Some people have described the psychotherapy or counselling process as being a bit like peeling an onion or gently un-packing a Russian Doll! If you keep going for long enough you can eventually reach the centre, or the core issue.

Whichever you choose, both psychotherapy and counselling can offer you a unique relationship that holds within it the potential for you to make important changes in your life.

At our first meeting, I would want to know more about what you would like to work on, and some background on your experiences and history.

If you decided to go ahead, both psychotherapy and counselling would involve talking about your problems, and helping you to find the right way forward.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

If you choose to undertake psychotherapy it’s possible that the problems you are looking to resolve have built up over time, perhaps over a period of years.

For everyone, making the choice to go into therapy is an important first step in acknowledging problems and making a commitment to resolving them.

If a trusting relationship between the psychotherapist and the client can be built up over time, and if there is a genuine willingness to take responsibility for our part in the difficulties we have, then there’s a good chance that psychotherapy can help.

This is why psychotherapy is usually conducted on a long-term basis. This gives the time that is required to be able to explore, under the right conditions and in sufficient depth, the problems and difficulties that have built up over a long period.

Generally, psychotherapy is based on talking to the therapist, but it can also include other ways of working, including creative approaches such as visualisation and meditation, and the use of art materials. The way a psychotherapist works very much depends on how they have been trained and the approach they have chosen to take.

You can find out more about the way I work and the issues I work with by going to: 'Services'.

COUNSELLING

Like psychotherapy, counselling provides an opportunity for you to talk through, explore and express your problems, thoughts and feelings in a safe and confidential setting.

Counselling can be solution and goal-orientated, enabling you to both discover practical ways of taking responsibility for immediate difficulties, and ways of realising your aims and objectives.

Counselling usually takes place over a short-term fixed period, but usually for a minimum of 12 weeks. During that time, there may be a review point to assess whether or not the work is on-track and therefore whether more sessions are needed before the agreed end.