How counselling works

 

The therapeutic relationship
Each therapeutic relationship is as unique as the individuals within it, and everyone will come to counselling with slightly different hopes and needs. Something that applies to every relationship, however, is that counselling is collaborative work, requiring an investment from both therapist and client. 

I see it as my role to create a safe, supportive space where you are able to talk freely about any experiences and feelings that are causing you pain or preventing you from living life as you would like. 

As we explore your inner world together, my aim is never to judge or advise, but rather to understand how you experience life, to help you to identify and challenge ways of being that no longer meet your needs, and to explore emerging new possibilities as you gain a deeper understanding of how you would like to live your life going forward. 


 

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My training and approach

I have trained primarily as an existential therapist and my approach is informed by existential philosophy. This means that I am interested in your unique experience of life, the meaning you assign to it, the personal values that can anchor you and give you purpose and direction and the very real limitations, both individual and universal, that we all need to acknowledge in order to feel at peace with ourselves in a busy and demanding world.

I have also undertaken training in person-centred therapy, psychodynamic therapy and CBT, which I will draw upon when I feel they will be beneficial. 

My own experience

Having benefited from personal therapy myself - before, during and after my own training - I believe one of the most empowering aspects of therapy is how it can awaken us to the often restrictive stories we have been telling ourselves, and to alternative ways of engaging with the world.



With the support of an empathic fellow human alongside us, it seems we are more able to honestly confront the issues that have been negatively impacting our lives and to bring into view a broader perspective on aspects of life, or our experience of them, that had seemed narrow or fixed for so long.

How counselling can help

Once you know and accept yourself more fully, you may start to experience changes in how you think, feel and respond to both the challenges and opportunities life presents. 

​Some people also find that relationships with others start to become deeper and more meaningful - something that is hugely important to many of us in order to have the best quality of life.