About my own work with individuals – a short introduction

Take the Introductory Tour (slide show – coming soon)

My approach to counselling & psychotherapy offers …

• an integrative approach which encompasses a wide range of well-established, tried and tested, reputable theories and techniques
• flexibility in terms of your stated goals for therapy, whether this is a ‘quick-fix’ or long-term characterological transformation
• an holistic approach which does not exclusively rely on words, thinking and verbal interaction (i.e. an approach which does not privilege insight and reflection over spontaneous experience)
• specifically, a wide range of humanistic techniques, drawn from Gestalt, bodywork (Reichian, bioenergetics, biosynthesis, biodynamic), Process-oriented Psychology, psychodrama, Transactional Analysis, psychosynthesis, Neuro-linguistic Programming, guided imagery, mindfulness, etc
• a psychodynamic approach which addresses – as the term implies – the dynamic depth of the psyche: the forces of our inner world which are at the root of our experience and which shape our feelings, thoughts and actions. Often, a superficial correction or adjustment is not sufficient to maintain a lasting effect. Then we need to take into account those – often invisible and unconscious – forces which precede the outer problem and behaviour.
• an ‘integral’ approach which addresses the whole person, including the physical, emotional and mental aspects (not just in theory, but in the experience within the session)
• a way of working which is informed by the findings of modern neuroscience

What to do next if you are interested …

You may feel ready to arrange an initial consultation. Or, you may want to think, reflect and research more, and inform yourself as to what kind of therapywould work for you. There are many therapeutic approaches available, and they each have their strengths and weaknesses and special applications which they are most suited to.

One basic distinction – and you do not necessarily need to decide this immediately – is between short-term work and deeper, ongoing long-term therapy.

Short-term therapeutic work with individuals

For some people at a crossroads in their life, the unbiased supportive and reflective space provided by counselling or therapy may be sufficent to fairly quickly find their own route through the particular transition they are facing. Short-term work tends to be focussed on the present situation (rather than the history and origins of a problem), and oriented towards practical decision-making. Even then, you will want to explore the emotional context of the issue and what feelings, thoughts and assumptions are at work and maybe driving you. In short-term work, the therapy will tend to be more structured, goal-oriented and maybe directive, focussing on the heart of the matter quickly. The more you yourself are ready, open and pro-active in tackling and facing the issues, the more likely it is that a few sessions may be sufficient to come to some conclusion. This could involve simply a process of sharing your concerns and talking them through, a CBT (cognitive-behavioural) focus on your thought processes and attitudes, or it could involve a more experiential or creative exploration.

In-depth therapeutic work with individuals

The more long-standing, deep-seated and painful the issues you are bringing, the more likely it is that a longer process is indicated.

To express it in an image: short-term work is like finding and opening a hidden or locked door in your house, and maybe about re-decorating or re-arranging the furniture; long-term work is about structural changes involving building work: creating new windows and doors, changing the internal layout of your psychological house, opening out the basement or building attics and extensions.

If you are comfortable in your home, why would you want to go to the trouble and hassle of major building work ? As they say: "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!"

However, if you feel stuck in an environment or structures that make you suffer or don’t suit you, or if you feel trapped in painful repeating patterns or cycles of avoidance or addiction, then it may be worth your while to make long-term work a priority. Also, if the intensity of the feelings is too much to bear, or you are frightened and desperate, it is unlikely that you are able to think clearly for yourself. If you find yourself going round in circles and not really getting anywhere, why would you refuse possible help andto insist on doing it by yourself ?

I have heard it said often by clients, after some time into therapy: "if I had known just how different everything can feel and look, I would have come much earlier!"

Long-term work depends on the safety, solidity and reliability of the space that can be created between you and your therapist. If you are going to do structural building work on a house, you want the scaffolding, the supports, the pillars and beams in place so that some of the walls can then be wobbly or taken down. This kind of work involves deep-seated habits and assumptions, questioning and exploring aspects of your personality which you have come to live with, but which may not serve you. The history, emotions and repeating patterns underlying your everyday feeling, thinking and behaviour will need attention, and the regularity of usually weekly sessions will provide a continuity and structure that supports your process. You may find that rather than having to make a dedicated effort in therapy or to force change, that change seems to happen anyway, sometimes in spite of yourself. The process can acquire its own momentum, given the right conditions.

As described in the section on the many therapeutic approaches, a wide and diverse spectrum of models and techniques can be drawn from in such long-term work, and you will find out fairly quickly which ones work for you. Some simple parameters (whether you are more a thinking or feeling person, more introvert or extrovert, more visual or auditory, whether your learning style prefers understanding before experience or the other way round), can give us an indication what therapeutic approach to pursue.

Ranging from the more traditional focus of a variety of verbal approaches, to the immediate and experiential focus of an approach like Gestalt or psychodrama, to body-oriented techniques or a focus on your dreams and fantasies, there are many avenues into the landscape of your psyche.

My particular integration of approaches

You can find a more detailed description of my particular integration of approaches and my own work with individuals in the following pages in this section.

For details of my work with individuals in organisations and business, see Coaching & Mentoring.

For a list of questions to ask yourself when you are considering counselling or psychotherapy, see the section on Finding & choosing a therapist.

More information and resources are available on the websites of BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy).

Arrange an initial consultation…

The first step is to phone or email to arrange an initial consultation. This will take place in Botley, West Oxford and will lastan hour. This initial meeting is, of course, confidential, and costs £50 (concessions for students, unemployed or disadvantaged people can be arranged).

You will have the opportunity to talk about yourself, and what you are looking for and need help with. We will discuss the possible benefits in relation to your investment of time, money and energy. In this initial session I may want to give you an experience of what psychotherapy may be like and what it may involve. This can, of course, only be a flavour, but hopefully it will give you a ‘felt-sense’ rather than only an idea.

If we agree that it may be worth your while to try it out, we then need to investigate in detail what specific approach and what type of person would probably be most helpful to you, your situation and your problem. There are many possibilities and permutations, i.e. counselling or psychotherapy, individual or group work, short- or long-term, a great variety of approaches and practitioners, and then the particularities of the therapist in terms of age, gender, style, professional and life experience, etc.

If you want to work with me …

If you want to work with me personally, please take into account that I currently have a waiting list and cannot take on regular commitments immediately. If you want to be included in that waiting list, it usually makes sense to have the initial consultation, anyway, so you can decide whether you want to wait. Otherwise, please email me.

If you want me to recommend a therapist …

If there is a therapist I can recommend, I will usually come back to you within a few days to give you their name and number, for you to contact them and arrange a first session.