Peter Wesson

Counselling & Psychotherapy

PETER WESSON
Consultant Psychotherapist, UKCP and European Registered
25 Years of Confidential Psychotherapy & Personal Counselling

Telephone: 0161 763 1660

Psychotherapy and Counselling are ways of helping people to achieve their human potential by overcoming emotional barriers or psychological problems through the enhancement and directing of their own inner resources.

To achieve this, a Counsellor will provide a safe environment for the client/patient to express their thoughts and feelings in confidence; giving non-judgemental support and feedback, helping them to become aware of the effect upon and meaning to others of what they are saying and doing, and to challenge their own perceptions and beliefs that give rise to problem behaviours and negative feelings.

In Personal Counselling this may be extended in order to actively help the client develop attainable goals in line with their realistic ambitions; providing therapeutic support, stress management training, etc. to aid them in achieving those goals and give assistance in overcoming emotional barriers along the way.

Psychotherapy incorporates, and is most easily understood as, an extension of counselling.
However, a Psychotherapist will go much further in actively helping the person to identify the causes and origins of their emotional or psychological difficulties and to find, or generate, appropriate resolutions, enabling them to make the changes that they want and need - whether their problems be the result of past events or situations which occurred in childhood, adolescence or adult life that have affected them and are continuing to do so, unwanted or inappropriate habits of mind or body, or pieces of behaviour that came into being with a positive intention or purpose but are now out of date and have become counter-productive, interfering with their mental or physical health, happiness and well-being.

Psychotherapy incorporates a variety of methods for making positive therapeutic changes; allowing for individual needs and preferences.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) works by challenging faulty reasoning; helping people to alter the assumptions which form the basis of habitual negative self-talk, automatic thoughts that threaten their confidence and self-esteem, causing feelings of unhappiness and depression.

While CBT is concerned with changing habits of thought as they occur in the present, Analytic Psychotherapy is mainly concerned with changing negative attitudes and beliefs resulting from painful experiences in the past. Since faulty belief systems lie at the root of most negative thinking, it can be seen that Analytic Psychotherapy and CBT together make a powerful therapeutic combination.

This is a straightforward therapy, free from psychological jargon. It is also well adapted for use in conjunction with Hypnotherapy and NLP, to relieve anxiety and mental pain (from anger, guilt, self-punishment, grief, separation anxiety, etc.) through enabling personal insight and understanding.

When used within the context of Psychotherapy, the different styles and techniques of Clinical Hypnosis and NLP, used respectfully (i.e. NOT telling people what to think or do, but helping them to find their own right answers in ways that are right for them), are valuable specialist 'tools' to enhance progress. They are explained in more detail under the 'Hypnotherapy and NLP' section of this website.

Modern therapists may, in addition, employ other methods such as EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), an eyes-open technique which was first used in the treatment of traumatised war veterans and may be employed as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, techniques of hypnosis and NLP in helping a wide variety of people affected by anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, emotional after-effects of traumas (assault, injury, abuse, etc.) and other symptoms related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

A qualified psychotherapist will have received training in considerable depth and breadth and should be registered with the UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy) in Great Britain, and in Europe with the European Association for Psychotherapy. A European Registered Psychotherapist should hold the European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP). In the UK, a practitioner displaying the letters ADHP(NC) and MNRHP after his or her name will hold the Advanced Diploma in Hypno-Psychotherapy, awarded by the National College of Hypnosis & Psychotherapy, and be a full member of the National Register of Hypnotherapists & Psychotherapists.

Problems and conditions helped with Psychotherapy include:

• Anxiety and Panic Attacks
  
• Fears and Phobias (eg. flying, heights, animals, people or situations)
  
• Insomnia, Fatigue
  
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  
• Anger
  
• Guilt
  
• Depression
  
• Grief
  
• Lack of Confidence
  
• Driving Test and Examination Nerves
  
• Shyness, Blushing, Stage-Fright
  
• Loss of Goals and Motivation
  
• Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour
  
• Habits (Smoking, Alcohol Dependency, Over-eating, Nailbiting, etc.)
  
• Relationship and Personal difficulties
  
• High Blood Pressure, Tension Headaches, Migraines
  
• Bowel Spasms, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  
• Other Stress-Related and Psychosomatic Conditions
  
• Withdrawal from Tranquilizers and Anti-Depressants
  

..... to mention some of the most frequently seen problems.


PETER M. J. WESSON,
ADHP(NC), ECP, MNRHP, MBRCP, ECP,
UKCP & European Registered,
THE COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH CLINIC,
12 TENTERDEN STREET,
BURY,
LANCASHIRE,
BL9 0EG.

Telephone: 0161 763 1660.