Complete healing, not just symptom control

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the most extensively researched psychological treatment in existence, with thousands of randomised controlled trials supporting its effectiveness across depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, eating disorders, and addiction. CBT is based on the principle that thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are interconnected - and that systematically identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours produces lasting improvements in mental health and wellbeing.
At Athena, CBT is delivered in both individual and group formats by clinical psychologists trained to postgraduate level in CBT theory and practice. For addiction, CBT focuses specifically on identifying triggers and high-risk situations, developing coping strategies for cravings, challenging addiction-maintaining beliefs, and building problem-solving skills. For mental health conditions, CBT targets condition-specific patterns of thinking and behaviour with structured, skills-building sessions.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
DBT was developed by Dr Marsha Linehan and has strong evidence for borderline personality disorder, chronic suicidality, self-harm, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and conditions involving severe emotional dysregulation. DBT combines cognitive-behavioural strategies with mindfulness and acceptance, organised around four core skill sets: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
Athena offers DBT skills training groups and individual DBT therapy as part of its inpatient, day care, and outpatient programmes.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP is the gold-standard, first-line psychological treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), with a decades-long evidence base supporting its superiority to medication alone and to non-specific therapies. ERP involves systematic, graduated exposure to obsessional triggers while refraining from compulsive responses - allowing the anxiety response to habituate and the compulsive behaviour to lose its perceived necessity.
Athena's therapists are specifically trained in the delivery of ERP using protocols aligned with NICE guidelines. ERP is also used for specific phobias, health anxiety, and OCD-spectrum conditions including Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Hoarding Disorder.

Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT)
IPSRT is a specialised psychotherapy for Bipolar Disorder with strong evidence from multiple randomised controlled trials. Developed by Dr Ellen Frank at the University of Pittsburgh, IPSRT combines interpersonal psychotherapy techniques with strategies for stabilising social rhythms - the daily patterns of sleep, activity, and social interaction that, when disrupted, can trigger manic or depressive episodes in people with bipolar disorder.
Athena uses IPSRT as a core component of its Bipolar Disorder treatment programme, alongside appropriate pharmacotherapy. Patients learn to identify and protect their social rhythms, manage interpersonal triggers for mood episodes, and grieve the losses associated with the illness while building toward meaningful recovery goals.

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
Medication-Assisted Treatment refers to the use of FDA and CDSCO-approved medications alongside counselling and behavioural therapies to treat substance use disorders. MAT is supported by an overwhelming body of evidence as the most effective approach for opioid use disorder and a powerful adjunct in alcohol use disorder treatment.

For Opioid Use Disorder
Buprenorphine (Suboxone/Subutex) and methadone are the primary MAT medications for opioid use disorder. Both reduce cravings, prevent withdrawal, and block the effects of other opioids - significantly reducing illicit drug use, overdose risk, criminal activity, and transmission of blood-borne viruses. The evidence for MAT in opioid use disorder is among the strongest in addiction medicine.

For Alcohol Use Disorder
Naltrexone (oral and extended-release injectable), acamprosate, and disulfiram are the principal pharmacological treatments for alcohol use disorder. Naltrexone reduces the reward response to alcohol and reduces craving. Acamprosate stabilises the neurological dysregulation associated with alcohol withdrawal. Disulfiram creates aversive reactions to alcohol consumption as a deterrent. Athena's addiction physicians select and titrate MAT medications based on individual clinical assessment.

Lithium Therapy
Lithium is the original mood stabiliser and remains, after more than 70 years of clinical use, one of the most evidence-supported treatments in all of psychiatry. It is the first-line pharmacological treatment for Bipolar Disorder (both Type I and Type II), with evidence for its effectiveness in reducing the frequency and severity of both manic and depressive episodes. Importantly, lithium also has strong evidence for reducing suicidality in patients with mood disorders - an effect not consistently demonstrated by other mood stabilisers.
At Athena, lithium is prescribed and monitored by consultant psychiatrists according to established protocols. Regular blood level monitoring, kidney function tests, and thyroid function tests are conducted throughout the treatment course. Patients receive thorough education about lithium's mechanism, the importance of consistent use, and how to manage common side effects.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative, person-centred counselling approach with extensive evidence for increasing treatment engagement and reducing ambivalence about change in addiction and mental health treatment. Developed by William Miller and Stephen Rollnick, MI is used at Athena throughout the treatment process - particularly in early treatment and at points of ambivalence - to strengthen patients' own motivation for change rather than imposing it externally.