About therapy

Many people feel unsure about what therapy is, and what it can offer. We will start with looking at what is troubling you now, what is frustrating you or areas of your life you are concerned about. Together we will try to make some sense and meaning from your experiences. The basic process is we sit together on a regular basis, and you say whatever is on your mind. From that chance to sit, to talk and to be heard, the relationship can grow, and I hope you will feel free to talk openly and to use the therapeutic space for your own growth and development.

Psychotherapy offers a unique space where you will find  a listening ear. A place to reflect and to think about what is troubling you. Psychotherapy can help you to feel less alone. You may find a place to overcome challenges, to try out new ways of relating, and to process painful or traumatic memories from the past.

I work primarily in a psychodynamic model, although I will tailor my approach to you and your needs. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is an analytically informed therapy from Freud’s original method developed over one hundred years ago. There have, of course been many later developments.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy explores you and your ways of relating- we think about defences, unconscious processes, ways you relate to others and the world, as well as self-defeating patterns of behaviour that may prevent you from living and more fulfilling life.

Psychotherapy is a slow and sometimes painful exploration of you; who you are, what you have been through, what your hopes and aspirations are.

The basic process is to sit together on a regular basis and for you to speak whatever is on your mind- the process of ‘Free-Association’. We can think together about whatever you bring may mean. You may want to bring dreams, or daydreams, images or recollections. We may think about situations, emotions, or relationships you are struggling with.

This therapy is not a ‘quick fix’, and I do not aim to provide answers or advice. The aim is to explore and to uncover the deeper meanings, hidden patterns that may lead to self-defeating behaviours or ways of relating. This, as you may imagine, can take time. Time to uncover, time to develop trust, time to build a therapeutic relationship to aid and assist you to change and grow.

The relationship between us is a central aspect of this approach- what is known as ‘the transference’- this is patterns from your earliest relationships which may be re-surfacing in your current relationships- including the relationship with me as your therapist.

Relationships are fundamental to our lives, and it is not just the obvious relationships- such as with partners, spouses, parents, siblings or children. We may think about the relationship you have to yourself, to work, to substances, to the environment, to wider society and its structures. All of these and more are things that may have shaped you, and towards which you may have difficulties or issues. These are all grist to the mill in psychotherapy.

Member of The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy