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Our emotions can tell us
important and helpful things,
if we only let them.
Our emotions tell us a story about ourselves, others and the world around us. They can be our most important guide, directing our thoughts, actions and behaviours. But they can also keep us stuck and hold us back.
In short, Emotion Speaks.
I want to help people listen to their emotions. To develop a deeper, more meaningful understanding of themselves. To learn to use their emotions to guide them in healthy ways. To build the life and relationships that they want.
Alongside my private practice therapy sessions, I provide professional training and bespoke workshops in Emotion Focused Therapy and in SPEAKS, which I co-developed as an Emotion Focused specialist treatment for people with anorexia.
I offer individual therapy for adults (age 16+). My work draws from Emotion Focused Therapy and Schema Therapy, alongside other therapeutic modalities such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Psychodynamic approaches. I tailor my approach to meet your personal needs in an authentically warm, empathic and safe space. I specialise in working with eating disorders, and also have an interest and experience in neurodivergent groups.
I am an Emotion Focused Therapy supervisor and international trainer based in England where I am the Director of the Emotion Focused Therapy Institute of England at Salomons. I also offer SPEAKS trainings to services and Institutes. Trainings in either approach can include short tasters, bespoke workshops, core and advanced skills, or full accreditation.
I specialise in Emotion Focused Therapy & Schema Therapy. These are both evidence-based approaches that view us as made up of many (often conflicting) parts. The part that can give us a hard time (inner critic); our vulnerable part (even if usually hidden); and ways of coping, such as squashing our feelings down. Therapy involves an exploration of your different ‘parts’, and using experiential exercises, such as imagery or putting parts into different chairs, to help you recognise and resolve stuck patterns and emotions.
SPEAKS is a unique integration of Emotion Focused Therapy and Schema Therapy developed through detailed research into emotion change processes associated with recovery from anorexia and by consulting people with lived experience. SPEAKS follows an evidence-based emotion change process and draws on a range of carefully selected therapeutic techniques from different models to support change. SPEAKS takes a ‘whole person’ approach to recovery beyond a focus simply on eating, weight and shape.
October 2024
We are thrilled to open our new Masterclass series in October, a collaborative initiative between the Emotion Focused Therapy Institute of England at Salomons and the Scottish Institute for Emotion Focused Therapy. This Masterclass series of one-day workshops will see leading experts in Emotion Focused Therapy offer key insights into applications of EFT that will be of interest and value to those new to EFT and experienced EFT clinicians alike. Our 2025 Masterclasses will be announced and available to book soon! Check our EFT training page or join our mailing list to keep updated.
This month also saw us choose and agree the front cover for the SPEAKS Guidebook (an integrated adaptation of EFT for eating disorders) which was very exciting! We are pleased to announce that it will be published available for purchase in late April 2025. We will announce its publication in our newsletter, so please do join our distribution list.
November 2024
During November, our Advanced Skills EFT Workshop (Level 2) will run again. It has been a while since we have offered this workshop and are really pleased that it will now be a regular part of our programme supporting the development of our community who want to build on their knowledge of the EFT tasks and adaptations. This training will be jointly run by me and Dr Christina Michael of the Cyprus EFT Institute, an experienced and passionate EFT trainer. Advanced Skills training is open to anybody who has completed Core Skill in EFT (Level 1) and is a required teaching component for those working towards EFT therapist accreditation. It is great to be building the skills set of our growing EFT community here in England.
December 2024
December will be busy right up the Christmas break as I adapt and update the materials for the 2025 SPEAKS trainings and make it available to the hosting Institutes so that it can be translated.
January 2025
I am delighted that my 2025 kicks off with the first in my CPD workshops for the NHS Talking Therapy services supporting the clinical development of therapists offering Person-Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD) in particular. These workshops are specially developed based on the BACP required curriculum and are tailored for the needs of each specific service. If you’d like a brochure or wish to enquire further, see our EFT training page and please do drop me a line.
Please get in touch if you have any questions about me or my therapy, training or supervision services.
Emotion Speaks is the professional website of Dr Anna Oldershaw, clinical psychologist, Director of Emotion Focused Therapy Institute of England and co-developer of SPEAKS.
© 2023 Dr Anna Oldershaw. All rights reserved.
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