Lakeside Psychology Services use a range of evidence-based treatment models to create effective and long-lasting change.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Lakeside Psychology Services work predominantly within an ACT framework. ACT is a therapy approach that is gaining much recognition as an effective treatment for a wide range of emotional and psychological issues including anxiety, depression, stress, and other emotional or behavioural difficulties. It has also been shown to be effective for people of all ages, including children adolescents and adults.
The essential component of ACT is letting go of the struggle to control unwanted thoughts and feelings, being mindfully aware of the present moment, and committing to a course of action that is consistent with what you value most in life.
As part of ACT therapy you will be taught to relate to your thoughts in a different way, using mindfulness skills to become more aware of your unhelpful thinking patterns. Mindfulness skills will help you to be more in contact with the present moment, rather than getting lost in thoughts of the past or the future. ACT utilises a number of different strategies and techniques to enable you to change your relationship with your thoughts.
The approach of ACT also asks you to explore what really matters to you - your values - and with this, how you want to move forward in life. ACT asks you to explore what living a life of vitality would mean, and helps you to move forward in this direction.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT describes a range of different therapeutic techniques that aim at assisting a person identify and challenge unhelpful thought patterns that are underlying painful feelings and destructive behaviours.
Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)
Lakeside Psychology Services specialise in treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and ERP, widely considered the current “gold standard” for treatment of OCD.
In ERP, the "exposure" element involves direct or imagined controlled exposure to objects or situations that trigger obsessions that arouse anxiety. Over time, exposure to obsessional cues leads to less and less anxiety. Eventually, exposure to the obsessional cue arouses little anxiety at all. This process of getting "used to" obsessional cues is called "habituation."
The "response" in "response prevention" refers to the ritual behaviours that people with OCD engage in to reduce anxiety. In ERP treatment, people learn to resist the compulsion to perform rituals and are eventually able to stop engaging in these behaviours.