Treatments
Treatments
I work with individuals and couples. I have experience of addressing the following issues: loss of direction in life; lack of self-esteem; depression and suicidal feelings; relationship problems; childhood sexual abuse and physical abuse within relationships; work-related issues; sexual and gender identity; discrimination of all kinds, etc.
The core of my work is based on a belief in the importance of paying attention to family dynamics as well as to the cultural milieu in which we grow up, since these will have a strong impact on the way we see ourselves and the values we hold, both about ourselves and others, and our place in the world. These in turn will, of course, impact on our beliefs and behaviours.
This means that not only do I work with unconscious processes, of which we are probably unaware; I also work with the belief systems which underpin an individual's behaviours since it is these last which are likely to be having a detrimental impact on that person's life. I also see it as important to take into account individual beliefs and attitudes towards the spiritual life, since these, too, underpin how we see ourselves in relation to the world around us.
I have worked with a wide range of people from different cultural and social backgrounds and consider that this is also important to take into account when addressing individual pain. We may also be members of other minorities as a result of disability, sexual orientation and/or gender assignment and this, too, is an important aspect of our experience which needs to be addressed, in particular, given the probability of being marginalised or mistreated by society at large at times in our lives.
I believe in the capacity of each one of us to heal from our wounds, given the right environment and support. I see it as my task to provide that for you. I wll do my best to help you both to make sense of your life and why it is the way it is and also to make the changes that you want to make in order to feel more in control of it. I can help you in becoming consious of the blocks, but you have to do the changing. I cannot do that for you. This means that you need to have some ideas to to what is wrong with the way things are and what you want to change, if even you have no idea in detail as to how to go about changing, since you may well feel very stuck with your life and the choices apparently available to you.
I normally offer once or twice weekly therapy sessions; contracts can be both short-term, lasting sixteen weeks if we agree on C.A.T., or open-ended if that seems to be called for. We will agree on a fee structure at the first session. My fees range from ₤66 to ₤30 a session, depending on individual circumstances.
Patient safeguards:
If you feel that I have behaved unprofessionally, you have the right to take this up with my professional body, the UK Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners (tel: 08457 660326). They will assist you either to bring this matter up with me, or if our relationship has broken down irretrievably, to take out a formal complaint against me. I would hope, however, that if there are issues that you need to take up with me, that we can address these in the first instance directly and personally and I will always endeavor to work with your best interests in mind.
Conclusion:
A problem shared is a problem halved is an old saying. Things that are out in the open can be addressed and dealt with. Things that are left in the cupboard cannot. It is always better to address problems rather than leave them to fester, in the hopes that they will go way. Your feelings are your feelings. They are neither good nor bad, so do please give yourself permission to express them, however hard that might be. I will do my best to support you in making sense of them.