Ryse Psychology Service

Winner of the Midlands Enterprise Award 2023 for 'Most Supportive Counselling and Psychotherapy Service Provider'.

What is therapy?

Psychotherapy is the process of two minds connecting and exploring how one of those minds works.

Psychotherapy is the task of having the freedom to say anything that is on your mind, and how you feel about saying it.

Any and all therapy with me is completely confidential unless explicitly otherwise stated, within the limits of the law.

Welcome

Thank you for visiting. I offer a professional counselling and psychotherapy service in my Wolverhampton clinic face to face, and UK and EU wide online. My services are for those who desire some kind of change in their lives, whether in terms of your mental health, or general self-improvement. You can see more about specific issues I can help with below.

Concerns around mental health, in my view, are most often manifested from our relationships with other people and the world around us. The environments we grew up in, the people we grew up with, our current environments, and our current relationships heavily influence how we tend to think, feel, and interact with others & our situation today. They impact on our current and future hopes and dreams, fantasies and daydreams, our fears, our disappointments, our internal struggles, our worst nightmares, and how we tend to problem solve.

We are often driven to behave and think and feel in ways which do not always serve us well anymore; and sometimes we may behave, think and feel in ways which we cannot always explain to ourselves or others in an obvious way. People tend to find me when some part of them is ready for growth and change, but hasn't been able to accomplish this alone. You may have a feeling something needs to change but do not really know where/how to start and could use the help of an expert.

Your problems, needs, and experiences are unique, and our first meeting will be exploring the best way I can help you move forward psychologically. In my view, therapy must be useful and meaningful to change in your life. My job is to work with you in a warm, safe and comforting way to help you achieve your goals for change.

Mental Health issues I can help you with

                                          ----------Anxiety----------

Anxiety manifests itself in as many different ways as there are people experiencing it. Some of the more common examples and diagnoses are: generalised anxiety, social anxiety, anxiety in relationships etc. You will notice that the experience of anxiety is usually intertwined with many of issues listed below!

Feeling anxious every now and then is usually normal and healthy - sometimes it gets a bit of a bad name! However, when this anxious feeling won't go away, and starts to negatively affect your life, it can become debilitating if not addressed. Anxiety that doesn't tend to go away can permeate it's way through your life: impacting everything from your relationships, your social life, stress responses, to your diet, your work and performance, how you think, as well as your sleep schedule (or lack thereof).

You may not even understand where it is coming from. My services can help you both manage your anxiety in the short to medium term, and uncover how you got to be that way to give you more insight and freedom to live your life with more meaning, purpose, and enjoyment in the long term.

                                     ----------Depression----------

Much like anxiety, depression manifests itself in a myriad of ways. Some subtle, and some much more obvious. Depression is not the same as its close cousin, sadness. Depression can zap you of your energy. Depression can make each day feel like a slog that you are simply trying to get to the end of. It can come with a sense of pointlessness and hopelessness about your life.

Sometimes these sensations are obvious to you and those around you from your behaviours: excessive sleeping, poor performance at work, general strong feelings of lethargy and a struggle to find optimism for things you once enjoyed. On the other hand, some people who feel depressed become very good at faking their way through their day so nobody picks up on it, but living feels more like existing. Some people even feel guilt or shame about feeling how they do. It is not unusual for people in this situation to say "i shouldn't feel this way, what do I have to be depressed about?" or "I'm a bad person for feeling this way".

When we explore this, the answers can be surprising, or relieving to finally say out loud. Some people think that because they do not feel depressed every moment of every day they are not worthy of help.

My work with depression involves patience and respect for how you are feeling now, regardless of the situation. Depression can sometimes make the prospect of therapy feel pointless, or a hurdle too much to overcome. That you will have turned up under those circumstances is an achievement in itself. Working with you empathically, we would explore both your present and your past to gain shared understanding of what the function of your depression might be, what it is trying to tell you, and what psychological blockages might be maintaining it that you may not yet be aware of. 

      ----------Stress/Anger Management & Emotional Regulation----------

This involves exploring, with you, the very nature of the emotions you are experiencing. To begin with we would look at whether it is a situational problem that you are finding difficult to deal with at present, and/or whether there is a pattern of problematic stress/emotion management, and perhaps equally problematic ways of responding to it, in your life.

Hard situations in and of themselves are a part of life - and can actually be helpful to us sometimes. But if you find yourself more vulnerable to difficult feelings than you think is normal, struggle to calm yourself down under pressure, or seem to find yourself in seemingly random stressful situations more than you think is normal, that is where my help comes in.

Overwhelming emotions can have negative effects on your psychological health AND your physical health. Prolonged stress has been shown to cause elevated blood pressure, and an increased risk of heart attacks and/or cardiac arrests over time. All this before we even factor in how our reactions to ourselves and to others when we are in this state can negatively effect our relationships. We would look at both how you respond to how you feel, how these feelings came to be, and pragmatic ways to help you cope in the present as we explore deeper.

                            ----------Personality Disorders----------

One way of looking at personality is to say that it is our characteristic pattern of thought, feeling, behaviour, motivation, functioning in relationships, and ways of experiencing the world. And we all have personalities of course!

Sometimes, certain personality characteristics become a bit more extreme and a bit more stuck than others. This can also happen to the best of us in stressful situations. We've all had times where we were uncharacteristically snappy or shouty at someone because we were stressed, or cold with a partner after a particularly bad day.

However personality disorders occur when the more extreme elements become stuck and consistent over time, developing into what we would call a 'personality trait'. Personality disorders can be debilitating for the person experiencing them (who often is not doing so by choice!) and also very difficult for the people around them. These disorders often show themselves in people's interactions with others, and they can be confusing, anxiety inducing, and certainly stressful for all involved - especially with loved ones. These disorders can look like angry outbursts, self-harm, repeated self-sabotage, behaviours that seem contradictory and confusing, and can at times even feel manipulative.

