Areas of Expertise
Psychological Therapy
As a Counselling Psychologist I am trained to use humanistic, psychodynamic and cognitive therapeutic approaches and also incorporate IPT and MBT (see below). Sessions initially focus on developing a shared understanding of the difficulties that have brought you to therapy, how these developed and are perpetuated, what you have done to try to make changes and the strengths and resources you have to draw on in achieving change. The development of this understanding is beneficial in itself and also enables us to formulate a plan to guide what happens next, and will be revisited throughout therapy. I approach this work with an attitude of non-judgmental curiosity and close listening.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
IPT is a therapy primarily for depression though it can also be used to help with easting disorders and trauma. It addresses links between relationships and mood and how better understanding and attending to the quality of relationships and support networks can improve mood. Therapy focusses on one of the following areas; significant life transitions, grief, interpersonal disputes or repeated interpersonal difficulties. For more information see: https://www.iptuk.net.
Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT)
MBT aims to improve our ability to 'mentalize'. This is the ability to think about and understand others and ourselves in terms of mental states such as thoughts, feelings, beliefs and desires. Whilst we all do this much of the time, it is a skill which can be fragile and, especially when we are stressed or distressed, be lost, go wrong and lead to painful misunderstandings which can make problems worse. Difficulties in mentalising can underlie problems in relationships, in our sense of self and identity and difficulty managing emotions. MBT helps with such difficulties by making our mentalizing more robust.
My Approach
My training as a Counselling Psychologist and my clinical experience continue to demonstrate to me that the therapeutic relationship is central to effective therapy. It needs to be a place we can feel safe enough to really explore the problems that brought us to therapy. It is often within our relationships, both with others and with ourselves, that difficulties and distress arise and are perpetuated. Gaining a deeper understanding of patterns we fall into in how we think, behave and relate to others, and trying out new ways of thinking, behaving and relating, is a powerful way to bring about change.
In order to develop our understanding of problems, in therapy we slow down and reflect upon the factors that contribute to them. For example, problems can result from learned ways of coping with distress or adversity being applied in new situations to which they are not well suited. Perhaps we learned to keep quiet so as to avoid conflict, but in other situations find this leads to us being overlooked and we find it hard or even frightening to speak up for what we need from others. Or perhaps we have learned to suppress feelings because others have responded negatively to them. We may have done this to such an extent and for so long that we have lost touch with our feelings but can find they sometimes surprise and overwhelm us. When this happens, their unfamiliarity can make them seem frightening and out of control.
We will take time to really understand the factors and patterns which contribute to the problem that you want help with. Done properly, this provides a strong grounding for making lasting changes. The therapeutic relationship provides a space to work together and exercise real curiosity about these patterns. Ingrained, often unconscious patterns can become apparent, understood and changed.
I primarily use an integrative approach, drawing on humanistic, psychodynamic and cognitive therapeutic models. I am also a practitioner and supervisor of Interpersonal Psychotherapy and trained in Mentalisation-Based Therapy, and can draw on these approaches or use them exclusively.
