Languages

• English

Other concerns & issues I deal with

SOME COMMON WORRIES ABOUT COUNSELLING/PSYCHOTHERAPY

·“Counselling and psychotherapy is only for people who have something ‘wrong’ with them... those who are ‘cracking up’, or are ‘too weak’ to cope on their own”.

Some people who see a practitioner do so because they feel distressed and want some help working through a particular crisis or specific difficulties or anxieties. Others seek a practitioner simply because they want to understand themselves better and explore where they’re at both in their lives and relationships. Whatever the reason, counselling and psychotherapy is about living in a more satisfying way. Far from being ‘weak’ or having something ‘wrong’ with them, people who seek counselling and psychotherapy are often (though they may not feel it) ‘strong’, ‘healthy’ and responsible enough to recognise that it is only human to have needs, desires and limitations. People are often surprised to learn that many practitioners themselves make a commitment to seeking counselling and psychotherapy.

·“My problems are trivial.., they aren’t serious enough to see a practitioner... I’d be wasting your time”.

No problem is trivial or too small: there doesn’t even have to he a problem as such, and if there is, then it makes better sense to seek a practitioner before a problem gets too big. You don’t have to wait until you’re ‘cracking up’ before you see a practitioner.

·“I’d like to see a practitioner because I don’t feel satisfied with my lift but I don’t know why... something feels wrong but I don’t know what, so there’s no point in going for counselling or psychotherapy because I wouldn’t know where or how to begin”.

Such a feeling is common and is a valid reason for seeing a practitioner. Counselling and psychotherapy can help you make sense of these feelings and help you explore ways in which life can become more satisfying.

·“I’d like to see a practitioner but I’m better off than most people... I’d feel like a fake... like I was being self-indulgent. I’d be taking time away from someone who needed it more."

People sometimes compare their lives with that of others and feel that, because they have it ‘easy’ and others have it ‘hard’, they don’t deserve or have a right to be heard, even though deep down they may not feel as contented with their lives as they would like to be. Counselling and psychotherapy is for anyone who wants to experience a more satisfying life regardless of whether life’s ‘easy’ or ‘hard’: no person is more or less deserving than another and everyone has a right to counselling and psychotherapy.

·“Counselling and psychotherapy is based on male theories that reflect white, middle-class, non-disabled, heterosexual assumptions: those of us who are different from these groups would be judged accordingly and expected to conform”

As someone from various ‘marginalised groups’ myself I can identify with this worry and am committed to an approach which affirms people’s differences and which recognises that the ‘power structures’ within society advantage some groups and disadvantage others. I’m keen, therefore, to make counselling and psychotherapy available to all, particularly people whose differences are undermined rather than celebrated.

·“Only people who don’t get help and support from their family, friends and colleagues need counselling and psychotherapy”

Such help and support from others is vital if you have it and counselling and psychotherapy does not in any way seek either to undervalue or compete with it. The help and support that counselling and psychotherapy offers, however, is different because it provides additional security, reliability, competence, impartiality and a confidentiality that is often difficult to find elsewhere.

·“You can only get counselling or psychotherapy if your GP refers you, but I wouldn’t want anyone to know I was having counselling or psychotherapy’

You do not have to be referred for counselling or psychotherapy through your GP or any other professional: you simply make an appointment yourself directly with me, so no one has to know unless you want to tell them.

·“I would like to recommend counselling and psychotherapy to someone I know but it might offend them: they might fret I’m suggesting there’s something ‘wrong’ with them, or that I’m trying to get them off my back because I can’t be bothered with their problems. So, I play the part mys4f all I have to do is listen and be understanding”.

People who feel responsible for others sometimes feel under pressure to act as “counsellors” or “psychotherapists” themselves when in fact they could be serving them better if they suggested a trained, qualified and experienced practitioner. Such recommendations reflect an understanding that counselling and psychotherapy is more than just a ‘sympathetic ear’ (important though that is) and can be an expression of responsible caring and support rather than a lack of it.

Concerns & issues I deal with

• Aggression
• Anger Management
• Anxiety
• Disorder
• Bereavement
• Boredom
• Bullying
• Childhood Issues
• Chronic Disease
• Codependency
• Couple Relationships
• Cultural Issues
• Depression
• Disability
• Dissociation
• Divorce
• Ethics
• Exhaustion
• Family Problems
• Fatigue
• Fear
• Gay Issues
• Grief
• Inertia
• Integration of Experience
• Isolation
• Leadership
• Low Self Confidence
• Low Self Esteem
• Manipulative Behaviour
• Marriage (Marital Relations)
• Meaningless
• Melancholia
• Menopause
• Mental Health Problems
• Midlife Crisis
• Morality
• Negative Thoughts
• Obsessions
• Panic Attacks
• Paranoia
• Perfectionism
• Personal Growth
• Personal Relationships
• Physical Illness
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Race
• Relationship Problems
• Religion
• Repetitive Negative Patterns
• Sadness
• Same Sex Relationships
• Self Determination
• Self Development
• Separation
• Shame
• Shyness
• Spirituality
• Stress
• Stress Management
• Suicidal Thoughts
• Terminal Illness
• Tiredness
• Trauma
• Unresolved Issues
• Work Stress
• Emotional Abuse

Therapy Provides

• Counselling
• Psychotherapy

• £25 to £60 per hour