What is therapy?

Counselling, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis are ways of coming to a fuller understanding of oneself. Many things can prompt someone to make contact, including:

• broken or difficult relationships;
• loss and bereavement;
• a sense of purposelessness;
• depression;
• blocked creativity;
• issues at work;
• major life changes;
• a desire to live more fully.

This approach is based on an analysis of the things that get in the way of you living as you would like to. It’s an exploration of how you think and feel, supported by a therapist who provides non-directive interpretations to help you gain insight and think and act differently.

You speak about whatever you’d like to speak about and your therapist listens closely with an ear to what might be emerging from your unconscious, for example through free associations, working with your dreams, memories and imaginations, and slips of the tongue.

Changes happen gradually, so there needs to be an intention to work together for a longer time than in many other therapies. Many people come twice a week, but practical issues mean some people come less often. Sessions are usually 50 minutes long.