual psychotherapy based on trauma informed principles.
Referral to a psychologist who has experience in treating trauma, and who can also offer specific therapies such as DBT and EMDR, is important for future development and recovery.