Psychotherapy 

This member has completed UKCP Covid-19 Online Working Guidance

My psychotherapy practice is in Kingswood Bristol and Radstock NESomerset.  I currently have space to take on new clients.

What is Psychotherapy?  

People seek out therapy for very different reasons. Some people choose counselling because of an immediate crisis that they want to discuss in confidence, just getting a problem aired can be beneficial and feel like a weight has been lifted.  Sometimes people want to develop themselves and understand patterns of behaviour.  Feeling stuck in these patterns can effect your sense of wellbeing at work, in relationships and with family.  In therapy you can reflect on your thoughts and feelings.  This deepens your understanding of yourself, releasing old patterns that are no longer useful.  This can lead to a feeling of freedom and fulfillment.

Psychotherapy and Counselling allow us to be listened to and to explore our inner world in confidence. Sharing our thoughts and feelings with others is a basic human need, when we have not been heard in the past especially during difficult times, this can develop as a mistrust of others and we can develop a ‘false self’ to cope in relationships.  

“Trauma is not what happens to us. But what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness” –
Peter Levine  

Over years this feeling of isolation from not being our true selves with others can become a way of life, and can lead to recurring difficulties in relationships and create other symptoms such as depression, addiction, anxiety or other mental health difficulties. Psychotherapy can help to explore these deeper themes, so that you can eventually feel more connected to others, and more fulfilled in your life.  

How long?  

There is often a long waiting list for free 'talking therapies' offered through charities or the NHS, and this can be short-term.  When sessions are time limited, you may find it hard to open up and trust your therapist in a short space of time .  Often there are underlying reasons that may surface during initial sessions that you may want to work on, but that can take time to get to the root of.  That is why I offer open-ended sessions, so that there is no time pressure to end therapy.  Exploring deeper themes and creating lasting changes may only take place when a trusting therapeutic relationship has developed.