Putting Personal Recovery at the Heart of what we do...
Once you make contact with Arc, a member of our team will consider whether our service is likely to be appropriate for you. A referral to Arc is not a referral directly into therapy, but an invitation for us to understand a little about what has brought you to us and whether we are the right service to help.
If Arc appears to be appropriate for you, we will contact you to arrange an initial assessment. This gives you an opportunity to talk about what has happened, how it is affecting you now, and what you would like to be different. It also allows us to consider with you what kind of therapeutic support might be most helpful.
Therapy at Arc is individual and shaped around your needs. The number and frequency of sessions will be discussed with you and reviewed as the work progresses.
Arc is an independent charity and our therapy is subsidised through fundraising and donations. We ask people who are able to do so to make a contribution towards the cost of their therapy. We do not want financial circumstances alone to prevent someone who is otherwise suitable for our service from making contact with us.
"Retrospectively, I think I was heading for some kind of breakdown. I had never experienced such ups and downs and I was frightened, very frightened at how debilitating my situation had become."
Practical information
SESSIONS
Therapy sessions usually last between 50 minutes and one hour. How often you meet with your therapist, and the likely number of sessions, will be discussed with you and reviewed as the work progresses.
Your therapist will explain the practical arrangements for your sessions when you begin therapy and you will have an opportunity to ask any questions.
SUPERVISION
All Arc therapists receive regular clinical supervision as part of safe and ethical professional practice. Supervision provides a confidential space for therapists to reflect on their work and supports the quality and safety of the therapy we provide.
Clinical work may be discussed in supervision, but your privacy and confidentiality are carefully protected.
CONFIDENTIALITY
What you talk about in therapy is treated as confidential. Your therapist will explain confidentiality to you when you begin, including the limited circumstances in which information may need to be shared.
There may be occasions when we have serious concerns about your safety or the safety of another person, or where we are required by law to share information. Wherever possible, we would discuss this with you before taking any action.
Arc keeps appropriate clinical records securely and in accordance with our professional, legal and data protection responsibilities.
RECORDS
Arc keeps appropriate clinical records to support the safe and effective provision of therapy. These records are kept securely and access is limited to those who are authorised to see them.
You have rights in relation to information held about you. Further information about how Arc collects, stores and uses personal information is available on request.
COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS
We welcome feedback about your experience of Arc, including compliments, concerns and complaints. Feedback helps us understand what we are doing well and where we may need to improve.
If you have a concern about any aspect of our service, we encourage you to let us know. Wherever possible, we will try to understand what has happened and resolve concerns openly, fairly and respectfully.
If you wish to make a formal complaint, Arc has a Complaints and Duty of Candour Policy which explains how your complaint will be considered and responded to. Information about how to make a complaint is available on request.
HOW DOES EMDR WORK?
(Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing)
EMDR is a psychological therapy that can help people who continue to be affected by distressing or traumatic experiences. Sometimes an experience can remain particularly vivid or emotionally charged, so that reminders in the present continue to bring back thoughts, feelings, images or physical reactions associated with what happened.
EMDR uses a structured therapeutic approach to help the person process these experiences in a way that reduces their emotional intensity and allows them to become more integrated with other memories. During parts of EMDR therapy, the therapist may use alternating left-right stimulation, such as guided eye movements, sounds or tapping.
EMDR is not appropriate or necessary for everyone who comes to Arc. Where trauma-related difficulties are an important part of what someone is experiencing, our initial assessment helps us consider together whether EMDR, another therapeutic approach, or a combination of approaches may be most helpful.
EMDR is recommended by NICE as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in appropriate circumstances.
The original EMDR light bar,
funded by Awards for All in 2014
