Dr Tony McSherry

Welcome and thank you for reading this page

I offer in person, telephone and online (Skype, Zoom, or Facetime) counselling and psychotherapy in a quiet and private environment. I also offer supervision to qualified and trainee therapists. Psychotherapy is like an unusual conversation within a therapeutic relationship. Feel free to email if you have any questions. I offer free initial chats for about 15 minutes or so. 

Confidentiality and respect for you, no matter what your difficulties may be, are the foundations of my work. 

On this page I have sketched some information about psychotherapy, my training, and some background which you might find helpful. Additional information on different problems you may be facing can be found on my website- https://speakingforyourself.co.uk/

I work flexibly from home weekdays and at the weekends. I work short-term and longer-term, seeing clients weekly, fortnightly or also less frequently. I have worked in different forms of therapeutic practise for almost 30 years, since 1994 (including Franciscan spirituality) and as a full-time psychotherapist since 2008 (part-time while in training since 2003). I worked in the NHS as a psychotherapist in mental health services for over 15 years. I am a fully accredited and registered UKCP Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapist, Existential-Analytical Psychotherapist, and Psychotherapeutic Counsellor. I trained in the London area, at the University of Surrey (Guildford), at the University of Roehampton, and the New School for Psychotherapy and Counselling. There is more information about my training on the SAFPAC website. You will find me on YouTube talking regarding some conferences with SAFPAC and the Critical Psychotherapy Network. See http://www.safpac.co.uk/

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or would like to know more. 

Location and Transport
I am based in Hale Village, just outside Liverpool. There are good transport links to Hale Village from Liverpool, Merseyside, and the Manchester area. The M56, M57, M62, and the new Mersey Gateway bridge are nearby. The new bridge has opened easy access to the Wirral, Chester, and North Wales areas. The 82A bus is a regular service between Liverpool city centre and Widnes/Runcorn, via Hale Village. See my website for a map. 


It's hard to 'tick box' problems often
Problems often do not fit into easy categories as each person has their own individual history and way of being, and so difficulties emerge in a unique way to the individual. For example, depression or anxiety might be completely normal reactions to a difficult situation, but it might seem that people are saying "oh, you've got depression" as if it is a cold and it's your fault. The effects of abuse, trauma, and stress can emerge in many different ways, playing out in multiple aspects of your life, and sometimes called post-traumatic stress disorder. It takes time and sensitive ways of being to work through these effects. A strong therapeutic relationship is essential for all healing to happen. 

Anxious about contacting me?
I would encourage you not to worry if you feel anxious about making contact regarding counselling or psychotherapy. Feeling anxious is a normal aspect of therapy, especially at first. I have been in therapy also for many years (before,  during and after my training) and it can be a bit like going swimming - it might feel strange at first but once you get going it's fine. See my website for further details about problems you may be struggling with. 


Some thoughts on therapy and how it works
Therapy is about becoming more 'freed up' in oneself, or being able to 'breathe more easily' with oneself and others. What stops you being more freed up is usually to do with how you have been brought up, in your family, your culture, your society, and also events that may have happened to you.  Talking through these kinds of things is a special kind of conversation through which you come to understand your difficulties and unravel these so they dissolve or you see them differently. They hold less power over you, so you can live your life more freely.  

Because each person is different, psychotherapy is an individual and unique process. Coming to therapy is a courageous step as it can be anxiety-provoking to talk to a stranger at first. As part of my own training and experience I was in therapy for many years,  so I know what it is like to make that initial contact. But most people manage to get through this initial anxiety and find therapy a very helpful experience. 

I believe that there are also unconscious aspects to ourselves, so that we might not at first understand why we do things, or get into certain situations. But with thoughtful exploration, and in the relationship of therapy, the reasons why a problem keeps repeating, or seems so strange, will become clear. Sometimes this can happen quite quickly, and other times it takes place over a longer period. It can be like exploring a new and strange continent sometimes, and it can be disorienting at first while also very satisfying. One role of the psychotherapist is to keep the exploration safe and to notice new things along the way. The idea of our mind and our relationships as a landscape that we discover is very helpful in learning to understand ourselves and change. Sometimes we have to accept what we find in that landscape, because it is part of you in a way that cannot be changed, but sometimes it can be changed through working through it. 

There are few places left in the world where we can speak freely. This is a valuable space in a world where the individual is increasingly isolated or marginalised as a person. 

It is vital to allow ourselves room to think with another person about who we are, what we need in life from others, and how we might want to change. Things become clearer and easier to handle. As well as providing a safe and confidential place for you to talk about any difficulties you are having, you develop insight, developing your self-awareness, and promoting change, assertiveness, and the ability to be yourself more freely.

