Therapy & Lifestyle Clinic (TLC)

The person-centred approach believes human beings have an innate ability to develop towards their full potential, also known as self-actualisation. This ability is accessible by anyone but can become blocked or distorted by certain life experiences.
The counsellor aids the process and provides support to the client to facilitate the ability for the client to self-actualise. The client is encouraged to utilise their own strengths and personal identity to allow for personal growth and ultimately achieve full potential. Person-centred counselling is client led and clients are encouraged to bring their own issues which your counsellor will help you explore, for example, feelings, beliefs, behaviours, and worldview.

The process aims to allow you to become more self-aware and achieve greater independence. The counsellor creates an environment in the sessions to enable the client to feel emotionally safe.

The person-centred counselling approach can help individuals of all ages, and many find it appealing due to its client led sessions as it allows them to keep control over the pace of the session and its content. It is thought to be more beneficial to those who have a strong desire to explore themselves, their feelings, psychological habits, or patterns of thinking.

This approach is helpful for treating:
Depression
Grief and loss
Loneliness
Feeling lost
Anxiety
Stress

Person-Centred Therapy can help you with:
Have a greater ability to trust yourself
Build a better understanding of self
Achieve better self-awareness
Develop and maintain healthier relationships
Find closer agreement between an idealised self and actualise self
Improve self-expression

It doesn’t matter if you’re on your, married, living together, gay, bisexual, straight or transgender – we’re here to help you, however you identify.
Our counsellors provide a caring, supportive and non-judgmental environment to help you find a way through any difficulties you may be facing in your relationship/s.

If couple counselling is the best way forward for both of you, you will embark on a series of counselling sessions – anything between six and twelve sessions is usual, but it will depend on the issues that you want to address. Our primary concern is that you get the best possible, appropriate source of help. Both partners don’t always have the same goals and for counselling to be helpful we need to establish an agreed focus for the therapy.

For some couples, counselling is the start of a longer process of discovery while for others, a few sessions of counselling may be all they need to get through a rough patch. You will be able to discuss your expectations with your counsellor.

Individuals and couples find the process leads to an improvement in their relationships; sometimes this involves separation and moving on apart/independently. If this is the case for you it is likely that the two of you may experience different feelings and it may not be the outcome that one of you wanted. If you do decide to separate we can help you to manage that process as painlessly as possible and, in particular can offer support to either or both of you with the grieving process and with issues around what and when to tell children about what is happening.

Couples Therapy can help you with:
Communication
Betrayal
Commitment and Trust
Making major life decisions
Anger, stress
Conflict avoidance/management
Negative patterns that undermines the relationship
Co-dependency
Relationship loss
Loss of role

Psychosexual therapy is the process of addressing both sexual and relationship difficulties on either an individual or couple basis.

The physical and psychological aspects of the individual or couple are explored using full clinical assessment in order to produce the best possible treatment options. Psychological approaches are used to understand how your difficulty formed (psychodynamic approach) and how your difficulty is maintained (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approach), therefore allowing a treatment plan to be developed.

Some of the problems treated through Psychosexual therapy may be physical such as, for men, an inability to achieve an erection or experiencing ejaculation difficulties, orgasm problems or an inability to become aroused, and for women, orgasm difficulties, loss of lubrication and/or painful intercourse. Or they may be psychological, such as loss of interest or desire for sex, addiction or obsession with sexual stimuli, sexual violence or abuse or negative and abusive messages from childhood
Psychosexual therapy is highly specialised work that requires an in-depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology as well as pharmacology. All of which need to be integrated into a medical model and applied into a psychotherapeutic framework.


Psychosexual Therapy can help you with:
Sexual function and performance issues including: painful sex, vaginismus, erection difficulties, premature and delayed ejaculation, anorgasmia, and compulsive sexual behaviour
Your ideas and beliefs about sex
Gender, self esteem and body worries
Anxieties
Childhood experiences
Previous sexual experiences
Desires, dreams, hopes, fantasies
Questions you have about sex and relationships issues in your relationship(s).

