My approach to therapy
I work within a Gestalt framework. This is a mind and body existential / experiential approach to counselling and psychotherapy. Gestalt is a process where within the session you get to try things out so as to become more aware of how you think, feel and respond. This is done by way of dialogue, attunement, body work, two chair work, awareness exercises and visualisations. Furthermore, the therapeutic relationship is often key to the success of therapy as well as identifying what is happening in the wider environment – things you may not have thought about before and how they impact upon your life and way of living in the world.
My aim is to help you clarify your understanding of yourself and your life circumstances. This is the same for when you are coming to therapy with a crisis situation or you simply feel the need to talk.
I see therapy as a relationship where we both work together as equals, trying to understand how you see and experience yourself, others and the world you live in and around you. The overall aim is for you to become more in tune with yourself and your desires and also your limitations. This will open you up to engaging more fully with life and finding new opportunities for growth and change. The process will also help build up your self-esteem and resilience to better deal with future challenges.
For example – maybe you feel you don’t fit in and want to explore ways of connecting. Perhaps your past relationships with your family have been challenging, distressing or/and disconnected. Maybe this is causing you to feel lonely, depressed, to feel a sense of deep despair, isolation, unsupported and hurt. Therapy can help explore these deep feelings, these past experiences and help look at ways of managing your past and moving forward, towards something productive and useful for you. Aiming for you to become who you know you really are and how you want to live in the world. I have a strong interest in how our past childhood relationships impacts upon us today and how with sensitivity, knowledge, discussion, role play and perception these can be talked about and current conflicts faced and dealt with. I am also interested in alternative lifestyles, transitions and unorthodox employment engagements, the impact of boarding school and how these experiences impact on the Self. If you are experiencing something that I haven’t mentioned please do get in touch and we can discuss if I can meet your needs.
Depression
Anxiety
Low self-esteem
Panic attacks
Abuse
Loss and bereavement