Help centre - your questions answered

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy, based on the idea that your thoughts, feelings, actions, and physical sensations are connected, and that you can change one by changing the others. 

When we experience thoughts and feelings we often fall into patterns of thinking and behaviours which re-enforce them. Feel good, and often our feelings about us, the world and others fall in to place. On the other hand, the content of what we think and how we act also change when we feel more negative.

CBT can help us identify and challenge problematic thinking styles or behaviour patterns to improve our feelings, general mental health and wellbeing. 

It is a collaborative therapy, it requires active participation with your CBT therapist on mutually agreed goals. 

CBT is recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for many different problems including anxiety, depression and PTSD or PTSD type symptoms. 
 

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of therapy that enables people to lower the levels of distress from disturbing life experiences. In EMDR therapy, the meaning of painful events is transformed on an emotional level. 

EMDR therapy has different phases of treatment including a stabilising phase at the beginning. This will be explained by your therapist, including whether it will suit you or not.   

EMDR is not a traditional ‘talking' therapy as it uses side to side stimulation such as eye movements, tapping fingers on parts of the body, or tapping toes or feet on the floor. It seems odd at first, but it appears that this ‘bilateral’ movement shifts memories from parts of the brain where they are held in a pattern, to the working memory, where these thoughts are filed away, like regular experiences are.

This filing away is not like forgetting a memory, but it helps the distress become unhooked from the memory.   

EMDR is effective in the treatment of trauma and is supported by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

All our psychotherapists are qualified professionals who are accredited with one or more of various professional organisations, including the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapists (BACP), the British Association for Behaviourial and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP), the EMDR Association, or the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Some have dual or multiple accreditations.

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Therapy appointments typically take up to 60 minutes, so please make sure you have enough time to attend.

When you are referred to Ascenti, the first step is an Initial Assessment (IA). This appointment helps us to understand the main difficulties you are experiencing, what you want to achieve through therapy, and confirm the right type of therapy for you.

You will be asked to complete questionnaires before this appointment. These are important to help us understand your symptoms, and can be used to help track your progress through therapy, so please take the time to fill them in.

Certain health conditions may affect what style of treatment can be used. Please let your therapist know if you have any limiting or special medical conditions (including pregnancy, heart condition, respiratory conditions, neurological conditions, ocular difficulties, etc).

After the assessment we will write to the company that referred you to Ascenti with a summary of the appointment and treatment recommendations, and they will then make the final decision about whether the treatment can go ahead. 

When you start treatment, this may be with the same therapist who conducted your IA, or if that’s not possible it may be with a different therapist. If this is a concern for you, please make sure you discuss this at the Initial Assessment appointment.

Sometimes the IA might help us identify that you need a specialist service, or a different type of therapy not provided by Ascenti, in which case we will discuss this with you and advise you about next steps.

When you start therapy these sessions will always be with the same therapist (except for changes in circumstance) so you can get to know them and build up a therapeutic relationship.

You may have been referred for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), or a combination of both.

For general queries about your treatment please contact our mental health admin team at psychotherapy@ascenti.co.uk or call 01329 245 208.

Ascenti does not offer a crisis management service and you won’t be able to contact your therapist outside of appointments. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis and need support, please contact:

• Your GP or out-of-hours GP
• Call 999 or attend A&E if you need immediate assistance
• Contact the Samaritans for support by calling 116 123 

Yes, of course. If you would feel more comfortable talking to a male or a female therapist please contact us to let us know.

No; it is important that you are able to talk freely in the appointment without distraction. 

If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please notify our administration team by emailing psychotherapy@ascenti.co.uk or calling 01329 245 208 and leaving a message. 

Ascenti has a 24-hour cancellation policy. If you cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice or you fail to attend an appointment, your remaining appointments may be placed on hold while we contact your referrers for authorisation to continue. If this occurs, we cannot guarantee that your remaining appointments will be on the original days and times that they were booked, and they may have to be re-booked.

You will never have to worry that your personal data is being stored inappropriately, managed badly or shared with anyone that it shouldn’t be.  

We take data security and patient privacy seriously. All of our employees receive regular training and we invest in high-tech (ISO accredited) IT systems, which means that we are able to maintain the highest standards of data security.

Yes. Your data is safe with us. 

You will never have to worry that your data is being stored inappropriately, managed badly or shared with anyone that it shouldn’t be. 

As the leading independent provider of mental health services in the UK, we take our responsibilities seriously and pride ourselves on upholding the highest standards of patient information and data security. 

You can read more about our credentials here and our Privacy Policy in full here. 
 

The details of what you and your therapist talk about stay between you both.
 
However, please be aware that as part of the service we provide, brief treatment reports will be shared with the company that referred you to us. Our reports include information relating to your assessment, care, progress and treatment plans.  

Your appointments may not be able to proceed unless you agree to us forwarding treatment reports to your referring company or representative. If you have any concerns about this, please contact us to discuss before your appointment.

Aside from these reports, information discussed in appointments is confidential, with the following exceptions:

• Factual notes will be made following each appointment or contact with the service. These notes are then held by Ascenti and may be requested through a Subject Access Request. You can approve or decline access (for example, if your referral is part of an insurance claim process and your solicitor requests the notes as part of the case).
• There are some occasions where we legally have to share information, such as if you or someone else is at risk, if there is a public safety concern such as child abuse or terrorism, or if our notes are subpoenaed.