Talking about your thoughts and feelings can help you deal with some of the tough times in your life. When something is bothering us, we might turn it over and over again in our mind which sometimes means that the worry grows. Talking your worries through with someone can help you work out what is really upsetting you and find a way to make things better.
Some people find it helpful to talk with a friend or family member. However, sometimes friends and family cannot help us and we need to talk to a professional. Talking therapies involve speaking to someone who is trained to help you deal with your negative feelings. Here are a few of the common types of talking therapies that we offer at CAMHS.
A person with a mental health difficulty can find it very supportive to have their family understand what they are struggling with so that their family are able to give encouragement and assist them with everyday life. A family therapist can help both the person with the mental health difficulty and those closest to them to understand each other’s feelings and resolve practical day-to-day issues. Family therapy sessions can include carers and friends as well as relatives.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) focuses on how you think about the things going on in your life – your thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes – and how these might be linked to your behaviour, emotions and physical symptoms. It then looks at how you can change any negative patterns of thinking or behaviour that may be causing you difficulties. In turn, this can change the way you feel. CBT is a collaborative, time-limited, evidenced-based approach.
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a type of talking therapy. It is based on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) but has been adapted to meet the particular needs of people who experience emotions very intensely. Its main goal is to teach people skills to cope with stress, regulate emotions and improve relationships with others. It can be useful in helping with self-harm and other risky behaviours, eating problems and unstable relationship behaviours. DBT can involve teaching young people skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation as well as interpersonal effectiveness skills. Like CBT, DBT also helps you to change unhelpful behaviours, but it differs from CBT in that it also focuses on accepting who you are at the same time. DBT places particular importance on the relationship between you and your therapist, and this relationship is used to actively motivate you to change.
Child psychotherapy is a way of helping you to make sense of sad, angry, painful or confusing feelings and thoughts. This usually has a beneficial effect on your relationships at home and on your behaviour and concentration. A child psychotherapist will help you understand feelings that are perhaps not possible to verbalise, through using play and drawing as a way of communication.