WHAT IS A PSYCHOTHERAPIST?

Psychotherapy is a term used to refer to the modality, training, interests and skills of psychologists, counselors, social workers, psychiatrists and mental health workers, usually when the work is deeper or more specific  than that of counselors with only university training. A psychotherapist seeks to unlock the underlying issues which can contribute to mental health difficulties.  This is different from a counselor who discusses problems with clients  and seeks to nut out solutions.  Psychologists can do only counselling if they choose, and many do.  Other psychologists choose a modality, receive rigorous training in that particular field and then gather  other resources from various fields as they progress.  A psychotherapist almost always has done personal therapy which has lasted more than one year in duration, and also has regular, individual supervision.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY PASSIONS:

The journey of psychotherapy can unlock deep places within the psyche where unknown and often unreachable aspects of us can become known. This is what I write about in the books listed  here. So many are scared of accessing deeper places, terrified of being analysed in case their self doubt (and self hatred in many cases) is activated in front of someone else. What can be misunderstood is that it is often more exciting than terrifying to go on this journey. Although we access grief and pain, the liberation of fresh creative energy is an invaluable bonus.

I am not a psychoanalyst, although I write about it…indeed I have a Masters Degree in it! My passion is to bring the insights of psychoanalysis together with many other theoretical bases such as Gestalt Therapy, Family Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Jungian ideas combining these with the newer Mindfulness Based Meditations and neuropsychological understandings. I love working with issues of attachment in couples, aiding them to deepen their capacity for intimacy. I understand and use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Emotionally Focussed sessions every time I meet with a client.

I am passionate about Interpersonal Therapy with all its distilled strengths. I love to bring people into an awareness of their own fantasy worlds, where their imaginations make up scenarios about how the other is thinking and feeling, without ever being able to check this out!

You can imagine then that all this richness and diversity has trouble fitting into 6 Medicare sessions. I long to return to the days where people paid for their therapy themselves because they really wanted to move from living with continual frustration and pain.

Please get in touch if these ways of viewing the world of the psyche appeal to you!