Dr Catherine Pearce

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British Psychoanalytic Assoc., MBACP (Accred), PhD, PG Dip.
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX33
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

I am a Psychoanalyst and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist trained with the British Psychoanalytic Association (BPA), which is affiliated to the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA).  I am registered with the BPA, the Briitish Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and with the BACP. I have a full-time private practice working with adults 1-5 times per week, based in Waterperry, near Oxford.

I work with individuals who are experiencing emotional, psychological and behavioural difficulties, depression, anger, anxiety and stress, low self- confidence and low self-esteem, relationship issues, work-related problems, loss and bereavement, or who feel their lives are empty or meaningless, or those who simply want to know themselves better so that they can live a fuller and more authentic life. 

I also offer supervision.

Training, qualifications & experience

Psychoanalyst registered with the British Psychoanalytic Association (BPA) which is part of the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA).  I previously trained as a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist with the British Psychotherapy Foundation (bpf,  formerly the British Association of Psychotherapists (BAP)).  Registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC).

Post-graduate diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling (University of Reading). Accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

BA (Hons), PhD.

I have over 20 years' experience of working with clients.

Member organisations

Registered / Accredited

Registered / Accredited

Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).

Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.

Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.

All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.

Accredited register membership

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Other areas of counselling I deal with

Boarding school trauma

Further information

People seek psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and counselling for many different reasons. Some people come because they have feelings they have difficulty coping with, or because they feel low or depressed or seem to have no feelings at all. Others suffer from anxiety or may feel compelled to do things which are restricting their lives. Some may have physical symptoms which do not respond to medical treatment. Others find it difficult to form long-term or meaningful relationships. Some are struggling with a life situation which has become intolerable, and want help in coping with it. Many people may just feel empty or ‘stuck’, or that their lives lack meaning or fulfillment.

People with any of these problems, symptoms or states of mind may benefit from psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy or counselling. Therapy may help people to cope with the problems they are suffering from and to leave them behind.

What are psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychodynamic counselling?

These terms refer to therapies which are underpinned by the psychoanalytic model.  Typically psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy would be more intense (in terms of frequency of sessions) and counselling is typically a once a week therapy.

Theory and research suggests that our personalities are not purely determined by our genes, but are influenced by our early experiences and relationships. These experiences lead to the formation of behaviour patterns and feelings of which we are not consciously aware but which cause internal conflict, influence new relationships and cause us to act out familiar roles. These unconscious patterns may underlie the problems and symptoms we suffer from in later life. They are difficult to see for ourselves, without the help of another person.

Regular sessions provide a setting within which the client and the therapist, working together, can bring these unconscious patterns and conflicts into the open with a view to change.

Therapy is a unique and often profound experience that can lead not only to the alleviation of symptoms and removal of difficulties; it can also lead to long-term change in the way we live our lives and feel about ourselves and others.

Psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy and counselling are recommended by NICE for treating a range of mental health issues.

What will happen in the first meeting(s)?

I will tell you something about what you can expect to happen in sessions and ask you some questions so that you can have an opportunity to tell me about yourself and what is troubling you. You will also have an opportunity to ask me questions. If we agree that we might be able to work together effectively, we will arrange to meet on a regular basis, at the same time(s) each week.

How long should I come for therapy?

That depends on why you are coming and what you want to achieve. Profound change cannot be achieved in short time, but can over a longer period.  However, I do occasionally offer short-term help for particular difficulties.

Waterperry, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX33

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone

Types of client

Adults
Older adults

Online platforms

Zoom

Supervision

In person
Online
Phone

Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic supervision.

View supervision profile

Dr Catherine Pearce
Dr Catherine Pearce