Donation to the Jack Leslie Campaign.

I am very pleased today to make a donation from my business to the Jack Leslie Campaign.

Jack Leslie was a black football player in the 1920s and early 1930s and he was the first black footballer to be selected to play for England. When the Football Association realised that he was not white, he was quietly dropped.

The campaign is raising funds to have a statue erected at Home Park where Jack spent the vast majority of his footballing career. You can read more about the campaign at https://jackleslie.co.uk and, if you were inclined to make a donation, there are links on that page that will take you to the Crowdfunder website.

Further training in Flash Technique

Last week, Sarah completed further training on the use of Flash Technique (FT) to expand on her earlier training on 3rd July.

The training was again with Dr. Justin Havens, this time ably assisted by live input from Dr Philip Manfield and Dr Lewis Engel.

FT can help children and adults of all ages. It is useful in a wide variety of presenting complaints including anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mild and severe dissociation, depression and more.

Sarah has already begun to integrate FT in her treatment of clients.

If you would like to learn more about FT, visit the website at https://flashtechnique.com/wp/

CBT for anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis - Testimonial

I came to Sarah with a number of issues with anxiety, particularly centred around news, politics and the fear of world events which could affect myself, my family and friends, and anyone I cared about. At this time - as we all know - my greatest fear was realised when COVID-19 struck.

Through the support of Sarah and therapies including Emotion Efficacy Therapy (EET) and a meditation called RAIN, I have been able to keep myself calm, rational and able to cope with the current situation. But better than that, it has helped me to see the positives in my situation and for me to know that whilst the world will never be the same again neither will my anxiety and that's a good thing!

(Female, age 26, June 2020)

Dream Completion and Flash Training

On 3rd July Sarah attended an online webinar. It was an introduction to the techniques of “Dream Completion“ and “Flash“ and how to integrate them into EMDR therapy. It was presented by Dr Justin Havens PhD. 

Dream Completion is a technique to deal with unresolved nightmares and disturbing dreams.

The Flash Technique (FT) is a recently developed therapeutic intervention for reducing the disturbance associated with traumatic or other distressing memories. Unlike many conventional trauma therapy interventions, FT is a minimally intrusive option that does not require the client to consciously engage with the traumatic memory. This allows the client to process traumatic memories without feeling distress.

Justin is a psychological therapist accredited by BACP and EMDR Europe. He has worked within the NHS, the charitable sector and in private practice, and has a special interest in treating combat trauma and veterans. He completed his PhD in 2019, which was about developing and evaluating the Dream Completion Technique at the Veterans and Families Institute (Anglia Ruskin University).

Sarah found the webinar most inspiring and Justin is an excellent presenter. She is looking forward to further training in these areas. She can imagine the benefits of helping people who are affected by bad dreams and nightmares to practice the Dream Completion technique. 

How can I help you with OCD?

For so many people it can feel like a daily battle with OCD. Wanting to get better and at the same time feeling scared to make changes. I have been helping clients recover from OCD for a long time and I know how hard it can seem to try to treat yourself. On the one hand the advice via self-help books, social media and other sources can seem promising and encouraging but actually putting it into practice on your own can be tough. One recurring problem I have noticed is that techniques drawn from different approaches are not always compatible and when used together may cancel each other out. Another common problem appears to be people almost managing to put something into practice but just getting it slightly wrong. This can be so deflating when you think you are putting in so much effort for something to simply not work. 

So we need to help you get on the right track for you, focusing on one specific treatment plan and refining what you have been trying out already. This can make it seem less confusing because you know where you are going and what the rationale is for your treatment. OCD is a solvable problem.

In OCD compulsions are acts that you repeat over and over again in response to an obsession. E.g., checking, repeating acts, mental rituals, counting, ordering or arranging. Common obsessions that I work with:

• Sexual thoughts or images 

• Fear of contamination from germs, viruses, bodily fluids, sticky substances etc

• Thoughts or images of violence e.g. stabbing someone you love, cutting yourself with a knife

• Excessive concern with exactness, order or symmetry

• Obsessions with the body or physical symptoms 

• Recurrent thoughts about life and death e.g. why do I exist and what will happen after I die?

