About me
Hi there, I am a psychodynamic psychotherapist offering confidential and down to earth counselling on a short and long term basis. I have been in full time private practice for 17 years now and hope that I make sessions useful, interesting - and enjoyable where possible. My background was in drama but working as a residential social worker in a South East London children's home opened up the world of psychology and therapy to me and I feel privileged now to be part of so many people's lives in their therapeutic 'journey'. A requirement of my diploma was four years in personal therapy which has stood me in good stead for not just a professional vocation as a counsellor but to contend with the natural ebb and flow of life, the personal successes and the disappointments.
I am happy to say that clients who finish their therapy with me leave with a new bank of knowledge, a clear understanding of themselves and issues, clarification of how difficulties developed and lifelong tools all acquired through their attendance - and most importantly, unhappy 'cycles' of experience broken.
I am very lucky in that I have met with a multitude of people over the years so I am accustomed and thoroughly enjoy making the acquaintance of clients from diverse and varied backgrounds, and with both men and women. I have been told that I am easy to speak with and I make attending sessions easier then had been anticipated. I am happy to place a free telephone or zoom call to you initially to answer any questions you may have and to demonstrate how I work. I have provided an idea of what to expect from our sessions below.
About Psychotherapy Sessions...Psychotherapy lies in the recognition of how the past (distant or most recent) effects present behaviour, attitude and choice - not always in the way we would ideally like or wish - and hence determines our future thus perpetuating negative cycles of experience. It is the process by which we bring conscious awareness to aspects of ourselves that have remained hitherto unknown and offers an insight into why certain events effect us in difficult ways.
In our first session I will take a few basic details and we will clarify what your expectations are in seeking therapy. An initial consultation allows us an introduction which will enable you to decide whether or not you would like to continue working with me. For some people counselling is a place to process something challenging happening presently in their lives, for others it may have been a problem one has contended with for years, very often it is both. We will speak about what the catalyst has been in making an appointment. I will describe to you in what ways therapy may help you to resolve certain problems, the obstacles that may sometimes stand in the way of this (what we term 'defense mechanisms') and how, through your 'free association' (talking freely in an environment without being judged) we will discover certain beliefs and thoughts that up until now may have remained 'unknown' (consciously) but have still exercised a 'dynamic' and effective influence over actions and thought (i.e psychodynamic understanding)
Psychotherapy rests on the premise that 'bottled up' feelings are the basis to the formation of 'symptoms'/issues experienced- everything from 'feeling stuck', angry, sad and 'low' to ocd, phobias, depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties and so on. It is in the 'making conscious' bit of therapy, without judgement, that restorative work can be accomplished, and how we see problems eventually diminish and disappear.
Through your narrative - that is to say, data based on factual word from yourself within our sessions - I will offer explanations and interpretations which are coincidental with realisations being made from week to week, and which bring clarity and understanding to what previously may have appeared confusing and inescapable. Through application of what is being experienced and made sense of in therapy, then, we will see certain changes occur. We call this process 'working through'. Seeing life and oneself in new ways will bring, it is hoped, empowerment, confidence and, ultimately, skills to remain calm and happy - even in the more (and inevitable) challenging times presented by life.
Sounds easy? A word about the trickier part to being in therapy....the reason we frequently have to come to an objective person in the form of a therapist lies in our natural inclination to defend against varying degrees of painful realisation. Psychodynamic psychotherapy teaches us how and why something has been 'brushed under the carpet' and has formed a 'symptom'. It is the unspoken 'stuff' of shame, guilt, anxiety, anger, and sometimes love. Naturally, this material takes time to tease out. We both want to 'see' it and at the same don't. A good analogy lies in the help we receive from a dentist - ie; therapy is both wanted but not in anticipation of the discomfort. We use countless ways to defend ourselves against experience/thoughts being consciously known - not on purpose because we are being 'difficult' but because our minds are protecting us against psychological pain. The suppressed feelings inherently still feel like a threat to us. The experiences and thoughts and memories we finally make conscious, however, is something we encounter now as adults. With the help of an objective therapist, who can help us move past our defence mechanisms, we can begin to see ourselves, others and the past in ways that free us from unhappy patterns of behaviours and thought. As an adult. With adult perception and strength and skills.
In short, psychotherapy is the 'freeing' (the verbalisation) of 'energetic' and uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, that whilst not articulated and resolved finds expression in 'symptoms' and difficulties. It offers a 'decoding' and an understanding of how such issues arose. It gives sense and meaning to why we, and others, think and behave in the ways that we do and an opportunity to change the script, to be free from recurring issues and to live life in the present. Our end goal, given time, can literally be the difference between light and dark. In other words, we move from a repressed 'self' to an 'aware' self. Hard won at times perhaps but an incredible and worthwhile undertaking.
About the 'How'?.....(is growth facilitated)
Free Association (why therapy is known as the 'talking cure'....) Firstly, we want to start learning about you. What are the challenges, how do they show themselves, how do you feel about your difficulties, when did they begin. Are we 'overreacting' at times, are we equally 'under reacting'. What behaviours are showing themselves despite our best efforts to break them. How do you feel about yourself, about others around you. How do times of stress effect you. What are your coping mechanisms. It can take a little time to start trusting that there really isn't any judgement involved in sessions, and perhaps a little longer to learn not to censor oneself in the light of ones own judgement. It is in the speaking about the 'uncensored' version of events that provides the material to understanding ourselves. Talking in an unfettered way leads us to an understanding of why we have developed in the ways that we have. Hence, a client talks about everything that comes into their minds and a new kind of 'noticing' begins to happen outside of appointments. For some people this is a completely new experience. To just 'notice' how we are feeling and thinking - and to begin to form completely new neural pathways and form new perceptions (It is pretty awesome I think!)