All physiotherapy at TLC is carried out by experienced and enthusiastic physiotherapists whose main focus is to get you as good as possible in the quickest possible time. The friendly and caring approach taken by our physiotherapists, alongside their extensive experience, means that you can be confident that any treatment you receive is of the highest quality.

We firmly believe that physiotherapy should be patient centred. This means that the patient’s problems, and the goals they want to achieve, are the most important thing we take into account when deciding what physiotherapy intervention is best. Due to the uniqueness of each person the treatment approach chosen varies according to the individual, their symptoms and their goals. Unique people require unique treatment, therefore, we use a wide combination of physiotherapy techniques to provide our patients with the best possible treatment. It is this pragmatic approach that allows us to maximise the potential of every patient. Below are some of the interventions we specialise in:

Ultrasound Therapy
Ultrasound is a painless treatment where high-frequency sound waves are used to treat deep tissue injuries and promote the healing process following an acute injury or a chronic condition. The high frequency sound waves produce energy which cause micro vibrations when they enter the skin which improves tissue healing and reduces pain by stimulating blood circulation and cell activity.

Ligaments, tendons, fascia, joint capsules and scar tissue contain large amounts of collagen meaning they benefit from this type of treatment as they absorb ultrasound better.

The treatment can be used for a wide range of conditions and is commonly used for the treatment of soft tissue problems such as ligament sprains or muscle tears. It will help promote tissue healing, improve quality of repair and decrease pain.

Acupuncture
An evidenced based treatment originally derived from ancient Chinese medicine, involving fine needles being inserted in to certain sites of the body for therapeutic or preventative purposes. It works by stimulating sensory nerves under the skin and in the muscles. This results in the production of natural substances, for example, pain-relieving endorphins.

A course of acupuncture usually creates longer lasting pain relief than a single treatment.

NICE recommend considering acupuncture for the treatment of:

Chronic pain
Chronic tension-type headaches
Migraines
Joint pain
Dental pain
Postoperative pain
Neurological Physiotherapy
Involves rehabilitation of patients with neurological conditions (problems with the brain, spinal cord or peripheral nerves). Patients with neurological conditions may present with difficulties with their physical functions including mobility, muscle strength, range of movement and balance.

We aim is to increase their quality of life by rehabilitating, slowing down the physical deterioration, maximising potential and helping children with disabilities achieve developmental milestones. For the best possible recovery treatment should commence as soon as possible following injury or diagnosis.

Benefits:

Make movements easier to achieve that are precise and goal directed
Retrain normal patterns of movement
Improve ability with everyday activities
Increase muscle strength
Increase range of movement
Improve gross or fine motor skills
Improve posture
Increase balance
Lengthen tight muscles to help decrease spasticity and reduce contractures
Increase fitness levels and endurance
Help problems with breathing
Reduce risk of chest infections
Reduce risk of falling
Reduce stress and anxiety
Relieve pain
Increase independence
Achieve maximum potential
Respiratory Physiotherapy
Respiratory physiotherapy aims to help treat, educate, and advise patients who have problems with their lungs and their breathing. This could be a result of long-term underlying problems such as COPD, emphysema, bronchiectasis, asthma, chronic bronchitis or pulmonary fibrosis. Through assessing your symptoms and building an understanding of how they impact on daily life, treatment aims to help you to manage your symptoms better so that you feel more in control of your breathing.

There are several reasons someone may benefit from seeing a respiratory physiotherapist. These include:

A recent admission to hospital for problems with breathing
Recent chest trauma (fractured ribs, bruising)
Anxiety or stress
Recurrent chest infections or pneumonia
Shortness of breath when walking
Problems with hyperventilation
Recent respiratory, abdominal or cardiac surgery
Clinical Pilates
Living with different types of conditions or injuries can prevent individuals from joining in the activity’s others take for granted, however, clinical Pilates can work for almost anyone. It differs from a standard Pilates class as it is tailored to each individual to ensure they get the most out of the class. For this reason, class sizes are kept small to ensure everyone gets the attention they need from the instructor yet still being able to benefit from the social and motivational aspects of group exercise.

The instructor is a qualified physiotherapist, and they will carry out a one-to-one assessment ahead of starting clinical Pilates. This will allow them to build an understanding of medical history and existing conditions, therefore enabling your routine and progression being shaped to your circumstances.

