Individual Therapy
Individual therapy may be undertaken for perhaps six main reasons.
The first is in order to explore yourself, for personal development.
The second is to deal with a particular situation, such as a stressful
period at work, a relationship break-up, a bereavement, or the end of
a relationship. The third is because you have a sense that your life
is not working out, and you would like to understand the situation more
and see what can be done about it. The fourth is to deal with some sort
of emotional difficulty such as a tendency to worry, anxiety or depression.
The fifth is in order to come to terms with your past- with for example,
emotional, sexual, or physical abuse, a bereavement in childhood, or
a difficult childhood in general. The sixth is to overcome a particular
habit, such as alcohol or drug problems, a tendency towards obsessive-compulsive
behaviours, or suffering from phobias. In practice, consideration of
one of these aspects can lead onto others.
I also offer individual therapy for psychosexual and relationship difficulties
and for difficulties around weight and eating disorders. The former
includes sexual addiction.
Another distinction is between time-limited therapy and open-ended
therapy. In the first, the therapist and client work together for an
agreed number of sessions- say, for six or twelve sessions. In the latter,
the client continues to come for as long, or as brief, a period as he
or she chooses, evaluating the right time to stop for himself or herself.
I offer both types of therapy. My own view is that very good results
can be achieved by the first method but the second allows for the exploration
of deeper matters and my guess would be that it enables a client to
make more fundamental changes.
In the former kind of therapy, it helps to define a realisable objective,
focus upon it and consciously work towards its achievement. The second
involves a more open and flowing kind of therapy. I work in both ways,
according to the wishes of the client. I very firmly believe that the
world of counselling and psychotherapy has been bedevilled by therapists
who try to impose their own idea of therapy upon their clients. I promise
to work with you to find a form of therapy which will, so far as possible,
evolve so it will be consistent with your character, situation, difficulties,
opportunities, objectives, wishes and preferences.
If counselling, psychotherapy or psychosexual and relationship therapy is for you, do not hesitate to make contact.