Helen Day Psychotherapy Counselling Totnes Devon

Helen Day
Counselling and Psychotherapy

About me
I am an experienced therapist working in private practise in the Totnes area of South Devon and also working for the NHS in Plymouth.  I am a qualified Cognitive Analytic Therapist I have a wide range of experience and have worked with a wide range of problems. I started my training in psychotherapy and counselling. I have also trained in Addictions counselling and have worked in the field of addictions where I developed an interest in helping people to effect change in their lives. I became interested in Cognitive Analytic Therapy which enables people to change their lives for the better.


About the therapy
Cognitive Analytic Therapy is a time-limited therapy usually 16 sessions. It draws upon varies theoretical frameworks, including psychoanalytic ideas, cognitive and social psychology and also cognitive behavioural approaches. The aim of CAT therapists is to remove 'roadblocks', which have maintained restriction and distress and have prevented further growth and we help to find more adequate 'road maps'. Obstacles to change are usually of three main types, self-reinforcing ineffective habits, restricted avoidant behaviour. Cognitive Analytic Therapy is a collaborative therapy where the client and therapist work together to discover what beliefs, behaviours and assumptions the client has that is causing them to feel stuck and unfulfilled in their lives.


How does it work
Cognitive Analytic therapy focuses on discovering how problems have evolved and we work together to look at what has hindered change in the past.  Problems are understood in the light of personal histories and past experiences and we look at ways in which to move forward in the present.  The relationship we have with ourselves, how we feel about ourselves and how we interact with other people is better understood. The account of our past experiences is gathered, what seems to go wrong is depicted in terms of a diagram and more effective ways of relating to the self, becoming aware of negative self talk which may include, 'I will fail'  or "I’m useless", "no one likes me" are  internally challenged through a more positive and realistic dialogue.

Do you have questions like "why do I always end up feeling like this?" or "does it have to be like this?” Do you often wish you could change things in your life but don't know how to? Things may seem to go wrong in your life, partners leave, feelings that you don't 'fit in', you may feel hopeless, stuck and angry. Unhappiness, anxiety or depression can make us feel less capable of finding a way out of our difficulties. 

Everyone seeks change for different reasons - to feel less anxious perhaps, to overcome depilating problems like depression, to feel more in control of life, to stop forming destructive relationships. Perhaps you seek change because you feel sad or bad, unhappy or empty, but aren't sure why. You may not necessarily be aware that change is what you want until you begin to look closely at yourself and the ways you have become used to doing things. Just being prepared to look at ourselves from a different perspective is already embracing change. 

What is just as important as changing negative patterns is to value the things that you have done well and feel good about. Acknowledging that you have survived through difficulties in your life is important. For example, having survived through a childhood of abuse in some form, working at what we can, trying again and again to make relationships is brave. So we spend some time looking at courage and encourage you to look at your capacity for endurance.


What to expect
After the initial assessment, the first 4 sessions are concerned with gathering information, this includes naming the problem or problems, taking the life story, looking at ways in which you learnt to form relationships and deciding on what the focus of the work will be, paying particular attention to the core of what limits us or restricts us. In session 5 a diagram is drawn to illustrate the 'road blocks', the ineffective behaviour patterns. A diary of thoughts and feelings is kept by you throughout the therapy.  Agreed insights are noted down on the map which becomes a tool for use within, outside and beyond therapy. In this way clients gain skills to help manage their lives more successfully.


Fees
£40.00 per 50 minute session.


Additional Information
My private practise is located 4 miles from Totnes and 3 miles from Paignton in South Devon in a tranquil setting and enjoys views overlooking the River Dart. Totnes is easly accessible by train from Exeter, Bristol, Plymouth and Cornwall.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.