Psychotherapy
psychotherapy
How can
'He who fully understands and accepts himself harnesses the power and beauty of a thousand thoroughbreds' Anon
During psychotherapy, the therapist listens deeply, identifies patterns and possible root causes, and gently questions her client with a view to helping them develop self-awareness and self-understanding.
help?
Some of the problems that psychotherapy can help to address:
Longer term feelings of depression, anxiety, anger towards self or others, guilt, low self-esteem, self doubt, low self-confidence and a lack of motivation, meaning or purpose can be addressed through psychotherapy.
As the client develops compassion and understanding towards themselves, modelled by the therapist, they start to nurture self-love. In turn, this self-love makes the client stronger and more clear-sighted in how they relate to other people.
How does psychotherapy differ from counselling?
While counselling is helpful in response to particular life events, changes and challenges, psychotherapy is more typically used when someone is struggling even though they are not presently going through a difficult life event. It can feel as if the cause ‘goes way back’, often to childhood, and that the problems are more deep-rooted than having to deal with something challenging in the present time.
What happens in a session?
I listen deeply as you talk about your feelings and your life story. Our emotions can be signposts to what has hurt and disempowered us in our past. Together, we look for patterns in your behaviour and we start to identify the life experiences from which you built your self-construct which is your understanding of yourself and your sense of your place in the world and how you relate to people. We start to identify what might be the root causes of any false or limiting beliefs which you have about yourself.
What are the aims of psychotherapy?
Understanding oneself enables one to understand others and then how best to respond and communicate with them. Increased self-awareness allows us to keep and develop the aspects of self which serve us well, whilst starting to release that which is not helpful.
How does it help me?
As you develop your understanding of yourself and the way that your past has influenced you, its power over you starts to diminish. It can feel as if you start to take up the reins of your own life. You see yourself through fresh eyes and recognise what from your past needs processing and repatterning. With each new insight, the negative thoughts and emotions which .were drowning out who you truly are start to break down and allow for a positive sense of self to form in their place.
I've heard that psychotherapy can take a long time to be effective. Is that true?
Some forms of psychotherapy are thought of as working slowly with clients needing therapy for several months or even longer before experiencing significant benefits. This is why I often recommend using psychotherapy in conjunction with hypnotherapy. These two therapies complement each other especially well because while psychotherapy identifies the root causes which need addressing, hypnotherapy can be the therapeutic tool for more rapid change.
With the help of your therapist, negative unconscious and self-limiting beliefs are replaced with positive ones called suggestions in order to free you from stuck feelings and behaviours.
It’s about knowing and understanding who we are, loving ourselves unconditionally and taking back control.
Together we will make a difference
