Choosing the right type of therapy (and therapist) can feel overwhelming. At the Affirming Psychologist Collective we are trained in a diverse range of therapeutic models and also offer an integrated approach depending on your need and style.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
CBT is an evidence-based therapy and is recommended to treat common mental health difficulties, like OCD, PTSD, depression, and social anxiety. CBT is a practical approach that can help you identify and change unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors that contribute to emotional distress. CBT is an active form of therapy that helps you to build skills and strategies to manage challenges, improve coping, and create meaningful change. It is usually time-limited and goal-focused, making it a very practical option if you’re looking for clear tools and strategies.
What is Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)?
EMDR is an evidence-based trauma-focused therapy. It was designed to help people process and heal from past traumatic experiences. EMRD is recommended as a first line treatment for PTSD by the department of health. By using bilateral stimulation (e.g. moving fingers left to right and tracking with your eyes), EMDR supports the brains natural healing process, reducing the emotional charge of intrusions, flashbacks and nightmares.
What is Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)?
CAT is a relational therapy that focusses on how you relate to yourself, others and the world more widely. CAT moves away from a symptom focused approach and helps you make sense of how your early life experiences and attachments can create unhelpful patterns of relating with others or your self. In CAT, your therapist helps you to identify these patterns (e.g. a people pleasing trap, or a controlling to controlled dynamic), normalize them as part of the human experience, and think with you about how to find ways out of these unhelpful patterns or explore different ways of getting your needs met. CAT practitioners have completed a two-year diploma in CAT, on top of their core professional training, and receive CAT specialist supervision and maintain membership with the Association of Cognitive Analytic Therapy (ACAT) to practice safely and ethically.
What is systemic (family) therapy?
Systemic therapy — often called family or couples therapy — looks at the bigger picture of your relationships, rather than seeing one person as “the problem”. Instead of focusing only on what’s happening inside you, systemic therapy explores how patterns of communication, roles, and expectations within a couple or family might be affecting everyone involved. The idea is simple: when one part of a system changes, the whole system can improve.
In sessions, a therapist helps you:
- Understand unhelpful patterns (like recurring arguments or misunderstandings)
- Improve communication and emotional connection
- Reduce blame and increase empathy
- Work together towards practical, shared solutions
It’s not about deciding who’s right or wrong. It’s about helping everyone feel heard and finding healthier ways of relating. Many people find it empowering because it moves away from blame and instead focuses on teamwork, understanding, and lasting change.
What is Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)?
ACT is a third-wave therapy, created from the principles of CBT. It combines psychological skills with mindfulness techniques, helping you become more flexible and resilient. Over time, this can reduce the impact of anxiety, stress, depression, and self-doubt.
Many people find ACT empowering because it shifts the focus from “fixing” yourself to building a richer, more meaningful life — even in the presence of challenges. It looks at your values and can help you sit with discomfort, and accept that we cannot always change circumstances or the past.
What Is Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)?
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is an approach designed to help people who struggle with self-criticism, shame, or feeling “not good enough.” Many of us have a very strong inner critic. CFT helps you understand where that critical voice comes from and teaches you how to develop a more balanced, supportive way of relating to yourself.
Rather than simply challenging negative thoughts, CFT focuses on building your capacity for self-compassion — not self-pity, but a steady, encouraging inner voice that helps you cope when things are difficult.
Many people find CFT reassuring and strengthening — it doesn’t ignore difficulties, but helps you face them with warmth, courage and resilience.
What Is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a structured, skills-based therapy designed to help people manage intense emotions and improve relationships. It was originally developed to support people who experience strong emotional ups and downs, but it is now widely used for a range of difficulties including emotional dysregulation, self-harm, impulsivity, and relationship conflict. The word dialectical means balancing two things at once — in DBT, this means learning to accept yourself as you are while also working towards change.
DBT focuses on teaching practical skills in four key areas:
- Mindfulness – staying present and grounded
- Distress tolerance – coping safely in moments of crisis
- Emotion regulation – understanding and managing intense feelings
- Interpersonal effectiveness – improving communication and boundaries
The Affirming Psychologist Collective 