Your Therapy
I firmly believe that you have the inner resources to make your change happen. I believe this because research consistently proves that clients themselves are the most potent factor in therapy. With my own eyes and ears I have witnessed hundreds of people, be it with issues of depression or anxiety, bereavement or eating distress, who turn their lives around by developing a recognition of this fact. Combine your potential with supportive relationships that help establish and set free your inner resources, and the road to therapeutic change is inevitable. The following gives you an overview of my practice.
Client-Directed and Outcome-Informed Practice
My practice is Client-Directed and Outcome-Informed (CDOI). CDOI has emerged from contemporary research into ‘what works’ in therapy. CDOI is not a particular model of therapy in itself. Unlike the traditional modalities of therapy (e.g. CBT, psychodynamic, person-centred), CDOI itself has no fixed techniques nor assumptions about your therapeutic process. Here's how it works:
Enhance Common Factors
CDOI addresses the fact that time and time again, research fails to show one model of therapy (e.g. CBT, psychodynamic, person-centred) as superior to any another. Not to suggest that the modalities are useless, but that no model in-itself accounts for therapeutic change. In fact, there are common factors beyond the particular approaches which account for change. My job is to enhance these factors across the theories that account for success in therapy.
Emphasise Your Theory of Change
One such factor of therapeutic change is the client-therapist relationship. But the most influential factor is YOU -- the client. You really are the heart and soul of change. This means that, so long as our interactions are directed by your ideas about empowerment, then therapy will be at its most effective. So, Client-Directed means that:
Use Practice-Based Evidence
The other aspect of CDOI is that our work is informed by using reliable and valid measures of the client-therapist relationship and outcomes. This is the most effective means of ensuring you get the most effective service. So, Outcome-Informed means that:
Enhance Common Factors
CDOI addresses the fact that time and time again, research fails to show one model of therapy (e.g. CBT, psychodynamic, person-centred) as superior to any another. Not to suggest that the modalities are useless, but that no model in-itself accounts for therapeutic change. In fact, there are common factors beyond the particular approaches which account for change. My job is to enhance these factors across the theories that account for success in therapy.
Emphasise Your Theory of Change
One such factor of therapeutic change is the client-therapist relationship. But the most influential factor is YOU -- the client. You really are the heart and soul of change. This means that, so long as our interactions are directed by your ideas about empowerment, then therapy will be at its most effective. So, Client-Directed means that:
- In my practice, I prioritise and accommodate your theory of change. Your ideas about what works will be given utmost importance. You will be given an on-going opportunity to feedback about whether our work is right for you, and about theories you have towards your personal change.
Use Practice-Based Evidence
The other aspect of CDOI is that our work is informed by using reliable and valid measures of the client-therapist relationship and outcomes. This is the most effective means of ensuring you get the most effective service. So, Outcome-Informed means that:
- I monitor outcomes. Here, we can establish on a general level whether your therapy is working or not. If not, we can discuss why this might be, and re-direct towards your other theories of change, which may entail accessing an alternative therapist.
Person-Centred Therapy
Person-Centred Therapy (PCT) developed from the revolutionary work of Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987). PCT prioritises your experience and expression over the assumed knowledge and expertise of a traditional therapist. PCT emphasises the trust in your potential to heal, given an unthreatening relationship, by bringing the details of your experience further into awareness. This entails that, as your therapist, I will provide you a genuine, non-judgemental, understanding. That is, I will provide you the person-centred 'core conditions' of congruence, unconditional-positive regard, and empathic understanding. Research consistently proves empathy to be the most therapeutically powerful response a therapist can make.
PCT is highly compatible with CDOI, since both emphasise trust in the client’s directivity and the importance of relationships. Contemporary research and data from my own practice confirm PCT as a highly effective approach, particularly for clients preferring deep exploratory work towards profound long-lasting change.
PCT is highly compatible with CDOI, since both emphasise trust in the client’s directivity and the importance of relationships. Contemporary research and data from my own practice confirm PCT as a highly effective approach, particularly for clients preferring deep exploratory work towards profound long-lasting change.
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) comes in two main forms: Cognitive Therapy, developed by Aaron Beck (1921); and Rational Emotive Therapy (REBT) developed by Albert Ellis (1913-2007). CBT aims to make your thoughts explicit, and change those which cause you emotional or behavioural problems. CBT is also highly compatible with CDOI, but contrasting to the more exploratory approach of PCT, CBT is generally very goal-oriented, short-term, and directive. The effectiveness of CBT has been well evidenced, and data from clients in my own practice confirms it as a highly effective approach, particularly for those requesting short-term work.
It is worth mentioning that CBT literature emphasises the use of techniques over the client-therapist relationship. CBT is increasingly considering the importance of the relationship, particularly what is referred to as the 'Third Wave' of CBT. Research consistently shows that techniques are of much less therapeutic importance than receiving empathic and respectful understanding. So, in providing you CBT, I will ensure that you select your own goals, that you are well-informed about the approach, and that therapeutic relationship remains a priority. Of course, both the effectiveness of this approach and our relationship is formally monitored throughout our work.
Resources: (1) The Heroic Client: A Revolutionary Way to Improve Effectiveness Through Client-Directed, Outcome-Informed Therapy (2004), B. Duncan, S. Miller, & J. Sparks. (2) http://heartandsoulofchange.com/
Pete Mosely: 07748 913 847
Email: mosely.pete@googlemail.com
BA (hons), Dip Couns, Adv Dip CBT/PCT, Group Cert, MBACP
Offering confidential counselling & psychotherapy in Manchester
Email: mosely.pete@googlemail.com
BA (hons), Dip Couns, Adv Dip CBT/PCT, Group Cert, MBACP
Offering confidential counselling & psychotherapy in Manchester