Becoming a therapist

I first came into contact with the world of counselling and psychotherapy in 1994 when working and studying in the area of Franciscan spirituality with others. During this period I spent lot of time practicing what would now be called mindfulness, and also other ways of self-development (eg Psycho-analytical journaling and dream analysis). I found the experience of being in my own therapy (humanistic, existential, and psychoanalytic) very helpful and through this began to look at becoming a therapist myself. It is a long journey to become a mature therapist and I would say it has taken me about 18 years, although there is no end-point to learning. We are continually learning. This also involves a lot of supervision from other experienced supervisors and peers. I am certain that being in my own therapy for many years, before, during and after training, has made me an ethical practitioner; with a sensitivity to the courage and desire it takes to take part in counselling or psychotherapy. I greatly respect people who come to therapy. 

As part of my main training I was part of a learning community, and in addition to my own personal therapy I was in group therapy (with the same group of people) for many years. These types of experiences have shown me that therapy is a special kind of learning with others, and that each therapy experience is unique. I am still involved in therapeutic groups, as facilitator and participant, and I offer supervision to qualified and trainee counsellors and psychotherapists. 

Does therapy help? Yes, it does, but it can help in unexpected ways. I can personally vouch for this from my own therapy, and the therapy of many colleagues and former clients. Extensive research also confirms that therapy helps a lot (75-80% of clients who enter therapy). The therapeutic relationship is a major factor that helps, as well as the understanding the therapist brings to your way of being in the world, and what you bring to the therapy. Further details on some research outcomes are outlined in the following link which details recent research from the American Psychological Association:

www.apa.org/monitor/2011/10/psychotherapy.aspx

Symptoms and speaking

The tick-box list on this site is somewhat artificially constructed, as we cannot simply place all human behaviour and problems into neat boxes. I find it more helpful to think of our problems as a kind of message from our self, which is puzzling, frightening, or disturbing in some way. - and that message almost always relates to the outside world, your past history, family relationships, and key relationships.  A problem then is like a message that needs to be spoken, or understood. When understanding comes, then this brings great relief - even though the problem may not disappear straight away, we know then what needs to happen to help. 

Mood swings

I also work with clients who have mood swings. These can be caused by a number of factors, from a simple problem with diet, to drug use, to deeper issues relating to childhood trauma or disappointments. The problem can also be related to unresolved ongoing issues that have not been approached adequately in someone's everyday life, for example, unhappiness at work or an unhappy relationship.

Compulsions, and compulsive behaviour

Psychotherapeutic research, case studies, and experience, indicate that compulsive behaviours are rooted in unconscious processes and are ways of coping with unresolved unconscious conflict. 'Unconscious' here may simply mean 'something we do not want to know about' but is perhaps there in our everyday life right in front of us. Sometimes this conflict is not too hard to find and it will emerge quite quickly. Sometimes, it is  more hidden, and it will take more time to be resolved or understood. Understanding often brings the means to resolution. The best way to resolve compulsive behaviour is to work with your current situation and history, and how you relate to others, including loved ones. The compulsive behaviour can then be resolved or understood in such a way that it is no longer an issue, or brings a new and creative understanding of yourself. Often, you  may have to change how you are living in order for the compulsion to be resolved completely.

Phobias

Problems such as phobias, in my experience and theoretical framework, are a little different to other difficulties, as they tend actually to help protect us against deep anxiety. A phobia then is usually a helpful reaction to the deeper anxiety of being a person and as the conditions causing this anxiety are changed then the phobia may dissolve. Coming to see this can take time. The reasons why a phobia is coming to be a problem can also be addressed.

Panic disorder, panic, and panic attacks

Panic has to do with a feeling that a person finds difficult to express. It is often to do with unresolved unconscious conflicts that emerge as 'panic'. Talking through a situation, the 'before and after' of having a panic attack is important. Talking in detail through the situation often reveals its source and what might be the remedy. What usually comes to light is a new insight into how you are actually feeling about a situation, as well as the interplay of other factors that have led to the experience of panic.

Average fee is £70.

A psychotherapy session lasts 50-60 minutes. 

Supervision: If you are interested in supervision for your practise, please contact me for further details. Fees are the same rate as therapy. I have been practising for over 12 years post-qualification as a supervisor for other professional counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists. I am a UKCP accredited supervisor (Postgraduate Diploma in Supervision through the Constructivist and Existential College) 

What happens in the first session?

In this meeting I will get to understand the reasons why you are thinking about coming to therapy and also how therapy can help. I may ask you about your family history, about when you first noticed there was a problem, and what changes you would like to see happen. We will be able to make a plan as to what to do next.   

What is my therapy like?

