Our Approach

Also known as Compassion Mind Training, CFT integrates compassion training techniques into psychotherapy to foster kinder thinking habits. This approach emphasises the importance of cultivating compassion towards oneself and others while navigating the world. Rooted in Buddhist principles, CFT shows that fostering compassion not only enhances personal happiness but also contributes to the well-being of others. In CFT, people develop skills to promote kindness towards themselves and consideration for others. These habits function to reduce self-criticism and shame, enabling a more compassionate perspective towards oneself and others. CFT uniquely incorporates techniques to promote acceptance and self-respect, aiming to boost self-confidence and positive emotions.

Specific CFT techniques that are often used include Compassion Imaging and Compassion Behaviour Tasks.

Decolonial psychology focuses on understanding and addressing the psychological impact of colonialism and systemic oppression on marginalised communities. It challenges Western-centric models of mental health that often pathologise cultural practices and behaviors of non-Western peoples.

It values indigenous ways of knowing and healing. It encourages individuals and communities to reclaim traditional knowledge, heal from intergenerational trauma, and resist internalised colonial attitudes.

DBT is an evidence-based extension of CBT, fundamentally built upon the dialectical principle of balancing acceptance and change. Our application of DBT skills is always rooted in validating experiences and distress, ensuring the process is one of genuine empowerment and growth, actively preventing any interpretation or use of the skills to oppress or gaslight. The primary objectives of DBT are to cultivate effective stress coping mechanisms, manage overwhelming emotions, and enhance interpersonal relationships. DBT is particularly beneficial for those struggling with severe emotional dysregulation, limiting self-destructive behaviors, or grappling with complex trauma responses.

Some of the DBT techniques used include Distress Tolerance skills, Grounding through senses, Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Effectiveness.

Existential Therapy is a deeply philosophical approach that centers on the "givens" of human existence: death, freedom and responsibility, isolation, and the search for meaning. It views psychological distress not as a mental illness, but as a natural, human response to confronting these ultimate concerns. This approach focuses on helping people explore how they are currently living, the choices they are making, and the values that drive them. By fostering a sense of radical responsibility for one's life, the goal is to increase self-awareness and empower the person to make authentic choices, leading to a life that feels more meaningful, purposeful, and fully lived, even amidst inevitable suffering and uncertainty.

Some techniques used include confronting the “givens”, exploring values and phenomenological exploration.

Gestalt Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach centered on a person's current life, prioritising the present over delving into past experiences. It highlights the significance of comprehending the context of an individual's life in addressing their challenges, promoting a sense of responsibility rather than assigning blame. Perception plays a crucial role in this theory, exploring how we attribute meaning and construct understanding of our world and experiences. The approach is person-centered, valuing the uniqueness of each individual's experience.

Gestalt Therapy involves several techniques, including the Empty Chair exercise, incorporation of “I” statements, and exploring body language responses.

Individual Therapy, also known as Adlerian Therapy, presents a holistic perspective in psychology. It emphasises the pivotal role of overcoming feelings of inferiority and cultivating a sense of belonging to achieve success and happiness. This approach also underscores the significance of social interactions and community involvement in fostering individual growth. Central to the philosophy is the recognition of each individual's inherent need for connection, belonging, and the ongoing effort to overcome feelings of inferiority.

Individual Therapy in practice requires the practitioner to give equal attention to your strengths and your problems, demonstrating interest in you as a complete person rather than a diagnosis or someone that needs to be “cured”. This work also utilises techniques that require you to explore your past, such as Family Constellation work and using reorientation around past events.

IFS is a transformative, depathologising approach that views the mind as a system of "parts," each with its own perspective and role. At Therapy Shmerapy, we don't see these parts as symptoms to be suppressed, but as internal team members that have often taken on extreme roles to help you survive a world that wasn't built for you. Instead of trying to "fix" or eliminate these parts, IFS focuses on connecting to the Self, and Self-Leadership. It’s about moving from internal conflict to internal collaboration, letting your Self take the wheel while ensuring every part of you feels seen and safe.

Techniques often used in IFS include part identification, unblending parts from the Self, direct access, and unburdening.

Liberation psychology emerged in Latin America, developed by Ignacio Martín-Baró, and focuses on understanding mental health within the context of social justice, political oppression, and poverty. It critiques mainstream psychology for being complicit in maintaining the status quo and advocates for transforming oppressive social structures.

It aligns with decolonisation by emphasising the need to depathologise responses to oppression, recognising that what is often labelled as mental illness may actually be reasonable responses to living under systemic injustice.

This approach encourages collective action and social change as part of the healing process.

Motivational Interviewing is a technique crafted to assist people with discovering the motivation needed for positive behaviour change. This client-centered approach is especially beneficial for those with mixed feelings about altering their behaviour. Ambivalence, where one desires change but feels unprepared for it, is common. Motivational Interviewing contends that resolving this ambivalence can boost motivation for change. What sets Motivational Interviewing apart is its emphasis on empowering you to take ownership of your recovery journey.

Practitioners will use Motivational Interviewing to highlight to you any discrepancies between your current situation and the aspirations you express. We can do this through reframing or presenting alternative interpretations.

Life is perceived through our senses - sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, spatial orientation, and movement, and internal state. Sensory input is derived from both our own bodies and the surrounding environment. Each person possesses a distinct sensory profile. This profile offers a tailored method for comprehending how we react to sensory stimuli in the environment. Utilising a research-based framework, sensory profiles assess your sensitivity to sound, visual stimuli, vestibular, smells, taste, and touch, proprioception and interoception.

By creating a sensory profile, we can work together to manage emotional regulation by creating a personalised list of what sensory experiences can cause you discomfort, and others that can soothe you.