Integrative Psychological Therapy
One shared understanding, shaped around you
Formulation-led therapy for adults with a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, at London Bridge and online.
Book a free 30-minute consultation Read on
- ApproachFormulation-led
- Drawing onCAT, MBT and more
- Sessions50 minutes, weekly
- WhereLondon Bridge or Zoom
What is integrative therapy?
Integrative therapy brings together ideas and methods from more than one therapeutic tradition, chosen and combined to fit the person rather than the other way round.
It isn’t a mix of techniques picked at random. It rests on a clear understanding of your difficulties, and on the recognition that no single model suits everyone, or every problem.
Each of the main traditions in psychological therapy sees difficulties through a different lens. Each captures something real, and none captures everything. People’s difficulties rarely fit neatly into one model: anxiety at work may be bound up with a harsh inner critic, an old pattern of putting others first, and a tendency to stop thinking clearly when someone seems displeased. Integration means holding these together in one coherent picture.
Cognitive
Focuses on patterns of thinking and behaviour that keep difficulties going: how we interpret what happens, and what we then do. Change comes from noticing and revising those patterns.
Psychodynamic
Starts from the idea that we develop ways of avoiding psychological pain, much of it outside awareness. Change comes from bringing those hidden influences into view.
Relational
Looks at the patterns of relating we learn in early relationships and repeat with others and with ourselves. Change comes from recognising them and finding new ways of relating.
Formulation at the heart of the work
What holds integrative therapy together is a formulation: a shared, working understanding of your difficulties that links psychological ideas with your own experience.
A formulation is a working hypothesis, not a verdict. It offers a clear account of how your difficulties may have developed and what keeps them going, and that points to what is likely to help. We build it together, test it against your experience, and revise it as we learn more.
It also guides how I work. The formulation, not a fixed model, decides which ideas and methods we draw on, when, and why, and I’ll always explain my thinking.
A formulation brings together
- How your difficulties developed, in the context of your life, relationships and earlier experiences
- What keeps them going now, often patterns that once helped you cope
- What is likely to help, and what we will work towards together
What each approach brings
In my work, each approach contributes something different.
Cognitive Analytic Therapy
Structure, and a shared language for the patterns you repeat with others and with yourself, written down and mapped so the work is clear. More about CAT
Mentalization-based therapy
Help in making sense of your own mind and other people’s, especially when feelings run high and clear thinking is the first thing to go. More about MBT
Psychodynamic and attachment-based ideas
Light on where long-standing patterns began, and on what may sit outside awareness but still shapes how you live.
Cognitive approaches
Practical traction on what keeps a difficulty going now, and concrete ways of responding differently.
The relationship
Trust and a genuine working relationship come first. Models and techniques work within that relationship, not instead of it.
CAT: an integrative model at the centre
Cognitive Analytic Therapy is my principal model, and it is integrative in its own right.
CAT was developed in the NHS by Dr Anthony Ryle over some twenty years, by bringing together ideas from psychoanalytic object relations theory, personal construct psychology, and cognitive and behavioural therapies. Rather than simply placing these side by side, Ryle restated them in a common, plain language, so that they could be used together.
At the centre of CAT is reformulation: a jointly written description of your difficulties and the patterns that underlie them, set out in a letter and a diagram. Like any formulation, it shows how difficulties may have developed and what keeps them going. Therapy then moves through recognising those patterns as they happen, and revising them.
That is why CAT gives my integrative work its backbone. It offers a clear structure and a shared language, while leaving room to draw on mentalization-based, psychodynamic and cognitive ideas where they help.
How integrative therapy works with me
Integrative doesn’t mean unstructured. You will know what we are working on, why, and how we will tell whether it is helping.
A free initial consultation
A 30-minute conversation on Zoom. You can describe what has been difficult and ask questions, and I’ll explain how I work. At the end I’ll tell you what I would recommend and why, or, if your needs would be better met elsewhere, I’ll say so.
Assessment
The first two sessions are usually an assessment: what has brought you now, your circumstances, your history and relationships, any previous therapy, and your safety and wellbeing.
A shared formulation
I offer a formulation of your difficulties, and we go through it together and change what doesn’t fit. Depending on how we’re working, it may be written down, mapped as a diagram or built up in conversation.
Agreeing the approach
From the formulation I recommend how we work: CAT, a mentalization-based approach, or an integrative combination. We agree goals and, if we are working in a time-limited way, how many sessions we’ll have.
Weekly sessions and review
Sessions are 50 minutes, weekly, at a regular time. We review regularly whether the focus is still right and whether therapy is helping, and adjust if it isn’t.
Ending
Endings are planned rather than sudden. We take time to look back at what has changed and what you’ll take forward, and finish cleanly.
Who integrative therapy suits
Integrative therapy suits people whose difficulties don’t fit neatly into one box, and who want to understand them, not just manage them.
It tends to suit people who:
- have tried a single approach before and found it helped only so far
- notice the same difficulties coming back, at work, in relationships or in how they treat themselves
- want therapy with structure and a clear sense of direction
- would rather be told honestly what I think than simply listened to
I work with adults, individually, whose difficulties can be safely supported in weekly outpatient therapy. I don’t offer crisis support or specialist treatment for some difficulties; the details are on the Psychological therapy page.
If you need urgent help, contact your GP or NHS 111, or call Samaritans free on 116 123. In an emergency, call 999 or go to A&E.
Questions about integrative therapy
Is integrative therapy the same as eclectic therapy?
Not quite. Eclectic therapy borrows techniques from different approaches as needed. Integrative therapy combines ideas within one coherent understanding of you, the formulation, which decides what we use and why.
How do you decide which approach to use?
From the assessment and formulation. I’ll explain what I recommend and why, and we agree it together. If the focus needs to change as we go, we talk about that openly.
How long does therapy take?
It depends on what you bring and how we are working. Some therapy is time-limited, such as CAT, which usually runs for 16 to 24 weekly sessions; some is longer. We agree the length at the start and review it regularly.
Can I have therapy online?
Yes. I see people in person at my room near London Bridge, and online on Zoom.
Will my health insurance cover it?
Many health insurers cover therapy with an HCPC-registered psychologist. Check with your insurer whether you need a GP referral and how many sessions they will authorise. There is more on the Fees and locations page.
Starting with a conversation
In a free 30-minute consultation on Zoom you can describe what has been difficult and ask any questions. I’ll tell you honestly what I think would help, and why.
Book a free 30-minute consultation
Or call 07494 503557 or email carltaylor@ppslondon.net
Cognitive Analytic Therapy · Mentalization-Based Therapy · Fees and locations