Staff writer, Author at JSA Psychotherapy Ltd

The Truth About… Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Menopause

29th November 2018 1:38 pm Comments Off

Earlier this week, BBC 1’s documentary series ‘The Truth About…’ broadcasted their 28th episode, this time investigating the topic of the menopause, the lack of awareness around it and which treatments are most effective in reducing the harmful symptoms that it brings.

The episode addresses how the most commonly recognised symptoms of menopause are physical, including hot flushes, night sweats and osteoporosis. However, these are often accompanied with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression that are the result of the inherent hormone imbalance as well as the negative impact that stress from physical illness can cause on emotional wellbeing.

It’s possible for these symptoms to emerge up to ten years before the end of menstruation, the biological marker typically understood to indicate the beginning of menopause. As such, it can often be unclear as to why mental health problems are spontaneously developing so early, especially if they are doing so in the absence of any physical changes.

The most hotly debated topic on the programme centred on the implementation of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), whereby medical oestrogen is prescribed to compensate for the deficit left in the wake of the menstrual cycle’s end. In some cases, the use of HRT can itself cause symptoms of anxiety or depression for those taking it.

A section of the documentary that was of particular importance to the work that we do at JSA however, was a sequence in which a focus group of menopausal women engaged in a study run by Leeds Beckett university to determine how effective the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) would be in remedying not only psychological symptoms, but the physiological ones as well.

After engaging with professional therapeutic clinicians, the group were provided with techniques to practice outside of their sessions that would assist in regulating stress and anxiety, as well as identifying triggers for undesired symptoms and behaviours. The result of the study was a profound improvement in mood and emotional wellbeing, as well as a significant reduction in instances of hot flushes and night sweats.

This would suggest that there is an integrated relationship between adverse symptoms in body and mind that can both be ameliorated with targeted therapeutic intervention. It’s well observed in CBT that negative reactions to medical conditions can intensify their harmful effects. This is especially true for conditions that are so stigmatised in society. Feelings of embarrassment or shame solidify a vicious cycle of physical and mental illness.

Evidence shows that cycles such as these can be broken with clinical help. For more information about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, please follow this link to read a more thorough disambiguation of what a course of CBT will entail.

For the full episode, follow this link to BBC Iplayer, where it will be hosted until the 26th of December 2018.

Ongoing Development: Julie Stirpe’s NMT phase 1 accreditation

14th November 2018 3:42 pm Comments Off

Those of you who read our blog last month about her visit to the international symposium will be aware that Principal Psychotherapist Julie Stirpe is an active member of the ChildTrauma Academy (CTA). The CTA is a professional body and academic fellowship pioneering the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT). NMT, as an approach to psychotherapy, is defined by its use of neurological techniques to assess how the impact of trauma on the brain can affect relational health and cognition in childhood, through to later life.

Julie has been working for several months to become officially certified as an individual NMT practitioner and has recently been accredited by the CTA as having completed phase 1 of the training. This qualification means that she is now licensed to use the NMT approach in her clinical psychotherapeutic work as part of evidence-based practice using a trauma-informed model.

With greater ambitions ahead, Julie has immediately embarked on acquiring the phase 2 certificate. Upon completion, she will be qualified to train others in their own NMT accreditations. Our eventual goal for the coming years is for JSA psychology to become an NMT site, an accreditation for the organisation itself as a prospective partner of the CTA. Only a handful of such sites currently exist in the UK, although there are many more international partners.

The value of NMT in our psychotherapeutic practice at JSA is far reaching, particularly in the assessment of children in the care system and for pre and post adoption. Not a form of therapy itself, the NMT allows us to assess the impact of developmental trauma upon the developing brain and nervous system of our clients.

Julie Stirpe is proud to lead JSA psychotherapy ahead of the curve, to the forefront of international trauma informed research and evidence-based practice which we are sure will shape the future of the industry. It is an exciting time for us as an organisation to be bringing these new tools to our partners and clients alike.

For more information on the nature of NMT, please follow this link.

Celebrations for Alastair’s Wedding!

12th November 2018 3:12 pm Comments Off

There’s a palpable atmosphere of joy and excitement in the office this week. All of us across the therapy and operations teams are joined in celebration of a momentous event in Alastair’s life, his wedding!

He and his wife Trudi were wed in on the third of November at her parish church in Carlisle. It was a small, yet intimate gathering of close friends and relatives followed by a traditional ceilidh for the evening reception. After a well-earned week away on honeymoon in Wales, they’re now both busying themselves with the task of settling in to their marital home in Central Manchester.

Alastair’s also back with us at the practice today to pick back up on his CBT cases. He was greeted warmly with a banner, balloons and many well wishes for the years to come.