My therapy involves an exploration of your problem as it is right now in your life. This is the main focus. What you say about your difficulties is very important. I will encourage you to speak freely, but at your own pace and in your own time, although I will ask questions that I think are important to point you in a helpful direction. Therapy is a means to becoming more free in yourself, so that your anxieties and fears about yourself (and others) can be resolved. Depending on your individual situation, psychotherapy can take different paths, and what you gain from it may be surprising or not what you expected.

We will also look at your personal history, family and other relationships, in order to bring to light what kind of influences are there for you. Coming to terms with how we respond to such influences is part of the work of therapy, and involves working with both conscious and unconscious processes and ways of being. I may ask you about your dreams also, especially if we are working longer term, or if you have experienced trauma recently or in the past. .


What is therapy about and why embark on it?
Regarding why it is important to speak to someone else, I am certain that it is near-impossible to resolve, or come to terms with, a personal question or difficulty alone. Another person, expert in listening and knowing what to do with what is heard, is necessary. I believe this is true almost every time, a view widely supported in therapeutic research, as well as other fields such as philosophy, literature and art.

Psychotherapy can take time to have a lasting effect, but it depends on what you want from it. Sometimes a few sessions, or even one session, can be enough to clarify some things that were problematic in your life. Discovering where you stand, and your own truth, has a liberating effect. In contrast, a GP service may simply offer you 6 sessions of a manualised therapy that aims at problem-solving, following a kind of template that many consider as a 'control-model' of human interaction. I do not work like this although problems can be solved this way in our work too. Solutions to the problem that is worrying you can arrive quickly sometimes, but they can also become less important as you talk through a problem because as you come to speak you will find that unexpected answers and new avenues come to light.  

The effect of therapy may not be what was initially expected because if therapy is working, your self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-understanding shift. The significance and meaning of your problems change, becoming less important sometimes, or an avenue of insight into your wider situation and self, or losing their importance altogether. Also, time in more extensive psychotherapy continues having an effect that does not wear off. Participating in good psychotherapy is like making a long-term investment in your future as a person, an investment that keeps paying off in interpersonal ways long after your therapy has ended. It is commonly accepted that some difficulties, such as trauma, abuse, emotional disturbances, or longstanding issues, require longer term work to promote meaningful change, or develop insight and understanding.

If you are considering therapy then this indicates that you want to change, and that you are unhappy about something in your life. 'Change' therapeutically in my experience, and according to a wide range of research, involves increased self-awareness, self-understanding, self-acceptance, understanding of one's conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious motivations, drivers and desires.  Understanding these can be enormously beneficial. The most important factors are self-acceptance, along with understanding your anxieties and fears around others, and wishes or desires regarding others and yourself. You learn to smile at yourself, be more free in your thinking, appreciate the world and being alive, and more free to be with others in relaxed ways.

If you are thinking of beginning counselling or psychotherapy, here is some important information regarding confidentiality and data protection*

Confidentiality and data protection

I will keep written notes regarding the content of our sessions and the process and progress of therapy. These are kept in a separate place to where I keep your contact details, and are identified only by initials. Nobody else besides myself will have access to your notes, unless for legal reasons. I am obliged to keep your notes in a safe place for a reasonable length of time, which I choose as seven years in keeping with other organisations. The only details I store electronically are your email address, phone number(s), and any emails you may send. I do not give any third party access to your emails or telephone numbers. I am currently registering with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and follow the guidelines of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Confidentiality is extremely important in psychotherapy, as sometimes what is discussed is sensitive and difficult to speak about. Psychotherapy provides a private space, and I protect this as much as possible. However, I have a duty of care to disclose information if I believe someone may be at risk of harm (in accordance with UKCP guidelines).

Supervision

All therapists are required to undertake supervision with another experienced therapist to discuss client work. Your name or address are not disclosed to the supervisor. Only details of the therapy process and content material will be discussed. I will make every effort to preserve confidentiality in supervision.

Cancelling sessions and non-attendance

I require 1 week's notice of cancelled sessions. Otherwise I charge for the whole session fee. I also charge for sessions which you have booked but do not attend (having given no notice). 

Length of sessions

Sessions last 50 minutes. This is from the agreed start time of the session. Timing in therapy is an important aspect of the work, and so as far as is reasonable we will stick to the time agreed. I may go over this time sometimes if it is important to do so. 

*This information follows the guidelines of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy www.psychotherapy.org and www.upca.co.uk. Follow this link for full details of the standards of conduct and ethics -http://www.upca.org.uk/files/8214/5510/5822/UPCAStandardsOfConductPerformanceAndEthicsv7.pdf

*I will send the information in this section to you on commencing therapy.