My approach
I work psychoanalytically. This means that in this talking therapy we will give attention to the whole of you including your past, present and future, your conscious and your unconscious worlds. The connections that emerge between your words, thoughts and feelings will give the clues we need. Don't worry if you don't know exactly how to present the question you want to answer; we'll work on it together.
It may be that in the past you developed patterns of thought and behaviour to cope with feelings that were difficult, perhaps in response to events that are now forgotten. Or you might remember every detail of the events but have found ways of protecting yourself from the emotions that went with them. These patterns would have fulfilled a purpose then but have become inflexible or harmful to you now, and by finding their traces in your adult self we can explore what you need to keep, and what you want to change.
It is important that you feel safe in experiencing these aspects of yourself; I provide a calm, containing space and work sensitively to help you discover them. We will work at your pace and meet once, twice or more times a week, depending on what you wish to do.
You may not know at the outset what, exactly, you want to achieve, and any number of reasons could have brought you to therapy in the first place. It is important to remember that this will be your own therapy, and unlike anybody else's. A particular problem or issue in your professional, creative or family life could be causing you distress, or things may be not quite right in some way that you can’t define; motivations are as individual as people. As your therapist I do not tell you about yourself, but listen to what you tell me that you may not be hearing. I have worked with depression, anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, family issues and abuse, sexual and racial harassment, the aftermath of assault by members of the armed forces and the police, gender dysphoria, artistic and creative blocking, addiction and self-harm to name only a few, and each client has brought their own particularity to the work.
