How do I work?

I offer a safe and supportive space in which the client will feel enabled to explore and gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their relationships with others. This can be Short-term solution focused counselling or Long-term psychotherapy.

1. Short-term solution focused counselling

You may initially consider 'short term solution focused counselling', as this can be for a fixed number of sessions, usually between 6 and 12.

In these sessions we may incorporate Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The purpose of CBT is to initially change the way people think about themselves and in turn, their environment. CBT emphasises the importance of the present and the future, as opposed to the past.

A flexible and creative approach is encouraged by CBT. CBT encourages independence and can help individuals find their own resources, learn to recognise and use their own wisdom and discover personal methods for self-help, which should ultimately lead to self-trust and capability for self-change.

2. Long-term psychotherapy

A psychodynamic approach is generally more appropriate in long term psychotherapy.

A psychodynamic approach looks at the lively and constantly active connections between different aspects of our personality. These connections are formed through past and present relationships with significant others, as we develop and grow. These relationships affect us both consciously and unconsciously and may affect how we relate to people and situations throughout our lives.

Working psychodynamically places much importance on how the past may influence the present, and how, in turn, patterns of behaviour from the past may manifest in all current relationships. It also acknowledges the existence of the unconscious and how powerfully we can be motivated by our unconscious wishes.

I often incorporate a combination of both CBT and a Psychodynamic approach into the sessions.

In order to decide which type of counselling is right for you I offer an introductory session. This is an opportunity for you to ask questions and to discuss what you would like to gain from counselling.

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