Relationship to self (also known as loving oneself....) It may well be the cliche, but opening our eyes to our worth is everything. It frequently happens that clients aren't aware of how punitive they are to themselves. And how great. Learning about this and, again, noticing how we relate to ourselves, and how this can also form the basis to how we relate to others, itself creates some relief and begins to build confidence between sessions.
Interpretation/Explanation (the analysis of behaviour) Unconscious feelings and thoughts have a way of finding expression in the most incredible of ways. In speaking about all of the events in our lives, about our feelings and thoughts, from the present back to our past, we begin to gain an understanding of how the 'energetic'/suppressed material within our minds wants a voice, and in what ways it is becomes manifest in negative ways. Clients learn to analyse their own behaviours with greater self-compassion and self-forgiveness where it hasn't existed previously. Terms like 'regression', unconscious conflict, defence and so on become part and parcel of everyday language and recognition. A greater awareness develops. A competence in understanding ourselves. A psychological 'jigsaw' of sorts is assembled.
Reframing (An opportunity to become objective) The perceptions we have had (which we weren't always aware we have had) have sometimes been the cause of great misery and unhappiness. Seeing 'the whole picture' - having a different perception from the ones we have carried - is a new type of understanding that lends itself to growth and to a new harmony in our lives. Clients develop an objectivity, and cease to be driven by 'unseen' currents of feelings and impulses, they slow down or for some, speed up. It takes time and it takes practise but changing our neuronal pathways in this way lays the groundwork for real change to take place. We are giving ourselves new 'mental events' as opposed to passively experiencing something from the past. The brain is a fantastic piece of apparatus and we can literally change the way it operates for the better, at any point in our lives. Almost anyone can change their outlook about themselves, and about others, due to the skills and self-knowledge we learn from therapy.
I hope that provides a little bit of an idea as to what to expect. Any questions on the above, please feel free to arrange a telephone or zoom call (free of charge) and I will be happy to explain further and to demonstrate how I work.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Psychodynamic Psychotherapy P.G Diploma 2006
- Certificate in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (4 day skills intensive)
- Certificate in Hypnosis
- Certificate in CBT for OCD
- EMDR practitioner in training (Module 1 &2/Advanced Level Module 3)
- MBACP - Member British Association Of Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Member - National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists
- Registrant of National Counselling Society
- Full time private practice since 2009
Member organisations
school 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.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations. In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists
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
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.
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
An 'especial' note on the treatment for OCD and Phobias
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I offer a psychodynamic understanding in these areas as an alternative to clients who have decided that an exposure and response prevention programme isn't suited to them presently. It is also aimed at clients who have perhaps tried ERP and haven't felt it to be successful yet and wish to avoid taking medication. And to those that may wish to build confidence and esteem before undertaking ERP and to those that wish to work on their symptoms in a psychodynamic way alongside medication. We can decide on 'safe experiments' in an 'exposure' type way if individuals are agreed and open to 'home works' but it isn't obligatory - and can often happen organically without the need to set this as an exercise per se.
I would like to reassure such clients that I have sat with a number of people that have found their ocd and phobic symptoms to be both crippling and embarrassing. I like to harness a person's curiosity right 'off the bat' - and I would like to offer a reminder here that the 'symptom' (the ritual or compulsion or phobic response) is frequently an expression of something we haven't been able to articulate -often much less frightening then we think it is going to be. There is no judgement.
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- I am also particularly familiar in seeing clients who wish to resolve issues around specific and generalised anxiety, anger, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias, medically unexplained/psychosomatic symptoms, parent/sibling issues, workplace conflict and challenges, difficulties in romantic life - divorce/separation/affairs, attachment disorder, male sexuality difficulties, feeling bullied, over-thinking/over-reacting, low self-esteem/lack of confidence, indecision, feeling empty/unfulfilled, feeling out of control/procrastination, difficulty in liking self and making connection with others, feelings of helplessness and fear, guilt and shame issues, unmanageable stress, loss/bereavement, trauma, mid-life crisis/existential issues, feelings of isolation/feeling lonely, menopausal impact, insomnia, self-harm, suicidal feeling.
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 per session
Additional information
50 minute appointments
When I work
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Further information
I adhere to BACP's Ethical Framework guidelines and receive ongoing monthly clinical supervision (I have full professional indemnity insurance)
Most Recent Research:
Carolyn Spring - 'Shame' - online webinar series
Working With Trauma In A Time Of Trauma
The Voice OF Addiction; Challenging The Destructive Thought Process - online webinar - Dr. Lisa Firestone
CBT FOR OCD - NCS.
Short Courses/Workshops:
Working With Self Harm and Suicide (Carolyn Spring)
Working With Dissociative Disorders In Clinical Practise (Carolyn Spring)
Running Mindfulness Groups
Working With Gender Dysphoria (Michelle Bridgeman)
EMDR Centre, London
Trauma, Dissociation and Recovery (Carolyn Spring)
Positive Outcomes For Dissociative Survivors (Carolyn Spring)
