Selfhelp4U was created and developed in order to make it possible for anyone needing to learn certain therapeutic techniques to do so. Those techniques are Cognitive Behaviour Therapy techniques. (CBT techniques for short)These techniques are very often the treatment of choice within mental health organizations for conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress related problems. This is so due to their huge success in bringing about change with these conditions that can otherwise be difficult to treat. CBT is successful in achieving great results and if you are wondering, there is a huge body of evidence based research supporting the claims, so they are not just pie in the sky empty claims.
What is for sure is that CBT offers an opportunity to reduce and overcome the awful symptoms experienced by those suffering from depression, anxiety and stress related conditions.
The problem is that CBT is not widely accessible, especially to those most in need. Either waiting lists are too long or private therapy is far too expensive. In fact my experience is that those individuals in real need of this therapy stand little or no chance of receiving it due to the above limitations within and outside the health service.
If there was the possibility to learn these precious techniques some other way, then that could be one possible solution. With CBT the important thing is learning the techniques and then applying them.
This was a challenge I decided to set myself. I asked myself the following question: Why not develop a website that addresses the problem of not having adequate access for learning the much needed techniques taught in CBT programs? There was no reason why not and if I could meet that need by developing such a program then it seemed like one possible solution.
The main thing is learning and applying the techniques; perhaps how this is taught and achieved becomes secondary. If having access to CBT is difficult due to the many constraints we seem to be up against, why forfeit it altogether? No, that is not necessary. By introducing a program such as our self help program we are moving forward and looking at new and accessible ways to teach these techniques. Why not use all the technology possible to make it possible when the technology is there? This method is different, yes, but soon it will be seen as a solution to the problem of accessibility. It becomes a means to help people help themselves, so why not? This was and is a good reason to go ahead, so I did. The result is this website with a self help program that will hopefully meet the needs of many people suffering from depression, anxiety and stress related conditions.
Now a little about myself:
By profession I am a “Chartered (registered) Counseling Psychologist” with a BA degree in Social Psychology and a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy. I trained in the UK and am registered with the British Psychological Society, who are the official body for the registering of Psychologists in the UK.
My initial training was in “Psychodynamic Therapies’ which is long term Psychotherapy linking past experiences to current problems. This type of therapy is more analytic in its nature and is used to help understand why and how some of our present behavior, thinking, emotions and reactions are related to past trauma’s or experiences. In this sense it is more of a traditional therapy.
Over time I took various trainings which included training in Cognitive Behavior Therapy otherwise known as CBT. CBT is a very practical therapy that teaches us skills and techniques to help us manage and overcome the symptoms related to depression, anxiety, stress, anger OCD and actually a whole range of conditions that often cause us distress. As time went on I found I was using CBT more and more because results were amazing. After completing my training I began working for the UK Health Service in a psychiatric hospital in their psychology department whilst at the same time also working with Family Doctors (GP’s) also within the Health Service.
In the hospital, most of my patients were survivors of childhood sexual abuse and had suffered from various levels of trauma, from mild to very severe. Many had Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and many suffered from depression and anxiety. Over time I became the specialist in this work and all my referrals were to work with survivors of sexual abuse.
My work with family doctors (GP’s) was broader in terms of the range of patients I saw. All my patients were either suffering from depression, anxiety, panic attacks, stress, Eating Disorders, Personality Disorders, relationship problems or work related stress.
I also worked as a Expert Witness for the courts. I was used by the court system in the UK to either write Psychological reports, or go to court to testify as an expert in my field. I also worked in Private Practice where patients from the Health Service were referred to me on a private basis.
In my work as a therapist/psychologist I started to see what a powerful therapy CBT is, reaping amazing results. Over time I developed my skills and expertise and possibly ninety percent of my work was short term, CBT work. It was amazing and I was amazed by the results and just how people’s lives were turned around by learning the techniques I was able to teach them.
Building on this, I also did some training courses in conscious awareness which I then added to my work in order to teach patients how to become more conscious, how to focus and how to live in the present. These skills greatly enhanced the outcome of the CBT work as well as being great life skills in their own right. I learned that not only were these skills invaluable when learning and practicing therapy, they could also give a completely new and wonderful perspective on life itself, turning darkness into light for many people.
By using CBT together with conscious awareness techniques I witnessed how
people’s lives changed as they gained and used these precious skills in their day to day lives. They learned how to be in control of their thinking, emotions, behavior and consequently of their depression, anxiety, OCD, panic attacks and other debilitating problems. What was happening was that rather than their thoughts, emotions or behavior controlling them, they now had the tools to be in control of them, which was a wonderful achievement.
Over time I have continued to develop my ideas until having finally reached this point in time where I am developing this site with the unique self help program. I hope you will get a great deal out of what is on this site and that you will enjoy the journey.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this..
Carole