A few of the better known examples of personality disorders are those like borderline personality disorder, or anti-social personality disorder.

--Trauma and Complex Trauma (including PTSD and Complex PTSD)--

At some stage in our life, many of us will experience something like a traumatic event: one ubiquitous example of this is loss. None of us can avoid this in our lives. For some people, reactions to a traumatic situation will come and naturally go over time. For others this is not the case. In these circumstances you may experience a sensation of being 'stuck' in your life, unable to move forward from the memories, thoughts, and sensations of what traumatised you.

Complex trauma, is not necessarily traumatisation from one single event, but the experiencing of repeated trauma over time. These events by themselves may sometimes feel or seem less intense when you think back on them after the fact, but have a cumulative traumatising effect over time. Examples of this may be childhood bullying or abuse.

When you experience something that reminds you (consciously or otherwise) of that traumatic experience, it may then activate something commonly known as a 'trigger'. Experiencing a trigger may then make you react to emotions in the present moment that have been held but hidden away (or split off for protection) since the time of the traumatic event. Some people experience this to such an extent, that one way of coping is to try to disconnect from it entirely, developing something called Disassociative Identity Disorder (DID).

The vital ingredient to become unstuck from trauma, and even growing from it (post-traumatic growth) is the ability to make meaning out of your experience. Trauma memories can become scattered fragments in our minds that help shield us from the original experience, but this clever strategy comes with significant downsides. Through a safe and secure relationship, we would establish how your current way of dealing with it has helped you, and carefully and respectfully look to establish and make meaning of the experiences; including, at your pace, helping you to confront the distressing emotional content.

                           ----------Relationship Problems----------

People make seek therapy due to bad experiences in relationships – or an inability to start or maintain relationships in the first place. We all have characteristic ways of thinking, feeling, relating and importantly: responding. These tend to be based on our childhood and early adulthood but manifest themselves in the present moment almost automatically without much questioning. You may find that no matter what you do, despite your best intentions, your relationships never work out and you can’t figure out why. Alternatively you may have some understanding of the problem, but have been unable to fix it for yourself.

We would work to get an understanding of your problems in relationships and your current thinking about them – especially if they seem to be repeated over time – and how these ways of relating to a partner or loved one came to be. We would look at what your emotional, sexual, intellectual and value needs are in relationships and your conscious strategies for achieving them. I will also observe what you may be doing that you are not aware of. Some examples of unmet needs manifesting in other ways are dismissiveness, being emotionally distant (but wanting closeness), excessive clinginess and jealousy, sex addiction, porn addiction, promiscuous sex, inter-partner aggression, and seeking relationships only to instinctively pull away when someone begins to get too close. I also work with issues of infidelity and sexuality

               ----------Self-esteem issues and confidence----------

You may be seeing a familiar pattern of how mental ill health conditions can be complex and intertwine with each other, and you would be correct. The perennial question: what came first: the depression or the lack of self esteem and confidence? Perhaps neither of them came first and are both a symptom of something yet to be discovered. I would make no assumptions on these issues before getting to know you.

My work with self esteem includes sensitively exploring what, indeed, self esteem actually means to you, and how you experience yourself in the world. We will look at how your current behaviours and ways of thinking/feeling about yourself evolved and came to be over time (they might be that way for good reason), and then experiment with how we might change this. Change is usually scary and often leads to internal resistance - the resistance you will have already been experiencing, otherwise you may not have needed expert help at all!

              ----------Problems at work and professional life----------

This category can include many of the other categories within it. As, of course, problems at work can occur for a multitude of reasons. The difference here is that we would, in the beginning, maintain our focus on how issues are manifesting at work as a focal point, and then explore more widely from there depending on your needs. Issues at work can be a symptom of something else going on in your life such as depression or anxiety, or even an oppressive work environment as yet unrecognised.

                           ----------Bereavement and Loss----------

Firstly, if you are seeking help as a result of a loss or bereavement, I am sorry you are going through such a hardship. Loss and bereavement are universal constants - we can do nothing to avoid them. What we can do is seek safe and secure help to come to terms with and process them. Perhaps you are currently going through a loss that has not yet happened but will be: an example of this is a terminal illness diagnosis. This loss could be yourself, a friend, partner or anyone/anything else.

The work in loss is empathically working through the emotions of grief, commonly known as: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Having someone to be with you, and connect to on a profound level in your grief can be the security and space you need to begin the process of moving through it. There is no set time frame for this, and it does not happen simply. Each person processes at their own pace. I would be there with you to help you do this.

                     ----------Growth and self-improvement----------

Counselling and psychotherapy do not all have to be for those with mental health issues. My services are also available for those seeking general self improvement, or looking to make more meaning out of their lives, or just generally seeking change.

A final word from me:

When we work together I will get to know you, with no prior expectations of who you 'should' be. Effective therapy is not just about symptom reduction - although this is often a huge relief, but about increasing your quality of life, perhaps in ways you don't anticipate when we begin the work. In my experience this tends to lead to a better quality of mental health rather feeling better only in the short term.

I believe any effective therapy for psychological change must be based on a trusting and respectful relationship. I am able to provide a confidential and safe environment where you can feel acknowledged, and listened to. Please contact me here our see at website at: www.rysepsychologyservice.co.uk for an initial consultation and more information.

Clinical experience and scientific research both strongly support the notion that the relationship between a therapist and client is one of the strongest factors towards positive therapy outcomes, regardless of anything else.

This is why all the work I do is first and foremost built on a strong foundation of mutual trust, privacy, respect, dignity and integrity.