JSA Psychotherapy welcomes new therapy horse

29th October 2018 3:46 pm Comments Off

This week we are celebrating the arrival of a new four-legged member to the JSA team. Jack, show name Silver Caesar, is a 16.3 hand Irish draught horse. Having come to live at the same equine facility as our other therapy horses Milo, Patch, Balli and Polly Panda, Jack will soon be joining them to participate in our Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) sessions.

Despite his imposing size, Jack is an extremely gentle and even-tempered soul. At its core, EAP involves a client being able to anchor themselves to their animal companion to help regulate their emotions and allow the empathic creatures to become a non-judgemental mirror for self-reflection. Jack already promises to provide a reassuring, resilient presence to help guide our clients through the therapeutic process.

More information about EAP and its applications can be found here.

Ongoing development: Accreditation for Imogen and Alastair

26th October 2018 1:45 pm Comments Off

An essential component in the operation of JSA Psychotherapy is the breadth of knowledge and skill that our practitioners possess. This underpins the variety of Psychotherapeutic interventions that we are able provide. Having more qualified therapists means we’re in a better position to deliver each sort of therapy and reliably meet our clients’ needs.

This month, our therapists Alastair Barrie and Imogen HG-Johnson have both achieved professional qualifications to expand the work that they do at JSA.

After working hard for the last year at the university of Salford, Alastair received confirmation on the 12^th that he had been awarded his MSc in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy with first class honours! This follows Imogen’s accreditation on the 5^th from the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). She received her certificate in print with this morning’s post.

Imogen next aims to refine her skills by becoming an EMDR practitioner. Enrolment to the course closes in February. Alastair meanwhile, is currently focusing on gaining further experience of CBT practice and learning more about Schema therapy, with a view to become a BABCP member himself once he meets their entry criteria.

Congratulations to both of our successful learners on their academic achievements this month and best wishes for their future aspirations.

JSA Psychotherapy sponsors local documentary filmmaker

19th October 2018 2:57 pm Comments Off

This month, JSA have taken part in supporting the launch of a local filmmaker’s attempt to raise awareness for people suffering from an often overlooked form of grief.

A career social researcher, Dr Rowenna Baldwin decided that the realm of academia limited the audience that her work exploring social issues could reach. As such, she made the decision to retrain as documentary filmmaker with the goal of providing greater visibility for under-represented topics. As part of her MA with the Northern Film School, she directed Goodnight, Friend to address the impact of pet bereavement. The film sheds light on the unresolved trauma and grief that many suffer from losing a pet and the dismissal that is met when attempting to reach out for support.

As part of the production process, Rowenna partnered with Stanley House veterinary practice in Colne to find people willing to appear in the film and share their stories. The Samaritans and Blue Cross Pet Bereavement Service also became involved. The topic of the film was very important to these charities as in many cases, the loss of a pet can also mean the loss of a vital life-line for particularly vulnerable individuals.

Julie, speaking in the focus group

Part of the film covers a focus group facilitated by Stanley House for those who were willing to share their experiences of pet bereavement. JSA Psychotherapy became involved with the project when Julie Stirpe offered to take part in the focus group, offering a clinical therapeutic perspective on grief and its associated mental illnesses. Julie also contributed her own stories of the many animal companions in her life, most significantly the passing of her horse Bruce Almighty in October 2016.

The most pervasive sense of grief is one that arises from feelings of guilt when an owner faces the decision to put their pet to sleep. In an interview with JSA, Rowenna stated “It’s ok for people to feel that guilt but they shouldn’t have to, because they’ve made the best decision for their pet.”

Following the completion of the film, JSA offered to become one of several organisations sponsoring Goodnight, Friend’s publication. This has helped Rowenna with the financial support necessary in the early stages of the film’s distribution. Rowenna’s documentary has so far been accepted to several film festivals, including the Dog Film Festival in New York as well as several others in the UK.

Earlier this week, the film’s debut public screening took place at Nelson’s ACE centre. The premiere was accompanied with presentations from Stanley House and the Blue Cross. Robin Hargreaves of Stanley House concluded his speech with the encouraging sentiment that the pain we associate with mourning a pet we’ve had to say goodbye to needn’t be a completely negative feeling. “The pain of illness” he says, “leaves the pet in peace and is taken on by its owner as grief. It’s a final kindness”.

Julie with Rowenna (left), Robin Hargreaves of Stanley House vets (centre right) and representatives from the Samaritans.

