Balance Psychology
OUR SERVICES
Psychologists work with all aspects of psychological wellbeing and functioning, including cognitive, intellectual, behavioural and emotional facets. Balance Psychology works with a range of issues, including:
- Anxiety
- Gaining perspective
- Depression
- Work issues
- Low mood
- Goal setting
- Rumination, over-thinking
- Communication
- Stress
- Problem-solving
- Understanding emotions
- Decision making
- Social skills
- Adjustment, life transitions and change
- Avoidance
Clinical psychologists have studied for approximately seven years at University, and have developed an expertise in listening to people, and developing a collaborative understanding of their clients. This shared conceptualisation can help people make positive changes in their lives.
The most common process is for someone to make contact and book an appointment. In this initial meeting, we would talk about what is happening for the client right now, what they are finding problematic and brought them to therapy, and what they wanted to work on. Ideally, we would also cover some broader personal history to get a better sense of the person, their context, and living situation. Many people find this initial meeting helpful in itself.
Following this initial session, a person would then typically meet for weekly therapy sessions. These would usually be 50 minutes long, and ideally occur at a regular time each week. The course of therapy can range from a very brief intervention of 3-4 sessions, to 8-12 sessions of therapy. If therapy was to continue past this point, there would be a review to ensure that it was still helpful for the client, and therapy goals would once again be discussed. Of course, an individual can end therapy at any time.
The main model used by Balance Psychology is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). This is a reasonably brief talking therapy that was originally developed to work with depression, but has now been found to be helpful for a wide range of issues. In essence, CBT uses the context of a person’s situation and looks at the interplay between thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behavior. Often, people can be caught in an unhelpful cycle of thinking and behavior, which can at times have physical and emotional consequences. CBT works to examine all of these aspects, and work towards a more balanced system.
Leanne’s methods helped to boil down and simplify what was going on in my life. The techniques she used to help me reframe my thoughts and attitudes created a massive shift for me, helped unstick some pretty repetitive thought processes and move sadness. I found her use of diagrams and written techniques really useful, both during our appointments, and as a takeaway so I could refresh and revisit what we discussed.