what is psychotherapy?

psychotherapy is a deeper process which happens over a longer term and addresses patterns developed in the past, often set early in life.

a psychotherapist will have engaged in weekly psychotherapy themselves over a period of at least 4 years

psychotherapy clients have often experienced adverse events as children or young people such as

physical, sexual, and emotional abuse
emotional and physical neglect
living with a family member with mental health or substance use disorders
witnessing domestic violence
sudden separation from a loved one
poverty
discrimination
violence in the community

adults who experienced any of these will also probably have developmental deficits; developmental tasks which could not be completed at the appropriate time; they may be unable to identify and manage emotions; may struggle to regulate themselves; may be hostile in relationships or shrink from them; may not think well of themselves; or have a good sense of who they are.

psychotherapy helps clients to

process experiences that could not be processed at the time (trauma) because there was no one there for them who was emotionally intelligent and attuned to them
explore their relationship patterns
develop a balance of nurture and structure in their life
identify feelings, needs and wants
be more self-focussed if they are pre-occupied with others and less self-focussed if they are pre-occupied with themselves
learn how to set boundaries in relationships to protect themselves
strengthen their Adult ego state so are less affected by old, unhelpful parent messages and less likely to tumble into old, unhelpful patterns of behaviour

working contract

therapeutic process: i carry out an initial assessment interview to see if we both feel we can work together. We then agree on a specific number of sessions. At the end of this we jointly assess our progress and decide whether further sessions will be helpful. If we cannot work together wherever possible I will assist you by providing alternative contacts.

sessions: are weekly at a regular time; they last for fifty minutes (or 1 hour for couples). If you are late arriving for a session we will terminate at the usual time to allow me to fulfil my other appointments for the day.

contact: I have a telephone answering machine. If I need to contact you, I just leave my name and number. If this is not acceptable please let me know.

confidentiality: I treat all information disclosed to me by you as confidential. However, if I believe that you are in danger of harming yourself or others, or that a child is at risk, I reserve the right to inform outside agencies but would not do, wherever possible, without discussing this with you first. If you disclose information about certain criminal or terrorist offences I have a professional obligation to tell outside agencies without informing you first.