About Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy, which is often referred to as “counselling” or simply “therapy”, offers a safe and confidential space where you can speak about difficult personal issues with a qualified professional. The kind of therapy that I practice is called psychodynamic psychotherapy and it aims at helping people gain a greater understanding of their present challenges and overcoming them.
In the sessions we will understand in greater depth the problems you are facing today in the context of your past patterns and relationships. We will unpick the reasons why you might be facing the current difficulties and explore different ways forward. We will do this at your own pace and without judgement. You will have the freedom to speak about anything that is troubling you in our sessions or anything on your mind (what is called “free association”) and, with my support, we will unpick it and help you understand and face the challenge.
As a psychodynamic therapist I will also be tuned into any unconscious clues that help us to understand more of your inner world and your ways of relating to others. Some people bring their dreams to the sessions which can prove to be very effective for accessing unconscious thoughts.
Psychodynamic therapy is particularly helpful to people who wish to understand themselves and their difficulties more deeply, rather than only seeking symptom control. It is an open-ended kind of therapy, meaning that we won’t set a number of sessions at the start of the work but rather, the work will be ongoing until you feel you are ready to end our work together.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy has proven effective for a wide range of issues including:
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Relationship difficulties
• Work-related issues
• Sexual problems
• Issues with self-esteem and self-image
• Trauma
• Parenting and family issues
Initial Consultation
Making the decision to start therapy may feel difficult for some people. You may not be sure this is right for you and you may have questions about what therapy is like. Finding a therapist that you feel comfortable sharing your difficulties with is important. This is why we first meet for one or two sessions for the Initial Consultation.
The Initial Consultation is an opportunity for you to meet me and get a sense of what therapy is like. We will speak about what brings you to therapy, what you hope to achieve and we will discuss whether weekly psychotherapy sessions can be helpful to you, or whether a different kind of help would be more beneficial. It is also an opportunity for you to ask questions or share any concerns you have about starting therapy but it will also give you an idea of what psychodynamic psychotherapy is like.
Ongoing sessions
If we decide to start therapy, we would then agree a set day and time and meet every week. Meeting weekly will help keep the momentum of the therapy and make you feel supported as we unravel what is troubling you. In some cases, people prefer meeting twice a week, which is also possible. Our sessions will last 50 minutes.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is at the heart of building a trusting relationship. Our conversations will be confidential and this confidentiality of course continues to apply after you have ended your therapy. Circumstances when confidentiality may be breached are extremely rare and we will speak about those in the first session.
I am bound to the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling & Psychotherapy as elaborated by the BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy).
