Psychological/Emotional Help and Support
This type of help is available from health professionals trained in counselling, psychology and psychotherapy. Read the links below to learn how they can help, what seeing them involves, what training they have and the differences between their services.
What are Counsellors, Psychologists and Psychotherapists and how might they be able to help?
Counsellors, Psychologists and Psychotherapists are health professionals trained to help you and your child explore emotional and psychological issues that may influence your child’s relationship towards food and eating. These may include fussy eating, mealtime tantrums, control issues, anxiety, depression, family dynamics, phobias, or body image problems and also wider issues such as bullying at school or peer pressure.
These professionals provide a safe environment in which talking, play activities and sometimes formal assessments, or also art and other therapies, can be used to identify underlying causes for weight problems. They can then suggest practical solutions for coping with these and for changing attitudes and behaviour.
Many of these practitioners work in private practice although their services are sometimes available on the NHS (check with your doctor for NHS availability). The length and type of their training may vary.
COUNSELLORS
What are Counsellors and how can they help?
Counsellors are people trained to listen attentively and to help clients explore feelings, emotions and thoughts that may be affecting their behaviour and experiences. They can help you view experiences from new perspectives, reduce confusion and gain new insights and understanding. Counsellors are not trained to give diagnoses or use specialised assessments.They also do not advise you what to do but can help you reflect and make choices and can support you in implementing changes that you have decided on.
What does seeing a Counsellor involve?
Counselling usually takes place in a confidential and quiet environment where trust and empathy are paramount. A single session may be all that is required but most often a series of regular sessions may be arranged over several weeks. Sessions generally last around an hour but may be shorter or longer. A clear agreement is usually made at the outset regarding aims and sessions.
What kind of training do Counsellors have?
There are currently no established minimum qualifications for practising as a counsellor in the UK and the title “counsellor” is not protected by law. However, all counsellors on the WeightAwareUK database are members of a reputable body such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) (www.bacp.co.uk) which accredits counsellors who have done an approved training lasting at least one year full time or 2-3 years part time and, in many cases longer. These associations also operate strict codes of practice and ethics for their members in order to safeguard the public. Many practitioners on the WeightAwareUK database continue to update their training and professional development throughout their career and the individual practitioner profile pages within the WeightAwareUK website will explain further their qualifications and experience.
PSYCHOLOGISTS
What are Psychologists and how can they help?
Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour. Psychologists may specialise in different areas — one of these is clinical psychology. Clinical psychologists are trained to deal with various mental and physical health problems. In the case of weight problems they can identify any underlying psychological problems related to eating behaviours and can also address issues such as depression, stress, trauma or phobias. Psychologists are trained in various assessment and treatment methods and aim to reduce distress and enhance psychological well-being.
What does seeing a Psychologist involve?
A consultation with a psychologist involves a confidential meeting where you and your child may be asked various questions about medical, psychological, family and eating history, attitudes to food and so on. Various assessments may be carried out, for example assessing emotional health or academic performance if eating problems are related to performance at school. Many of these assessments are specifically designed for children. The psychologist will advise you on strategies that can be used to help your child cope better with any underlying psychological issues and to help change attitudes and behaviours around food and eating.
What kind of training do Psychologists have?
Psychologists must have completed lengthy undergraduate and postgraduate training on a recognised course in order to be allowed to practise. They also undertake extensive clinical training and are trained in research. You can be referred to a psychologist on the NHS via your GP but you may have to wait some time for an appointment and the psychologist may not have specialist expertise in dealing with weight-related issues. All psychologists on the WeightAwareUK database are members of the professional body, the British Psychological Society (BPS) (www.bps.org.uk) and have a special interest in childhood weight issues.
PSYCHOTHERAPISTS
What are Psychotherapists and how can they help?
Psychotherapists are similar to counsellors and psychologists in some ways, in that they are also trained to listen and help clients explore feelings, attitudes and beliefs related to their experiences. However psychotherapists often work with deeper emotional or psychological problems than counsellors do but they are not generally trained to use psychological tests. Most work within a particular framework according to their training. For example psychoanalytic approaches emphasise the influence of the unconscious mind, while cognitive approaches focus on correcting ‘faulty thinking’ and humanistic approaches take a ‘person-centred’ approach and focus on personal empowerment. Psychotherapists may delve into the past to help you understand the influence of past events on present experiences. This can be quite an intensive process. Some psychologists are also trained psychotherapists.
What does seeing a Psychotherapist involve?
Psychotherapy is usually undertaken in regular one-to-one sessions over a sustained period of time. The psychotherapist is trained to analyse your child’s responses and to help you both make sense of current experiences. The psychotherapist may also use specific techniques to facilitate understanding and change. The commitment required for psychotherapy is generally longer than for counselling or seeing a psychologist.
What kind of training do Psychotherapists have?
As with counselling there are no legal minimum qualifications required for practising psychotherapy. However, reputable psychotherapists have usually undergone training over several years and are members of a professional association. Psychotherapists may also be trained as psychologists, nurses, psychiatrists or social workers but are not necessarily so. All psychotherapists on the WeightAwareUK database are members of an established professional body and are therefore required to work to strict codes of conduct. Their different approaches are explained in more detail within each of the Practitioner Profile pages on the WeightAwareUK Register.
Remember
When you are looking to employ the services of a practitioner it is essential to check their training and professional registration and to ensure that they are fully covered by insurance.
WeightAwareUK have done this checking for you so that you can be more confident of receiving a safe, effective and ethical service
All practitioners on the WeightAwareUK register have been asked to provide evidence of the appropriate qualifications, professional registration and insurance which ensure that they are working to professional standards and codes of conduct.