EMDR for emetophobia

I have had emetophobia ever since I was a child. It completely hindered my life and I missed out on so many experiences, because of my fears of feeling nauseous and also being violently sick.  I felt very ashamed about my emetophobia and had put off getting help. I decided to try some EMDR, because it felt appropriate to me as it can help treat phobias. 

I was amazed with the difference after just 9 hours of EMDR. Early memories which underpinned my phobia have now become more manageable and I am now living my life without the fear of being sick and feeling nauseous. I have recently eaten food which I have always avoided. 

(Female, aged 56).

CBT for Postnatal OCD

Throughout my life I have had periods of OCD which had a theme of responsibility for other people. After the birth of my second child, I had a sudden onset of OCD. I felt like I was losing my mind and this felt extremely frightening. I got in touch with Sarah who let me know she had experience of working with postpartum OCD and I felt reassured.

After 5 hours of CBT, I  no longer have symptoms of OCD. Plus I feel I have gained insight into myself and feel a better person for it. Initially I had felt nervous about sharing with Sarah what was going through my mind, but knowing that she had treated a lot of other people with OCD put my mind at ease. 

(Female, aged 30, February 2020)

Persistent (Medically Unexplained) Physical Symptoms

On 8th June, Sarah took part in further online training presented by BABCP. The course was titled “Persistent (Medically Unexplained) Physical Symptoms: A Scientist Practitioner Approach”.

The lone presenter was Professor Trudie Chalder, Professor of Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy at King’s College London.

Persistent (medically unexplained) physical symptoms is an umbrella term for a range of lasting symptoms and syndromes commonly seen in outpatient clinics (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome, non-cardiac chest pain, chronic fatigue, cough hypersensitivity, fibromyalgia, and tension-type headaches).

With COVID-19 we are likely to see people experience ongoing persistent physical symptoms which will impact on their functioning / quality of life and which will need clinical input.

The aims of this workshop are to; (1) describe a transdiagnostic approach to understanding and treating persistent unexplained physical symptoms, and (2) give therapists an opportunity to observe some key skills for intervening with patients experiencing such symptoms in primary and secondary care settings. 

Professor Chalder has worked as a clinician and a researcher in the area of long-term conditions and medically unexplained symptoms for 30 years. Trudie develops specific CBT models to understand and treat symptoms and distress in MUS and uses randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effects of treatment on quality of life in primary and secondary care. Trudie’s work includes treatment for adults and adolescents and she has published over 250 articles. She was BABCP President and is a member of the IAPT advisory group for Long Term Conditions and Medically Unexplained Symptoms.

Training during lockdown

Therapists have to be able to continually demonstrate that they are maintaining their training. This remains the case even during a national crisis such as the current Covid-19 lockdown period.

As such, training has been moving online and Sarah took part in an online workshop on Wednesday 27th May titled “Cognitive Behavioural Chairwork Online: Basic skills and digital adaptations” hosted by Tobyn Bell (pictured above) and Matthew Pugh. Sarah was already familiar with using chairwork with clients and the purpose of this webinar was to take the art and science of chairwork and to adapt these methods in online therapy, including how to use Zoom’s unique functions to enhance dialogues.

CBT for the treatment of OCD in overcoming obsessions with a sexual content

I was feeling generally down and then it suddenly felt as if I spiralled out of control, having obsessive unwanted intrusions of a sexual nature. This caused me severe distress and sent me into a highly anxious and depressed state. I genuinely thought things would never get better and was contemplating taking my life.

I came to see Sarah for 9 sessions of CBT earlier this year. With her help, I was able to gain a greater understanding of myself. She taught how to control my thought processes and helped me make some lifestyle changes, which have contributed hugely to the improvement of my mental well-being. 

I have since had a follow up session 5 months after I finished the CBT treatment and have grown in leaps and bounds. If you are reading this and are suffering with similar mental health challenges, I would like you to know that CBT really did help me. 

(Male, aged 21, December 2019)