What is psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy offers a safe, regular time and space where you can explore and express your feelings, thoughts, conflicts, and worries. This process can help you feel less burdened by life’s challenges and more capable of leading a healthy and satisfying life.

There are various types of psychotherapy. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), for instance, is a time-limited, structured approach that focuses on changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours. It involves actively working together with a therapist to set goals and find solutions. You can find a registered CBT therapist at the BABCP. 

Psychodynamic therapy is a less structured approach that explores beyond your conscious thoughts and behaviours to consider, in addition, your unconscious thoughts and feelings—the parts of yourself you are less aware of. This approach is grounded in the understanding that there are aspects of ourselves that we may never fully know, and that our past relationships and experiences deeply influence us. This does not mean you will need to talk about your past, although this might be very helpful. But gaining some understanding about your past can help your therapist make sense of your current difficulties, enabling you to unlock aspects of yourself that may be hindering your ability to move forward and make healthier choices today.

You can read more about the different types of therapeutic approaches at the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). You can read more about my approach here, and you can read about the way I work, what a therapy session with me is like, and some information on my fees here.