Lucy Harvey

I deliver a confidential Psychological Therapy Service which is open to referrals from General Practitioners, health professionals, occupational health services, psychological rehabilitation services, insurance providers and self referrals. My therapeutic practice is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR). Both are psychological approaches based on scientific principles which research has shown to be effective for a wide range of problems, including, Anxiety Disorders, Generalised Anxiety, Panic, Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression.

I have over 30 years experience of working with individual's with mental health difficulties, within the NHS, voluntary and private sector. As a private practitioner, I have continued my professional development and increased and enhanced my skills as a therapist, by keeping up to date with the most recent developments in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, through attending frequent workshops, seminars, conferences and courses, as well as receiving regular supervision.

I am accredited by the Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy Association (BABCP), the largest Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy Group in the UK, and am a member of the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC). I am also fully qualified in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Brainspotting, and a member of the EMDR Associatoin UK.

(BSc (hons), PG Dip, RMN, MSc, BABCP Accredited, EMDR Association UK member, BSP trained)

My specialist interest areas include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Phobias, Adjustment Disorder, Travel Anxiety, Driving Phobia, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, sleep problems, pain management, Eating Disorders, Depression, and Low Self-Esteem.

What does CBT involve?

CBT involves the client and therapist working together to identify and understand problems in terms of the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. The cognitive component in CBT refers to how people think about and create meaning about situations, symptoms and events in their lives and develop beliefs about themselves, others and the world. It uses techniques to help people become more aware of how they reason, and the kinds of automatic thought that spring to mind and give meaning to things.

The behavioural component in CBT refers to the way in which people respond when distressed. Responses such as avoidance, reduced activity and unhelpful behaviours can act to keep the problems going or worsen how the person feels. The aim of CBT to help a person feel safe enough to gradually test out their assumptions and fears and change their behaviours. For example this might include helping people to gradually face feared or avoided situations as a means to reducing anxiety and learning new behavioural skills to tackle problems.

Importantly the aim of CBT is to directly target distressing symptoms, reduce distress, re-evaluate thinking and promote helpful behavioural responses by offering problem-focused skills-based treatment interventions. The focus of CBT is usually on problems in the here and now, although it recognizes the importance of causes of distress or symptoms in the past. It relies on a shared model of understanding, using a psycho-educational approach, working towards a client's own therapy goals. The focus in CBT is in specific psychological and practical skills aimed at enabling the client to generate solutions to their problems that are more helpful than their present ways of coping. CBT involves the client using the time between therapy sessions to try things out, record information and bring this feedback to the next session. Outcome of interventions are continually monitored, evaluated and modified where required to gain the maximum effect. The approaches can be used to help anyone irrespective of ability, culture, race, gender or sexual preference.

What is Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy?

EMDR is a psychological therapy for the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. EMDR facilitates the accessing and processing of traumatic memories to bring these to an adaptive resolution. After successful treatment with EMDR, emotional distress is relieved, negative beliefs are reformulated, and anxiety is reduced.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing integrates elements of many effective psychotherapies in structured protocols that are designed to maximize treatment effects. The effectiveness of EMDR for PTSD has been demonstrated by research, and EMDR is recommended as an evidence based procedure by the British Department of Health, among other professional bodies.