What happens in a session?
We talk! Well actually, you talk. You can bring any issue that is worrying you, something that has developed since we last spoke or your reaction to some thinking, action, or reading etc I don’t know you in any other context so I have no preconceived ideas about you. I hope that I will offer you a safe space where you feel able to say whatever needs to be said without judgement .Then together we can explore your reactions, maybe your past experiences that are shaping your reactions etc and notice what is happening for you in your world.
How does it help?
We don’t often have the opportunity to sit with someone who is totally listening to us and there just for us. It becomes a deep and significant relationship like no other and is entirely for you. They say “you can’t change what you don’t know” so this is a chance to see what you know and how you can change things, hopefully ,for the better so that your quality of life improves and you come to a deeper understanding of the gifted and valuable person you really are ~ even if that is deep down at the moment!
How do I contact you?
If you have read my information and also looked at the advertising/information given by other therapists (eg on Counselling-Directory.org) and are happy that it is the right time for you to proceed with Therapy you can either:
- Contact me via this form briefly outlining your issue and why you think you need help, when you are available etc. I will reply your message and then you can contact me by phone.
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- Phone me on 07963 464227. We will have a brief chat, & arrange a time and date that suits us both.
How long will Therapy take?
Short-term therapy is usually 10-15 sessions and tackles one specific problem. Long term/ open ended work is entered into by agreement and suggests that there are a number of issues to be considered or that are interlinked. Or that we just want to be free to explore things as they arise and not be confined by a time scale. In this case we will review work regularly and when nearing an end agree together a final date. (Usually leaving a minimum of 4 weeks to conclude)
What's the Difference Counselling/Psychotherapy?
There is huge confusion around the terms counselling, therapy ,and psychotherapy amongst practitioners so it’s no wonder the general public gets confused. So here is my very rough guide.
The short version:
Counselling is a talk therapy offered by people who have a little/ a lot of training and a little/ a lot of experience. There is a huge variety and mostly the costs will reflect experience and qualifications.
HINT: look for the Logo & people offering at least BACP (British Assoc of Counsellors& Psychotherapists) membership . This means that they are accountable for their work to a professional body. Counselling costs £10-£35
Therapy: this term covers a huge range of services including massage, nails & and beauty! Therapy is about caring. Some counsellors will therefore call themselves therapists .
Psychotherapists: are highly trained practitioners, usually to & beyond Masters level, but again the term can be misused so do check.
HINT: again look for the Logo & people offering professional membership with UKCP and UKCP validated training.. Psychotherapy costs: £45- £120+
MY THERAPEUTIC PHILOSOPHY
I am an Integrative Psychotherapist.
A true Integrative approach is hard to define as it depends a lot on the individual practitioner.
My Integrative approach developed out of my teacher training and appreciation for how people develop through life stages and the effects of traumatic incidences and so draws on some aspects of psychodynamic & developmental theories.
My spirituality helps me see people as complex and “more than,” acknowledging body, soul and spirit and my belief that humans are social and deeply relational beings looking for meaning, wholeness and belonging. So, my model is strongly relational and developmentally orientated. I believe that our intra-psychic and interpersonal worlds develop from our earliest moments. Problems arise when our relational needs are not met.
I therefore adopt relational theories of early development which reference the importance of the care-giver/ child dyad. From Bowlby (1969) I understand the importance of attachment styles.
Fundamentally relational, I view the client/ therapist relationship being co-created with both client and therapist contributing to the relationship.
MY PERSONAL VALUES & PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS.
In my opinion, Spirituality, as a concept broader than religion, brings a dimension to life that encourages a sense of purpose and meaning, sacredness and awe, mission, altruism, idealism and change (Elkin, 1988).
Our journey therefore, becomes about choices for which we are each responsible, finding our own subjective truths along the way. I also believe that we all have potential for wholeness and good and the ability to change -within the limitations of our culture and our humanity.
I believe that as social and relational beings we are also motivated by deep emotional needs for relational intimacy, to know and to be known; to make sense of our lives and find meaning. Without meaning we lose our motivation to live (Frankl, 1955).
In being loved and affirmed we move towards self- realisation, self- awareness and the self- responsibility which is self- actualisation (Guntrip, 2001: 194). Receiving
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