“Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.”

Carl Jung

Engaging in psychotherapy can be a more lengthy process. Due to to the time it takes to explore the unconscious and change unhealthy behaviours. It could take six months to a year or longer. But the pay off is a deeper more loving self-relationship, leading to better more healthy, conscious decision making.

Our Therapeutic Approaches

Everyone is different, so no single approach works for everyone. Depending on what you’re working through, I draw on the following evidence-based approaches – sometimes one on its own, often blended together.

Humanistic and Person-Centred Therapy

The therapeutic relationship is paramount

“When I look at the world I’m pessimistic, but when I look at people I am optimistic.” – Carl Rogers

Founded by Carl Rogers, the person-centred approach emphasises your capacity to make rational choices and grow toward your full potential. I help people change by focusing on their own concerns, cares, and interests – trusting that you, the client, are already progressing in your own growth, and simply need a psychologically safe environment to keep going.

This safety comes from three things I bring to the relationship:

• Congruence – relating to you transparently, without hiding behind a professional facade
• Unconditional Positive Regard – accepting you as you are, without judgement, and listening without interruption
• Empathy – genuinely working to understand and appreciate your perspective

Psychodynamic Therapy

Focuses on unconscious processes as they show up in present behaviour

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” – Sigmund Freud

The goal of psychodynamic therapy is self-awareness and understanding how the past influences present behaviour. It allows you to examine unresolved conflicts and symptoms arising from past relationships that still show up today – recognising when a present-day reaction is actually triggered by an old event, so you have the freedom to choose a different response. Psychodynamic therapy is the oldest of the modern therapies (Freud’s psychoanalysis is one specific form of it) and rests on a well-established theory of human development.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

How we think about ourselves, the world and others

“You largely constructed your depression. It wasn’t given to you. Therefore, you can deconstruct it.” – Albert Ellis

CBT looks at the links between what we think, feel, and do. Making changes in what we think affects what we do and feel, and changing what we do affects the way we think and feel – making these changes can help us feel better.

While it’s helpful to understand how the past has shaped us, CBT mostly focuses on improving your mental wellbeing now. It’s not the event that causes our emotions, but how we interpret it. For example: waking up and thinking “this is going to be another horrific day” (cognitive) can leave you feeling sad or anxious (emotional), leading to pulling the covers over your head (behaviour) – which reinforces the negative thoughts, and the cycle continues. CBT helps break these vicious cycles of negative thinking, feeling, and behaviour.

Gestalt Therapy

You are greater than the sum of your parts

“Lose your mind and come to your senses.” – Fritz Perls

Gestalt is German for a whole, a completion greater than the sum of its parts. Gestalt therapy aims to find wholeness and integration through awareness in the “here and now,” focusing on how we block our own expression and spontaneity, and exploring ways to release that trapped energy. It’s best experienced rather than explained – the emphasis is on awareness, not intellectual understanding, as the key to change. Through dialogue and experiential methods, Gestalt helps expand self-awareness and self-regulation, freeing you from the weight of the past so you can take full responsibility for the choices you make.

Integrative Bodywork and Bioenergetics

Including the body in the therapeutic relationship

“And the truth must finally lie in that which every oppressed individual feels within himself but hasn’t the courage to express.” – Wilhelm Reich

This approach integrates the work of two psychotherapists: Wilhelm Reich, who developed the theory of character structure defence (how we unconsciously protect ourselves from emotional hurt, both through core beliefs and physically, in the body), and Alexander Lowen, who developed bioenergetics – techniques to identify and release emotional energy held in the body. Alongside the cognitive work of looking back at our history, we also carry an emotional and physical history in the body. This approach brings that body history into the therapeutic relationship alongside the psychological one.

Group Psychotherapy

Sometimes more effective than individual therapy

“The act of revealing oneself fully to another and still being accepted may be the major vehicle of therapeutic help.” – Irvin Yalom

Group therapy brings people with a range of experiences together for weekly, ongoing meetings. Members explore their relationships within the group to better understand their outside relationships – often improving self-esteem in the process. Benefits include:

• Support and feedback from multiple people, not just the therapist
• Realising you’re not alone – others are often struggling with similar things
• A “social laboratory” to practise new ways of relating to people
• Improved conflict resolution and reduced social anxiety
• A more cost-effective option than individual therapy, often with longer sessions

Research shows group therapy can be as effective as individual therapy, and for some conditions, more so.