Psychotherapy
What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a form of talking therapy designed to help people with various emotional difficulties and mental illnesses. Psychotherapy can help eliminate or control troubling symptoms so a person can better function and find ever-increasing well-being and healing.
As a psychotherapist I aim to build a safe, accepting and trusting relationship with you to encourage you to talk about your childhood relationships with your parents and other significant people. I believe that some psychological problems are rooted in the unconscious mind, meaning that experiences from the past can influence the thoughts, emotions, and behaviour of a person later in life. During the session, I will encourage you to talk about your experiences and use techniques such as free association, creative activities, or dream analysis to identify repressed feelings or conflicts that might be affecting you now. The aim is to bring these to the front of your mind to allow any negative repressed feelings or trauma to be dealt with.
Anyone can benefit from psychotherapy. Talking to a trained professional can help you explore your concerns, thoughts and feelings and improve your mental health or well-being.
You may feel that what you’re experiencing isn’t severe enough to get help or feel unsure about psychotherapy and the kind of support it can offer. Still, anyone can benefit from becoming more aware of their worldview, their feelings, and the reasons underlying them. Psychotherapy can help you understand yourself better and help you develop the skills and behaviours to manage your difficulties more effectively.
What can psychotherapy help with?
You don’t need to be in crisis or diagnosed with mental illness to benefit from psychotherapy. It can help you understand your emotions and deal with emotional or mental health problems such as:
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Anxiety -
Feeling like you can’t cope -
Problems dealing with stress or recovering from stressful situations -
Lack of confidence or extreme shyness -
Coping with the effects of abuse -
Feelings of depression, sadness, grief, or emptiness -
Extreme mood swings -
Difficulty making or sustaining relationships or repeatedly becoming involved in unsatisfying or destructive relationships -
Sexual problems -
Difficulties coming to terms with losses such as bereavement, divorce, or unemployment -
Eating disorders -
Self-harm -
Obsessive behaviour -
Panic attacks and phobias.
How will psychotherapy help me?
I will work with you to think about what has happened to you, not what is wrong with you; the focus is on compassionate listening and understanding rather than making a diagnosis. Psychotherapy recognises the lasting impact of trauma. This is when stressful events you have experienced or witnessed made you feel unsafe, helpless or vulnerable.
Psychotherapy can be a powerful, life-changing experience that can help you improve your mental health, overcome social or emotional challenges, and fulfil your potential. During the sessions I can support you to:
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Express your feelings and process them in a safe and supportive relationship -
Gain deeper insight into the issues you face -
Talk about things in a confidential environment that you might not feel or be able to discuss with anyone else -
Find better ways to cope with feelings and fears -
Change the way you think and behave to improve your mental and emotional well-being -
Improve relationships in your life, including with yourself -
Make sense of any clinical diagnoses you have had by understanding what has happened to you -
Heal from trauma -
Learn to communicate better and tolerate differences in yourself and others.