Psychodynamic counselling and psychoanalytic psychotherapy

I have trained in both psychodynamic counselling and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, as well as Jungian psychotherapy.  Each of these models involve exploring current behaviours and ways of thinking to find the unconscious motivations behind them, which often come from childhood experiences.  Everyone has a tendency to repeat patterns of behaviour, and even if you are clear that you want to change these, it can be hard to do so.  By discovering the unconscious motivations behind your behaviour and thinking you can see how they have developed, and this can help to change them.

Some of these behaviours may be repeated in the therapeutic relationship, which makes is an important tool for change, as the therapist will be able to understand and accept what happens in a way that is difficult in any other relationship.  As a therapist, I will not seek to impose my views on you, although I will encourage you to explore alternative ways of thinking about yourself. 

I believe the therapeutic relationship to be a container within which people can discover themselves, and the ways in which they relate both to others and to themselves.  It is the therapist’s ability to reflect inwardly, to feel empathically and to recognise and accept the client and their needs as they are, that creates a space in which people feel safe enough to confront inner conflict, confusion and pain.  Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is not just about solving problems, it is about helping people become more fully themselves, discovering capacities and fulfilling potential.  When this happens, people can find they view their problems quite differently, and manage them far better.

For some people a counselling-based therapy is more appropriate, focussing on specific issues, while others are looking for more in-depth work that will explore their lives both more broadly and in more detail.  As I work with people, I will gauge which is the best approach, although I generally find that it becomes a mixture of the two.