Therapies

There are a wide-range of CBT therapies. Most involve identifying patterns of beliefs (cognitions) and coping strategies (behaviours) that may be keeping problems stuck, and supporting families to experiment with new ways forward. Tends to be somewhat focussed on practical strategies in the 'here and now', though can benefit from looking at the past, and relationships too. CBT can be adapted to a wide range of difficulties, and can be good if you are looking for quite a pragmatic therapy.

Working with parent and baby to understand the patterns in the relationship (including those that may have been passed down through generations) and how this may be affecting their wellbeing. Sessions are gentle and often involve observing your baby’s behavior together, reflecting on what it might mean, and finding ways to respond more confidently. This therapy can help if you’re struggling to connect, worried about your baby’s emotions, or feeling overwhelmed.

Building a foundation of safety and stabilisation, and systematically reprocessing the memories using Cognitive Therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD) and Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). Depending on the situation and personal preference, this may or may not involve talking in depth about the traumatic event/s. These approaches can be used where trauma memories seem to be underlying the difficuties.

Supporting parents to understand their babies more deeply, using infant observation and video-assisted approaches. These therapies focus on understanding baby’s cues and building parents’ confidence in responding sensitively. This approach can help if you’re feeling unsure about your baby’s needs or your responses to them, want to strengthen your bond, or would like to understand your baby’s development more deeply.

There are a range of therapies focussed on understanding patterns in your relationships with yourself and others. These tend to look at relationships in the past and present, often including a focus on how we are communicating with ourselves (the inner voice), and with others. These can be good therapies if members of a family are looking to attend sessions individually, and work on difficulties such as self-criticism or anger.