‘It is not that something different is seen, but that one sees differently’ - Carl Jung

Starting Therapy

Therapy is partly an act of seeing. Seeing oneself differently and being seen and validated by another. In trauma and when we experience complex life events, things can feel blurry and uncertain. It can be hard to see or understand what is happening. Often we come with questions such as ‘what’s wrong with me? Am I broken? Will this ever change? What am I not seeing?’ Sometimes people have been labelled and medicated, and have been through a complex array of systems that claim to offer help but also don’t seem to see them.

At Waterloo Counselling I hope to offer a start where we sit together and see things differently. I acknowledge the courage it takes to ask for support and I hope to offer a beginning founded on respect and honesty in which we feel able to think together about what you may need and how I may support you.

You may be seeking specialist trauma support, or time-limited work, you may wish for ongoing weekly sessions or have your sessions more spaced out. Together we think about what may help you.

The Way I Work

My core training is as a psychodynamic psychotherapist/counsellor. This means the way I work is sometimes to think about your present situation in the context of early upbringing. For example, if we did not feel safe in relationships as a child, it makes sense that this feeling continues into our adult relationships. Understanding and compassion is needed as a first step before we work towards change.

I also work with a deep awareness of the impact of trauma on our sense of self, nervous system, muscle tension, sleep pattern and relationships. I have been through extensive training in specialist trauma focussed approaches such as EMDR (Eye Movement, Desensitisation and Reprocessing), somatic training for complex trauma and IFS (internal family systems)/EMDR integration training. These approaches may be useful but I will not push a discipline or technique onto you and at all times we think together and thoughtfully about what works best for you.

How long does it take?

One of the questions you may ask when starting therapy is ‘how long will it take?’ There is no absolute answer to this question. Time-limited therapy involves agreeing a fixed number of sessions although people often choose to return at a later time to re-remember the work they achieved. Ongoing therapy involves keeping a dialogue open, allowing a free space to reflect on how you are doing and on how you feel in the therapy space. There are real situations that impact on coming to therapy, such as money, illness, jobs, and children. Therapy is also hard at times and it can be scary to think about staying to face things. I offer a space where conversation is possible and we allow for an honest reflection of what is right for you.

Time-limited therapy

Time-limited therapy is about agreeing a set amount of sessions at the start of our work. You may be seeking a specific goal for therapy, such as improving your relationships, or you may need to find a therapy which is affordable, either financially or in terms of time. In which case time-limited therapy may be the best approach for you. I often work using a 12-session model of time-limited work, but this depends upon your circumstance.   

Ongoing therapy and trauma focussed therapy

In ongoing therapy, we do not have a fixed amount of sessions at the start of our work. You may have complex issues to work through and so it is best to work together until it feels right for us to stop. Sometimes it is difficult to tell how much counselling you need and in this case, ongoing therapy is most suited for you.  

In trauma focussed work we think carefully about what you need. I offer longer sessions which allows us to work through complex events but also have time and space to breathe and regulate the nervous system. We think together about how to space the sessions in a way that best supports you.

Working with me

I am a highly experienced practitioner and have worked with many hundreds of people. I have experience of working within NHS settings (Kings College Hospital and currently South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust). I offer an affirmative, open and supportive space. I gently challenge and question, whilst still holding a space for you to clearly define who you are and what you need. I am interested in each person finding and speaking from their authentic self.