Psychotherapy, CBT Therapy Counselling in Finchley, Hendon,
Golders Green, Barnet and North London
& Online

THERAPY IN LONDON

Life can sometimes throw at us more than we are able make sense of. This can affect you and your relationships, whether at work or in your personal life. A loss of self-confidence may lead to some critical, negative thinking. You find yourself behaving in a way you don't like, or in the same 'old situation', feeling some anxiety and stressed at the same same. You know you don't want to be there, yet somehow it's happened again.

WHY COUNSELLING

When you come to see the therapist the ‘problem’ or the symptom you are describing often feels like it is just happening to you, rather than something you have a say in or control over. Counselling gives you a space where you can talk about the difficulties you are facing without the shame or guilty feelings that can be a part of the 'problem'. Getting it out in the open, so you can have a look at what's going on, helps you understand how this is affecting your relationships and the situations you are facing, and also the anxiety you may well be feeling at times.

A part of this process, is about becoming more aware of how past relationships can play out in the present. This in turn allows you to develop a mindful attitude towards yourself, rather than just reacting when you feel stressed and anxious.

But an important part of counselling, is that as it progresses and you become more aware and confident, you can think about new ways to address the issues you are facing, and start to make changes in the world outside counselling. Last of all, in this process you have someone there, travelling with you, as you start to find a more appropriate and better way to get on with your life.

MY APPROACH

ISSUES YOU CAN BRING TO COUNSELLING

Counselling almost always starts with the ‘problem’ or what is sometimes called the symptom – feeling anxious or sad, panic attacks, not sleeping well, issues around low self-esteem and depression, obsessing about things, procrastinating, often feeling tired and a myriad other ways of describing what is troubling you. But underneath the immediate pain or unhappiness is what I sometimes call an 'emotional logic'.

What is that tendency which keeps you in a relationship that is not working, why do you keep obsessing about certain things, what’s making you so anxious at times and maybe feeling sad as well, why are you very critical of yourself and often feel you must do more than you need to and end up sliding into those feelings of depression and low self-esteem? It is these subjective 'logics' or tendencies which can have an addictive quality, in the sense you keep getting drawn into them, which the therapy explores. And it is by exploring them and understanding what is going on that paves the way for making real changes in your life.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

FIRST STEP