My counselling is integrative and blends insights from humanistic/existential counselling with psychodynamic psychotherapy.
What this means in practice is that, as a humanistic counsellor, I am deeply committed to relationships that reflect the equality, dignity and personal authority of the person with whom I am working. I consciously work in order to help people achieve their personal potential; to support and bolster their sense of emotional wellbeing, and their particular strengths and abilities; so that they can better address whatever difficulty and pain they are experiencing in life.
My interest in psychodynamic psychotherapy (and attachment theory) means that I understand that adults are profoundly influenced by their previous experiences; and particularly by experiences in infancy and childhood. As children most people have had to cope with deeply painful events. As a consequence, they develop modes of relating to others that defend them against distress. In later life these defences may become problematic and get in the way of good, open relationships in personal and professional life.
For some people the focus of counselling will stay in the present, discussing current events in a problem-solving manner. For others, especially people with more difficult personal histories, it will mean exploring cycles of distress dating back into childhood, and seeing how strategies for self-defence, developed in earlier circumstances, may be adversely effecting their present relationships. Exploration of past trauma in a safe environment can bring profound healing to emotional wounds which need not continue to have power over us.