Speaking at the event, Rowenna explained that she had to keep the edit to a 20 minute maximum runtime. This meant that she could only include a few of the bereavement experiences that the volunteers shared with her. For her next project, she hopes to publish more of these stories, potentially online. In the meantime, she has set up a pet remembrance network on Facebook for those who have lost pets to be able to share their memories. Rowenna offered the following insights into her intent for the project;

“I wanted the film to have an impact, however small. I’m a bit of an idealist to be honest, but I’d like people to be comforted, or feel that they’ve got more information about what they can do if they are struggling to deal with their grief. It might help someone watching to think about what they’ve been through or perhaps something they think they’re about to go through if they’ve got an elderly pet.”

JSA sponsored rising star debuts at HOYS 2018

15th October 2018 4:30 pm Comments Off

Those of you who have read our blog recently will be familiar with the story of Maddy Lee Turner. Despite tremendous adversity, Maddy qualified to attend the Horse of the Year Show on the 7th of October, riding the dales pony Carrock King Kenny in the Junior Large Breed Mountain & Moorland class.

Julie Stirpe joined Maddy for the trip as a spectator to show her support, along with many other members of the Croft Top Equestrian Flatwork Club that they both attend. Every combination of horse and rider competing, in every class, was a previous winner from earlier qualifiers. Having all the very best equestrians in the country rushing about across the event campus made for an electric atmosphere.

With JSA as an official sponsor, Julie was able to follow Maddy throughout the day with her exhibitor‘s wristband. This allowed her to see everything behind the scenes and access all areas. Most importantly, she was able to provide support and encouragement from backstage. This included the ‘working in’ period, an hour of preparation to warm up the pony for showing before appearing in front of the crowd.

The working in process is typically handled by a professional member of a competitor’s show team. Maddy however, appeared as an independent, self-produced rider and proudly performed the working in herself. At the age of 12, she was also likely the youngest in her class. Julie watched her get Kenny ready for their debut with the confidence and flair of a young person who knew how much she belonged, even in such an imposing environment.

Despite being unfamiliar to appearing in front of a large crowd, Kenny looked after his rider well and behaved impeccably. The dales pony is a large, powerful animal but the pair worked together with a calmness and patience that demonstrated incredible trust. Speaking of the event, Julie reflected that what “really shone” was the empathic bond between horse and child.

The front rows of the audience were packed with Maddy’s support team. Her family, friends, sponsors and club peers were all there, delightedly encouraging her during the performance. Cheers, tears and excitement arose at the final call, where it was announced that Maddy had achieved 7th place. To be placed within the top 9 at an event such as this is a prestigious achievement. The joy on her face as she was called forwards was priceless.

Joanne, Maddy’s mother, stated: “We were simply hoping for a safe ride and a nice picture. To get 7th place at HOYS is beyond our wildest dreams!”

Through all the uproar, Kenny remained stoically calm, following Maddy in a lap of honour around the arena and back into the warm up ring to begin the celebrations.

JSA Psychotherapy represented at ChildTrauma Academy Symposium in Banff

5th October 2018 3:20 pm Comments Off

Julie Stirpe is currently nearing the completion of the phase 1 certificate of the neurosequential model of therapeutics (NMT) with the ChildTrauma Academy. Based in Houston, Texas, this Community of Practice connects interdisciplinary professionals from several countries as a virtual Centre of Excellence.

Julie is to be one of very few NMT qualified practitioners in the UK, part of a groundswell of leading-edge trauma informed and evidence-based practice. JSA use this approach to inform therapeutic assessment and intervention across all areas of practice. This is of particular benefit to the work we do with young people and clients suffering developmental trauma.

Julie and Dr Bruce Perry

The certification process has so far brought Julie into monthly tuition and monitoring from pioneer Dr Bruce Perry, as well as professional networking with other select members of the ChildTrauma Academy. Membership within this community of NMT practitioners also provides Julie with the opportunity to attend symposium events for the international group. She attended the most recent of these, in Banff, Canada on the 11th to 14th of June 2018.

Featuring several key note speakers in the fields of adolescent mental health, psychiatry and neuroscience, the Symposium also commemorated the 10th anniversary of the ChildTrauma Academy’s founding. Over the course of the week’s seminars and workshops, Julie was able to integrate with globally leading experts including academy founder Dr Perry. She states:

“The value of spending time and networking with nearly 700 delegates from around the world was so far reaching on a personal and professional level. It had an immediate impact on how we at JSA approach our therapeutic work with looked after children, young people in residential care and families in a post adoption setting.”

The work of the ChildTrauma Academy to develop the incorporation of the NMT framework is of critical value due to the speed at which it is gaining ground in the UK and throughout Europe. The atmosphere of week’s events echoed these progressive sentiments and there was notable poignancy to the opening and closing ceremonies of the symposium. Each were addressed by a representative of the indigenous Blackfoot confederacy, who led the attendees in prayer for the lost children of the world to be helped in finding their way. A profound and moving experience for those who have dedicated their careers to such a cause.

On a personal level, travelling to Banff on her own afforded Julie plentiful moments of professional introspection and the space to reflect on her 30-year career. Every day for the week, she made time to explore the wooded mountains trails of the surrounding national park. Julie says of this period that:

“[I felt] the choice of venue and location was very sensitively considered. I was struck by the enormity and scope of the landscape. It reminded me of just how great the challenge we face is of confronting so much pain and trauma. To feel so small in scale yet so empowered as a component of this international movement to heal children gave the trip an incomparable significance.”

View from the summit of Tunnel Mountain

Julie on the Spray River trail

JSA Psychotherapy sponsors young HOYS competitor

4th October 2018 1:55 pm Comments Off

Maddy and Kenny

This year, JSA have discovered the opportunity to provide our
assistance to an incredible rising star.

Julie Stirpe, Principal Psychotherapist at the company, frequently attends the Croft Top Equestrian Flatwork Club run by instructor and show producer Karen Talbot. It is here that Julie met 12 year old Maddy
Lee Turner. Maddy is a fellow member of the club who has recently faced significant health problems and ongoing involvement in medical care.

Despite these formidable obstacles, Maddy has remained determined not only to continue riding but to excel. Unintimidated by even the worst weather conditions, Maddy’s friends and peers at the club have observed her returning to the saddle every week to brave cold, dark winter nights and even this year’s infamous Beast from the East, all with a beaming smile on her face.

During the summer months, Maddy succeeded in further distinguishing herself by qualifying for the extremely prestigious Horse of the Year Show. This young competitor has demonstrated terrific form atop Carrock King Kenny, the beautiful dales pony owned by Bev Bowers.

Encouraged to show our support for such a tenacious and talented young person, Julie and the rest of the JSA team are delighted to sponsor Maddy to ensure that she and Kenny are equipped with everything they need to make their HOYS debut with the backing and recognition she deserves.

Maddy will be competing in the junior rider large breed mountain and moorland class on the 7th of October 2018. Other kind and generous sponsors joining us in celebrating Maddy’s efforts are Simon Constable’s Equine Vets and Country Frog Equestrian Clothing. Together we aim to make this event as magical and fun as possible.

Maddy sports her new riding gear provided by Simon Constable’s Equine Vets

Maddy with Cecilia Phillips, owner of Country Frog

Julie and Maddy with her JSA sponsored shopping haul

JSA Psychotherapy strengthens links with Lancaster University

27th September 2018 9:15 am Comments Off

Since 2016, JSA Psychotherapy has been closely linked with Lancaster University, attending master classes, webinars, networking groups and student projects as part of our commitment to constantly progressing what our business can offer.

This important partnership has been facilitated by Cohort 4. JSA has attended this six month business growth forum since January enjoying its unique benefits. Sadly, the six month time period has now completed, and our final session through Cohort 4 concluded on the 20th of September.

Meeting once a month and attending workshops delivered by Lancaster University Management School and various guest facilitators, we joined attendees to focus our attention on business growth. Kicking off with a fun two-day overnight event back in January, the forum began by focusing in on team building and leadership styles as well as the important task of getting to know each other.

Since those first two days, the group has learned about business models, design thinking and innovation, employee engagement and reflective practice. As well as this, we also had the opportunity to visit VEKA Plc in Burnley and spent time with the Managing Director to understand what challenges they have faced, how they have moved forward and engaged their teams for productivity. Meeting with the VEKA team was a fantastic experience, as they are one of the area’s largest global businesses and have won multiple awards for their products, services and workplace structure – including the Employer of the Year Burnley Business Award in 2017.

The forum was particularly beneficial for making links with Lancaster University, to enable JSA to grow using cutting-edge management and business development techniques researched at the Management School there. Spending time with other leading businesses from across East Lancashire enabled the team from JSA to connect and discuss common challenges, and then engage peers in finding solutions together.

Julie Stirpe, director of JSA Psychotherapy said about the forum:

“Being part of the Lancashire Forum has been a fantastic and enlightening experience. It is both supportive and insightful. Other delegates on Cohort 4 of the Lancashire forum have been an amazing mix of business owners and Directors from a diverse range of industries from manufacturing to professional services, based within the East Lancashire area. The group has bonded over the period and is full of character and personality. By sharing experiences of the business growth process, it has bought the group closer and shared challenges have given enthusiasm to spur each other on.”

Watch out for any future projects that we will be working on alongside the university.

Author Archives: Staff writer