About Psychotherapy and Counselling
Counselling and Psychotherapy are both used to treat psychological and emotional distress. The line between counselling and psychotherapy is not clear cut and the two often overlap. Generally speaking Counselling tends to be shorter term and deals with a specific issue while Psychotherapy is usually longer term and is concerned with uncovering deeper influences- often from childhood- that have helped shape us. They have been called the 'talking cures' because they are both based on a dialogue between you and the therapist.
"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes"Marcel Proust
The Labyrinth on Little Solsbury, BathHowever the idea of talking to someone you don't know about your problems can be a daunting one. Yet whatever the nature of your distress therapy can provide a non-judgemental and confidential space in which to talk about and begin to explore your present situation and the nature of the difficulties you are facing. In the process of telling your story, which is individual to you, you may gradually begin to develop an understanding of your history and the circumstances and influences that have shaped you and the path in life you have taken to this point. This in turn may also shed light on the origins of some of your current struggles. Together we will examine the issues that lie beneath these difficulties.
What happens in our sessions will vary according to your needs. At the beginning we may simply talk together about your present situation and current experience, your feelings and your inner conflicts. The quality of the relationship between us is central to the success of the work and so we may well explore this relationship as our dynamic can offer a useful reflection on your way of relating to others and it also provides an opportunity to try out any changes or developments. The increased self-awareness and fresh discoveries that come through this mutual exploration in the therapy can give you a wider choice of how to relate to yourself and others and can transform your behaviour patterns and self-limiting beliefs.
"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attititude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way"Victor Frankl Exploring the past is an important aspect of the work and although we are not just products of our past, our early conditioning does have a profound effect on who we are, how we see ourselves and thus how we behave. The process may include grieving and healing old and new wounds and learning to accept that which cannot be fully healed.
The therapeutic process essentially focuses on what is true and important for you and is not a place where your behaviour will be judged as evidence as to your personal value as a human being.
Ultimately however, the most important aspect for me of being a therapist, is meeting you empathically wherever you are and establishing a relationship in which I can accompany you on your journey wherever that takes you. I believe that we all have the capacity to lead fullfilling and meaningful lives and the ability to create full and satisfying relationships. Therapy can be the means to uncover what stands in the way of you doing this and can help you discover meaning and purpose in your life.
