Why Therapy?

All of us are likely to experience times in our lives when things get on top of us and we find it difficult to cope. You do not need to have suffered a major trauma in order to benefit greatly from therapy. It can help at times when we are facing difficult changes or decisions or just feelings of being stuck and going nowhere. Alternatively, you may have suffered a loss, such as a bereavement or redundancy; a trauma such as an illness or injury to yourself or a loved one; be the victim of a crime; find yourself overwhelmed by daily life and unable to cope; feel stuck in depression or misery with no obvious way out; keep repeating unhealthy patterns in your relationships; or find yourself over-using alcohol, food or drugs to try and feel better. You may feel at a point of crisis that you feel has to be addressed urgently or simply be aware that you have been unhappy, depressed or dissatisfied for a while.
​
Talking things through and facing your feelings with a qualified therapist can be a very valuable way of understanding your emotions or negative behaviour and taking steps towards managing distress or unhappiness and working towards change and healing. Seeking help from a therapist is not weakness and is nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it is a sign of inner strength and an indication that you want to take better care of yourself with someone professionally qualified to help. We all need to take as much care of our mental health and well-being as we do of our physical selves. After all, psychological counselling is routinely offered to victims of trauma and is included in many health insurance schemes as society recognises the huge cost of ignoring mental stress.

​

There are many different kinds of therapy and it can be confusing to know which might be best for you. I practise mainly psychodynamic psychotherapy which places an emphasis on understanding the origins of the issues you bring to therapy, which typically have their roots in the past. Often painful feelings are deeply hidden in the unconscious mind and avoided by different kinds of defences that we use to avoid pain. Together we try to discover, unravel and understand these hidden emotions. I aim to help you to see where, how and why you repeat unhealthy or difficult patterns of behaviour and find ways to change, lift depression or anxiety, cope with trauma and distress and improve your mental well-being and your feelings about yourself. 

Amongst many other mental health and emotional difficulties, I can help with: