Insight from Youth Talk’s expert clinical supervisors.
Visiting a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) is a bit like having a teacher or personal trainer. They’re going to tell you what to do and recommend you try things that could help. They can even ask you to do homework which you’ll bring back and discuss with them so they can celebrate your successes or figure out how you might do things differently if they didn’t go quite as planned.
It’s more advice-based and your therapist will expect you to take on more of an active ‘doing’ role. CBT is a good therapy if you want strategies to try out. It requires you to face your fears with action.


A psychodynamic therapist will take on a very different role. Your therapist will follow you initially – not lead you. They will aim to get alongside you and see the world the way you see it. Your counsellor will try and figure out where you are on your mental health journey and join you there – whatever that looks like.
The relationship between a psychotherapist and the young person they’re helping is crucial – it’s like having someone who will keep you company through the hard things you have to face.
At Youth Talk, we specialise in Psychodynamic talking therapies.
Counselling at Youth Talk
Our Youth Talk counsellors analyse the problem; they don’t give advice about how to solve it. Because, in their expert view, they assume that if the person we’re supporting could see it the way they do, then that young person would give themselves the right advice.
Psychodynamic counselling is about self-realisation. Our counsellors aren’t going to tell the young people they’re helping what to do but encourage and help them to find their own solutions.
At Youth Talk we pride ourselves in providing the best possible mental health support to young people in St Albans and surrounding areas. We’re determined that every young person has a safe place to talk in confidence – whatever’s on their mind.
If you know a young person who you think would benefit from our counselling service, encourage them to self-refer themselves for counselling today.
Youth Talk is here and we are listening.
‘Psychodynamic counselling is about understanding. I think it’s quite hard to believe that something so simple will work: listening, understanding and sharing – so that two minds are looking at the same picture. To say something out loud and have the other person truly listen and receive what’s being said is a powerful thing. Sharing and talking really can and does change how we feel about the thoughts in our head.‘

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