Therapy is the process of talking to a qualified professional to help identify and explore the challenges you are experiencing. Through a trusting relationship with your therapist, you can gain insight into yourself, bring about the change you want to see in your life and alleviate distressing thoughts and feelings.

Psychodynamic therapy (the type of therapy I practice) is based in the understanding that none of us is fully aware of our emotional patterns, our thought procsses, and the lens through which we view the world. Often the reason our minds can be unpleasant places to reside is because hidden conflicts are taking place within us, creating a turmoil we do not understand: anger at others that we cannot express gets turned inwards and becomes self-hatred; fears that have been dismissed become anxieties in situations that don’t appear to warrant them; the messages we are told in our upbringing become internalised ‘truths’ that mask our real desires.

By developing a trusting relationship with a therapist you can achieve a greater understanding of your patterns of thinking and feeling and how you came to be who you are. Once those inner struggles and conflicts are brought into the light of day you are able to make your own choices rather than feeling controlled by negative thoughts and feelings.

It is through greater understanding of yourself that change comes about. You can read more about therapy with me here.

How comfortable we feel in our own minds changes throughout our lives. We may experience periods of time where we feel at peace with ourselves, with the world, and with the people around us. But all of us will also experience times when our minds are not pleasant places to be, where we do not feel that we are in control of our lives and we are plagued by distress. We may experience anxiety, depression, low mood, low self-esteem.

Each person seeks therapy for their own unique reasons, but often what unites them is a sense that something needs to change, and that having a place where they can safely explore what that might look like is a good place to start.

At turning points, challenging times, and reflective moments in your life it can be hugely beneficial to have a person who is completely independent of your normal life proving a space that is just about you, where you can say exactly what you need to say (that unvoiced fear, that ‘crazy’ thought, that unexpressed emotion), without having to worry how the other person will react.

As a psychodynamic therapist I am experienced in helping my clients voice their inner worlds and understand themselves better. I will get to know you through listening to what is important to you, ask you questions and reflect back what I am hearing, linking your experience in therapy to what is going on in your life and what happened in your past. Together we will gain a shared understanding of who you are and how you came to be the way you are, and through this tackle the issues that are concerning you.

The predictable and frustrating answer is ‘it depends’. I would expect to work with my clients for at least six months, but most of my clients are long term and we will work together for a number of years. Genuine and lasting psychological change does not happen quickly. Our ways of thinking and emotional responses are the culmination of a lifetime of experience and therefore require time and space to identify and shift. For many people, simply having a place where they are listened to and cared for without judgement is a novel experience that can take some getting used to.

My work is open-ended, meaning that I do not enforce any time limits on my clients, but instead work with them to identify when they have achieved what they want from therapy, and to bring their therapy to a close.