Holistic Jungian therapist specializing in trauma and relationships
From my perspective, the “talk” in talk therapy is only useful as a tool to reach deeper emotions. Depth therapy—the kind of therapy I provide—is an umbrella term that includes any form of therapy that gives priority to feeling over thought. Depth therapies tend to view thinking as a defense against having to feel certain emotions.
This contrasts with cognitive therapies, which tend to see thoughts as a way of controlling certain emotions. The result of these two different perspectives is that, in some cases—such as during a crisis, psychosis, or severe trauma—it may be preferable to strengthen the defenses rather than dig into the emotional unconscious.
For this reason, I do not recommend depth therapy for anyone who is currently experiencing, or has previously experienced, a non–drug-induced psychosis, is in the middle of a crisis, or has suffered extremely severe trauma. For such cases, I strongly recommend CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). There are many excellent CBT therapists available on BetterHelp.
For anyone else suffering from any number of psychological difficulties—from A to Z—I look forward to meeting you you!
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Michael Harland views the “talk” in talk therapy as a tool to access deeper emotions rather than an end in itself. He practices depth therapy, a term he uses for approaches that prioritise feeling over thought and treat certain patterns of thinking as defenses against difficult emotions.
He contrasts this approach with cognitive therapies, which generally regard thoughts as a means to regulate emotions. Because of these different orientations, there are situations – for example during a crisis, psychosis, or after extremely severe trauma – where it can be more helpful to strengthen psychological defenses instead of exploring the emotional unconscious.
For that reason, Michael Harland does not recommend depth therapy for anyone who is currently experiencing, or has previously experienced, a non-drug-induced psychosis, is in the middle of a crisis, or has suffered extremely severe trauma. In such cases he strongly recommends CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and notes that there are many excellent CBT therapists available on BetterHelp.
For anyone else facing a range of psychological difficulties, Michael Harland welcomes the opportunity to work together and looks forward to meeting you.
Many people ask whether online therapy can produce meaningful results. For common concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, or navigating life changes, online therapy has been found to be comparable in effectiveness to traditional in-person care.
One of the main benefits is flexibility – clients can connect in the way that suits them best, choosing video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or in-app messaging. That flexibility makes it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule.
Each therapist is a licensed professional, and clients have the option to switch therapists at any time if they want a different fit.
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