What is Psychotherapy?

Treating mental health problems by talking with a trained therapist.

The terms psychotherapy and counselling are widely regarded as interchangeable. For me, the term psychotherapy indicates a certain level of training and a willingness to go deeper into the work with clients.

There are a number of different approaches to psychotherapy, all of which are variations on a common theme. The approach I take is broadly person-centred, although I also incorporate elements of some other approaches, such as Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy into my practice. At its heart, person-centred psychotherapy is non-invasive, non-medical, mindfully humane and just. It rejects the notion that people suffering difficulties with their mental health are ‘broken’ and need to be ‘fixed’; it refutes the idea that there is something ‘wrong’ with you. The person-centred approach recognizes and values each individual’s unique experience of life; it prizes that singularity and embraces each individual with a fresh humanity and tenderness every time.

Working from a person-centred perspective, I make no judgements about you or how you live your life. I see no value in wrapping up your experiencing of life in a convenient parcel of known ‘symptoms’ and giving them an arbitrary label. It feels important to meet each of my clients exactly as you are and how you perceive yourself to be.

Everything that emerges from your mind is significant. With your consent, and at your own pace, during our therapeutic dialogue we will embrace whatever materialises. We will listen to it carefully, because our emotions are always telling us something important.

It's not dangerous to think. And it’s never wrong to feel whatever we feel.
We are shaped by what we have experienced.

Psychotherapy is talking about all of this. And listening with empathy, warmth, unconditional acceptance and compassion.

Contact me to find out more or make an appointment.

Read what my clients say about their experience of working with me.