Why have therapy?
“I just don’t want to feel like this anymore”
Sometimes there are times in our lives where we just don’t feel happy, or more extremely we can feel so troubled that it can affect our whole quality of life. We might not be getting on with certain people in our lives...we might have behaviours that are not making us happy...we might feel frightened or anxious much of the time...we can't get to sleep...or we just wake up in the morning not wanting to face the day.
Talking to a professional therapist can really help unravel the problems, make sense of how and why we feel as we do, help lessen the distress and despair, create solutions, and develop greater self-awareness, self-esteem and confidence. However, it can take courage and bravery to undertake therapy/counselling because it can feel so daunting to approach a therapist. This is completely understandable.
I do really empathise with how hard it can be to approach a professional for psychological support, and it is absolutely my intention to be really approachable and non judgemental. I am a very experienced psychotherapist and counsellor, both within the NHS (almost 20 years) and privately, and I have worked with many individuals, of very different backgrounds, each presenting with their own unique challenges and distress. I tend to encourage clients to explore their current situation and how it developed, to express how they feel, and to develop ideas about how to improve things. I use a number of different ‘models’ of therapy, hopefully tailoring a style to suit the client and their problems. I will always help the individual develop clarity about what it is they want from therapy … even if someone says “I just don’t want to feel like this anymore”.
I usually start with a telephone call to see if we would be likely to suit each other and to discuss availability. We would arrange a first session during which confidentiality is explained, relevant details are described, and a collaborative discussion about the therapy, and how to structure it. I can work short-term or longer-term, with either a specific or generalised goal, and I can see people either weekly of fortnightly (to begin with). I aspire to be kind, warm, informative, non-judgemental, open and genuine, with an intense desire to provide a safe environment and a collaborative style, that enables the individual (as much as possible) to find ways of being free of the psychological distress that brought them to therapy.
I work extremely professionally, following all protocols as laid down by the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, which also means I undertake monthly supervision and regularly update my training and review relevant research. I am also a trained and experienced clinical supervisor, which means I support other psychotherapists in their work.