Psychotherapy is generally long term, from several months to many years. It is a process of personal change emerging from the conscious and unconscious aspects of your experiencing.
The psychotherapeutic relationship is a unique experience and involves making meaning of how you know yourself within relationships and the world around you. We’ll discover what you may have forgotten or don’t yet know. We’re likely to talk about your family and other relationships, in the present and in the past.
You and I create the therapy process together. It’s the quality of our relationship that will enable you to achieve the changes you desire.
Some days you may have something in particular to talk about, and other days you may have no idea of what you want. Whether you’re feeling awful or great, turning up to discover what can emerge each session is what psychotherapy is all about.
The ending of psychotherapy is important to plan for as you are likely to discover as much as you have throughout the process. We’ll talk through what your hopes and fears are, and make sure the timing is right.
Counselling tends to be shorter term, ranging between six to twelve sessions.
The challenges of life can be stressful, and our coping mechanisms aren’t always helpful or healthy. Solving problems can be difficult if we get overwhelmed by feeling, struggle with intrusive negative thoughts, or, get caught in troublesome behaviours. In counselling I’ll assist you identify patterns you’d like to change, and discover new understanding and new strategies for living.
It’s also possible we may glimpse some underlying reasons for your struggles and you may choose to embark upon psychotherapy to seek more significant change.
There are many reasons why people seek psychotherapy and counselling such as anxiety and depression, trauma and bereavement, stress and anger, isolation, feeling desperate or numb, illness, sexual difficulties or relationship conflict, job dissatisfaction or loss, and parenting challenges.
Every client's experience of therapy is different. Unexpected issues, experiences and outcomes are likely to emerge. Sometimes you may feel worse before feeling better.
Usually most people gain a sense of learning and growing, and some of the benefits of therapy for you are likely to be: