Psychotherapy

What is psychotherapy?

There is much debate about the difference between counselling and psychotherapy. Most agree that they are largely interchangeable terms, however psychotherapists have longer, more intensive training and therapy is often at a deeper, more longer lasting level. 

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I train in and practice Integrative Psychotherapy, using Transactional Analysis (TA) as my main theoretical model.

Integrative psychotherapy uses a variety of theoretical models and views of human functioning, with the aim of helping clients to understand their unique psychological processes and support the process of change.

  The philosophy of TA is:



• People are OK​ - we all have worth, value and dignity as people. We deserve equal respect regardless of differences in wealth, culture, religion or achievements.

• Everyone has the capacity to think.​

• People decide their own destiny, and these decisions can be changed.​



When you work with a psychotherapist you will be looking at the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that you have in the present, discovering unhelpful patterns which may have been developed over years, and in the process finding healthier ways to live your life.

TA believes that much of how we live our life today is based upon decisions we made about ourselves whilst growing up, e.g. 'I can't trust anybody' or 'I'm unlovable'. Although these beliefs may have helped us as children, they are often unhelpful to us as adults.

TA psychotherapists believe in open communication between therapist and client and encourage the client to take an equal role in the process of change.  We also work contractually to ensure that we are both in agreement about the direction and pace of therapy.