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Dr Jeffrey Weatherby, Clinical Psychologist, Toronto (Yorkville)
When a psychologist chooses the type of treatment "approach" that a he or
she should consider when providing psychological services for clients, there
are at least two ways to approach the decision: one is from a theoretical
standpoint, including the characteristics of the client, and the other from
practical standpoint. In terms of choosing a treatment approach from a
theoretical perspective, I am suggesting that a psychologist would utilise
his or her own theoretical perspective or "frame of reference" for
understanding the causes and the treatment of psychological problems, and
how that applies to the current client. In terms of a practical standpoint,
I am referring to the resources and limitations of the Toronto community to
provide psychological services to the people who reside in it, and who need
it the most.
In my experience, I have got a sense that "theoretical
perspectives" become the focal point for making decisions about
psychological problems and about choosing the treatment approach by private
practice psychologists, and therefore, the ability for the public to access
psychological services becomes increasingly difficult. This is particularly
true of Toronto, even for problems with a high prevalence such as anxiety
disorders or anger management issues. I say this, because psychologists in
Toronto work in a climate of strictly limited resources, and this obviously
has ramifications for the outcomes of mental health in this city. Therefore,
although it is my opinion that a psychologist's theoretical perspective is
highly important, it is equally important to gain access to psychological
services that have been proven to work. Given the lack of funding in mental
health in Toronto (what I call "economic rationalisation"), psychological
services that use structure and efficiency are highly needed. In most cases,
mental health services for residents of Toronto consist of "fee for service"
with private practice psychologists, including the use of extended health
benefits (provided by their workplace), or in more severe cases, a referral
to see a psychiatrist under OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan). The
unfortunate part is, however, psychologists are not covered under OHIP, and
this results in further limited mental health resources for the Toronto
community, especially for those persons in which a psychiatric referral is
clearly inappropriate.
So when deciding on psychological services in
a community faced with limited mental health resources such as Toronto
(particularly when deciding on utilising a private practice psychologist),
one might ask, "what approach should I choose"? My strong opinion is
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or CBT, of course! The reason I, and so many
other psychologists, strongly advocate Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is
because time and time again, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy has been proven to
work in controlled research studies. In fact, not only has Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy been proven to work, but it also has been proven to work
for most psychological problems.
Indeed, there are other approaches
that a psychologist could employ that are efficacious besides Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy. However, I am focusing on the idea of providing
psychological services in a community with limited resources such as
Toronto. Again, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy has not only been demonstrated
to work for most psychological problems, but it does so in a short amount of
time. Psychologists report favorable outcomes for clients in as little as
10-20 sessions, and in my experience as a psychologist, I have seen many of
my clients get optimal improvement in as little as 6 sessions of Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy. In a resource strapped climate such as Toronto, where
effective mental health outcomes are so desperately needed, yet so
underfunded, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy makes good sense.
So what is
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy? It is a combination of "cognitive" techniques
and "behavioural" strategies aimed at helping an individual improve his or
her life. The cognitive component entails examining your negative thoughts,
including your deeper beliefs about the world and challenging the
irrationality of those thoughts to help reduce negative emotions. The
behavioural component of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy aims to identify
particular behaviours that can be improved to complement your new "rational"
way of thinking. That could include such things as communication techniques,
assertiveness, problem solving, and time management. Taken together we call
this wholistic approach "Cognitive Behaviour Therapy"!
Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy is employed by psychologists for a variety of
psychological problems such as anger management, low self esteem, anxiety
disorders, panic disorder, depression, and relationship problems, just to
name a few. It is important to note that there are many unregulated
therapists who employ Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in Toronto, however, I
would suggest finding a licensed psychologist who is registered with the
College of Psychologists of Ontario. Not only do licensed psychologists
registered with the College have a strong level of training in psychology,
but they are accredited and regulated, so that if you have any problems
resulting from the psychological services you received, you have recourse.
Good luck with your search for a private practice psychologist, and I
strongly suggest you consider Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. I have been
working as a licensed psychologist for over 12 years, and in my experience,
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy works. And although Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
is valuable in any context, is particularly important in a community such as
Toronto with limited mental health resources.
Written by Dr. Jeffrey
Weatherby, Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Toronto,
Ontario.
Please see my website on www.weatherbypsychology.com to
learn more about me and my private practice located in the heart of
Yorkville.
Dr. Jeffrey M. Weatherby, D.Psych, C.Psych (Ontario)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
647 860 4698
1235 Bay Street, Suite 400
Toronto Ontario, M5R 3K4
Also, please click below to visit me at: www.weatherbypsychology.com