What kind of therapy?

There are lots of different labels that therapists use to describe what they do and the methods that they use. Two of the main headings are ‘Humanistic’ and ‘Psychodynamic’. These might sound a bit off-putting! Jargon isn’t always helpful, but I will explain a little: The humanistic approach is about facilitating a process of self-discovery and growth. It sees people as having an innate potential for this, and aims to help people in their own journey.

Psychodynamics is about understanding how we relate to each other and the world, not just on the conscious level but on the unconscious level as well. In psychodynamic therapy, feelings hidden deep inside us are believed to influence how we behave, and how we relate to ourselves and to others. Quite often, some of these ways can get ‘played out’ in the therapy. This type of transference can be used to help explore what normally goes on for a person in their relationships. Once such things are brought into consciousness, they tend to lose some of their grip, and it can become more possible for change to take place.

So to conclude: I offer a combination of humanistic and psychodynamic perspectives. I see it as a partnership; you bring your knowledge and experience of what it is like to be you, and I offer a way of seeing patterns and connections, which might help you. Sometimes it can be useful to think about dreams, or other images which come to mind; some people find it helpful to make an image on paper, so I have drawing materials available for this. I also offer sandplay.