Couple and individual therapy are broad terms. Essentially I see individuals and couples who want to discuss their adult relationships and problems within them.
Difficulties may relate directly to ‘couple’ concerns such as committing to a long term partnership, moving in together, marriage, infidelity, problems with your sex life, deciding when or whether to have a baby, coping with infertility as well as separation or divorce.
Sometimes problems may be symptomatic of individual distress that has been around for a while and been brought to the surface in the course of your relationship.
Life experiences such as unemployment, retirement, financial strains, ageing, illness and bereavement also take their toll on our everyday lives and impact our close relationships.
Who is it for?
Therapy may be for individuals or both partners, from all backgrounds, whether wishing to stay together or wishing to consider separation or divorce.
How does it work?
I am trained in both systemic and psychodynamic psychotherapy but use a predominantly psychodynamic approach in working with relationships. This means that while listening and thinking with you about the current concerns that have led you to seek professional help, I will also help you to explore past experiences and relationships where it seems these may have contributed to certain patterns of behaviour, which may now feel rather stuck.
What do I do now?
To help you decide whether therapy might be right for you I offer an initial consultation session where we discuss the sort of help you are looking for. In turn, you can get an idea of how I work and what is involved. You may wish to attend this session with your partner but it is also fine to come on your own to explore what to do next.
What is it like?
Regular weekly sessions, held at the same time and in the same place, are an important part of a positive therapeutic experience. Sessions last 50 minutes and no preparation is needed. Some people are familiar with the process of therapy, others less so and some may feel quite uncomfortable at first talking about themselves and their personal lives. This is understandable and I seek to work sensitively with individuals and partners whatever their outlook.
How long will it take?
The length of therapy will usually become clearer after our initial consultation. I offer ‘open-ended’ sessions – in other words there is no set limit to the number of sessions available to you. Work can be short- or long-term depending on how you feel the sessions are progressing. An end to therapy is open for discussion at any point.
How much does it cost?
Session fees are discussed as part of our initial consultation. There is some flexibility depending on whether you are looking for an evening or daytime appointment and your circumstances. Please contact me in advance if you would like to discuss the fee.
Confidentiality
The information you choose to share in sessions is confidential. The rare exceptions are in order to ensure your or another’s safety and any need to break confidentiality will, where possible, be discussed with you.