~~~Welcome to my website~~~
Are you considering Psychotherapy or Counselling in Harrow, London HA2, or at London Bridge or Borough, London SE1?
I am a professional, experienced and registered Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist and Psycho-dynamic Counsellor.
I offer one-to-one psychotherapy or counselling for adults (from 18 years of age) and couples psychotherapy.
I provide a consultation service, a first meeting to help you clarify your needs and to think about what to do next. There is no obligation to continue.
I offer supervision of psycho dynamic work to counsellors or psychotherapists.
What follows is a brief summary about psychotherapy and what it entails. In the next page are my qualifications, experience and some work areas of interest.
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why psychotherapy?
People consult a psychotherapist or a counsellor for many different reasons. They may wish
to develop their qualities and potential and embark on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth; alternatively, or in addition, they may have a lingering feeling that not all is well.
They might want to address some confusion or maybe difficulties over their own identity; maybe feel empty or alone, with a sense of diminishing self-worth or lack of self-confidence or energy to do things, sometimes following a specific event like a relationship break down, loss of a job or a bereavement.
You may feel down or confused, be suffering from stress, maybe finding it difficult to maintain relationships or to go out or you may have unresolved issues from the past, be grappling with trauma or abusive situations.
You might feel unsettled, be somewhere that is new or foreign to you, having encountered maybe religious, racial, cultural or social discrimination.
Maybe you are struggling with repetitive routines or thoughts that get in the way of everyday life, have problems with sleep or eating, feel uneasy with love, intimacy and sex. You might feel stuck in any of these or other situations.
Sometimes it is the struggles with such or other diverse issues, or feeling somewhat wretched and unsure where or how to talk about them, which finally encourages someone to decide to look into psychotherapy or counselling. It takes some courage together with some determination to take this first step and it is not unusual to be a little uneasy or reticent.
what is psychoanalytic psychotherapy or counselling?
Psychotherapy, as well as counselling, is a professional and collaborative partnership between you and your psychotherapist, who will listen to you attentively and in a non-judgmental and respectful way. It promotes wellbeing on all aspects of emotional and mental health.
Through this process, the psychotherapist will facilitate and help you to have an understanding of how or why you feel and think as you do and of what is going on for you at that time.
In the psycho-dynamic process, the therapy meetings, we look with particular attention to the dynamics of the mind. These, sometimes, might not be so clear for the individual to understand as they may be hidden in the unconscious, occasionally also known as the sub-conscious.
Both Counselling and Psychotherapy are talking treatments, the latter being more in-depth, meeting once to four times weekly. By talking, in a safe and confidential place, to someone who is listening with empathy and thoughtfully and has been trained fully and in-depth in this process, it can be possible to find different ways of coping, to change and to feel relief from the burden/s you have been carrying, enabling you to get on with life in a more fulfilling way.
the first meeting:
This will often be the hardest step for someone to take. Your initial consultation is when we'll have the opportunity to explore what brings you to psychotherapy. The purpose of the session/s is to assess your needs and find out whether psychotherapy might be helpful to you.
I am sensitive to the individuality and uniqueness of each person and endeavour to give you the opportunity to speak of things that are important to you. Both you and I can ponder over these and decide where to go from there. There is a fee of £60.00 for this first meeting.
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If we decide to work together, we can then discuss which days and times for the ongoing sessions, which are 50 minutes each.
Sessions are regular and scheduled for the same time and day/s, once or several times weekly. We can discuss alternatives if you work shift or irregular hours.
We can talk about these and other practical matters at the initial consultation/s.
I reserve a limited number of day-time sessions at reduced fees depending on people's financial circumstances. Both the initial or following sessions can be paid by cheque or cash.
©paulaßarnby.2008
(images from goggle)
