Arden Psychology
Psychological Therapy in Warwickshire
Dr Jane Cornwall
Chartered Counselling Psychologist
EMDR Practitioner - Trauma Specialist
Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to our FAQ area, where you can find answers to some of the most common questions and concerns that people often have. If there is anything else you would like to know or if anything at all is not clear, please get in touch with us via the contact page and we will answer as quickly as we can.
How Can Talking Help Me?
The client / therapist partnership is a uniquely, non-judgemental relationship based upon honesty and genuineness, where any difficulty can be discussed in confidence. Through engaging in a reflective process, you are able to see life from a different perspective, and to see opening some possibilities previously hidden from you. New and more helpful ways of coping with problems or situations can be found, achieving a sense of hope, fulfilment and control where before there was merely fear, despair and hopelessness.
Will you tell anyone else?
The sessions remain spoken in confidence; the only time that confidentiality may be breached is if you disclose to me that you have harmed or threaten to harm either yourself or someone else. In accordance with British Psychological Society's ethical guidelines I will then inform you that I would need to share my concerns with someone else but I would also encourage you to disclose of your own accord in the first instance. Partners, relatives, health professionals and /or employers cannot gain access to any information unless you give me signed or verbal permission in advance. As part of my professional development I also take individual cases to personal supervision, but this is done anonymously so that clients cannot be identified.
What happens at the first session?
The first session involves an initial 50 minute psychological assessment of your issues, needs and what you wish to gain from therapy, in terms of aims and goals. It also helps to clarify whether you feel comfortable with working with me as a therapist. However, sometimes the assessment may take two or three weekly sessions for the focus of the therapy to become clear.
How long can therapy take?
The length of time you may be in therapy can vary hugely. Therapy can be short or long-term, depending upon the difficulty identified. Specific problems and life events occurring in adulthood such as bereavement, divorce and unemployment, are likely to take between six and 12 sessions; however, deep-seated childhood trauma such as sexual, emotional and physical abuse suffered over a long period of time, or the death of a parent experienced as a child may take longer to achieve emotional healing, inner peace and closure.
What if I get upset?
When long buried feelings and memories begin to surface, it is expected and understood that you may and often do get distressed. Time and a safe space is given to enable you to express yourself, understand and defuse your emotions and gently explore in your own time what has been so upsetting for you. In this way, sadness, loss, separation and anger can be processed and worked through, so that the troubling memories become less traumatic and more manageable. Although the memories will not be forgotten, they will cease to be so distressing.
How much will it cost?
Fees are normally £65 per session. However, if cost is an issue that prevents you from engaging in therapy, this can be discussed in confidence and a mutually agreed fee can be arranged wherever possible.
Can I attend as a partner or relative of someone who has problems?
Everyone is welcome to engage in therapy, not least of all those who are caring for someone who may have mental health or substance misuse issues. Here you can find expert, non-judgemental help, advice and support in assisting your loved ones. In therapy, you will find a safe place to honestly express how you feel as a carer and to look after your needs. Often the carer is neglected or ignored as the focus can tend to be upon the one with the problem. In therapy, however, the attention will be entirely focused upon you.
When will I know when I'm okay?
We will have been on an intimate and emotional journey together, possibly over a period of months. Usually, you will instinctively come to that place of knowing when you feel ready to leave therapy, together with my acknowledgement and agreement. A sensitively planned ending is a very important part of the therapeutic process, in order for us to say ‘goodbye’.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement De-sensitisation and Re-processing (EMDR) is a specific trauma therapeutic treatment developed by a psychologist named Francine Shapiro in 1987. It has been extensively researched and shown to be effective in alleviating and often eradicating the distressing symptoms of trauma. EMDR uses concepts from various psychological treatment approaches, such as person centred therapy and CBT to promote self-healing.
How do I know if I'm suffering from trauma?
There are a number of signs and symptoms that suggest you may be suffering from trauma. For example, you may experience intrusive, negative thoughts related to the trauma. You may also be having disturbing nightmares that affect your sleep patterns. You may feel that your personality has changed, in that you may have become more irritable, more angry, perhaps more emotional than you are usually. You may become more socially isolated as you cannot cope with others around you. You may no longer feel that you have a future or that you cannot plan for the future for fear it may be taken away from you. These symptoms suggest that trauma may be present and an assessment is necessary to make a clinical judgement. The symptoms are all treatable with therapy.
How does EMDR work?
If you experience traumatic and unpredictable events that can be life-threatening your brain may be unable to process the information as it usually does under ordinary circumstances. The traumatic images, thoughts and feelings become 'locked in time' with the memory. Recalling the traumatic events may feel as distressing and as real as experiencing it for the first time because the pictures, sounds, smells and feelings remain fixed in the mind. Such memories can have an enduring and negative effect with intrusive thoughts and dreams that interfere with the way you may perceive the world and how you then relate to other people.
Is EMDR a form of hypnotherapy?
EMDR is definitely not hypnotherapy. You are completely conscious and fully aware of everything around you. What EMDR does is that it seems to positively alter the way that the brain processes information and attaches meaning during the recalled traumatic event. An ’unlocking’ process seems to occur. Following an EMDR session, although you may still remember the events, its images, sounds and feelings are no longer distressing when the event is brought to mind. EMDR seems to have a similar effect to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep when recent events and experiences are re-processed and made sense of. EMDR may be viewed as a physiologically-based therapy that enables you to view previously emotionally disturbing memories in a more adaptive way. In fact, with the help of EMDR therapy, your mind will be able to heal itself. I am merely the facilitator.