Other benefits of clinical Pilates include injury prevention through improved awareness of your own body – promoting strength and flexibility while avoiding excess strain on joints.

Workplace Ergonomic Assessment
Poor working postures, repetitive tasks and heavy workloads can lead to increased risk of workplace injuries. It is important to identify the risk factors to reduce the risk of injuries and accidents to employees across the workplace as well as improving productivity and improve organisational wellbeing.

Benefits of an ergonomic assessment:

Prevent costly litigation
Comply with health and safety regulations
Decrease injury risk, error rates and lost working days
Increase efficiency and productivity
Provides practical solutions
Sports and Postural Taping
Taping is used as a provision of support and/or relief and in some circumstances it is also used preventatively. It is useful in different ways for different issues and a variety of results can be achieved to.

Muscles lose their elasticity when they are injures or overused/ which can result in long recovery times, even in situations where the issue seems minor. Taping mimics the muscles elasticity which encourages the muscles to heal faster. This is achieved in a number of ways.

Support – relieves some of the immediate pain and takes stress of the muscle where they have been injured or overused.

Adhesive – compared to an everyday plaster the adhesive used is far more complicated. It is crucial that the tapes stay in one place in order to be as effective as possible. Therefore the glue used ensures they will not move and will stay put for days.

Healing – Taping is designed also to encourage lymphatic flow. The lymph system is the system through which a clear fluid is carried around the body, this carries white blood cells which fight infection, and take care of waste or dead cells. The encouragement of lymphatic flow greatly reduces recovery time.

Encouraging better movement – The way we use our bodies is not always the best way to use them. Eg, poor sleeping posture can lead to chronic pain. Taping parts of the body in a certain way can retrain them to move in ways that are more natural, easier or safer.

Manipulation and Manual Skeletal and Soft Tissue Therapy
The intricate system that is the body, formed by our skeleton, muscles, soft tissue, organs, skin, tendons, ligaments, nerves and joints, needs to be kept in top condition to function at its best.

Sometimes, through injury, poor upkeep, or just day-to-day living, our bodies start to feel pain which disrupts our daily activities. Musculoskeletal therapy may help in keeping pain at bay and treating injuries and functional problems.

Musculoskeletal therapy treats the skeletal and muscular system using a variety of soft tissue and mobilisation techniques. Musculoskeletal therapists use mobilisation over manipulation, mobilisation being movement to increase range of movement, rather than the more sudden movements of manipulation.

An effective hands-on approach to pain relief, musculoskeletal therapy can lead to a significant reduction of pain in the back, neck or any kind of joint pain. If you suffer from chronic conditions, such as fibromyalgia or frozen shoulder, you will benefit massively from consulting a musculoskeletal therapist.

Musculoskeletal therapy may help prevent and alleviate pain, enhance movement and function and help in maintaining the functional alignment of the skeletal system.

A musculoskeletal therapist will assess your condition and treat you in a holistic way with a combination of passive therapies and muscle energy techniques. You may also be prescribed an exercise plan which you can do at home to expedite your recovery and restore your range of motion and body’s normal function.

Podiatry and Foot Biomechanical Assessment
Biomechanics refers to the way the bones, muscles and joints of your feet and lower limbs interact and move. It looks specifically at pronation, which is how impact is absorbed and supination, which is how you are propelled. Problems with this can lead to pain that may occur in the feet, legs, lower back or hips.

The assessment will involve our physiotherapist building a full picture of the pain and problems affecting you. They will do so through asking questions relating to the pain you are suffering, observing how your body moves when you walk and the way you walk in detail. Additionally, they may need to physically examine your legs, feet and lower back. This will allow them to advise you on the best ways of dealing with the problems. Suggested treatments may include orthotics or insoles for your shoes, general advice about footwear and exercises.

Exercise Therapy
Our physiotherapist is able to offer exercise support and advice to aid our client’s to recovery and a better quality of life. We offer tailor-made personal training which may include finding adaptations to exercises that may have been restricted or supporting you to correct your form for better results. Our exercise therapy is also used to help with injury recovery and weight related difficulties.