Here are answers to questions I am frequently asked. If yours is not covered, please get in touch and I will be happy to help.
What is the difference between Counselling and Psychotherapy?
Both are talking therapies but counselling generally is concerned with a specific, contemporary issue such as bereavement, divorce or redundancy. Psychotherapy deals with longer standing issues and patterns of thinking, feeling and behaviour. It is broader in scope and sometimes longer in duration but there are common characteristics between the two practices.
What is the difference between Psychiatry and Psychotherapy?
Psychiatry is the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and frequently involves drug therapy combined with talking therapy. Psychotherapy is talking therapy.
Is Psychotherapy the same as Psychoanalysis?
Psychoanalysis is the same as Psychotherapy in as much as they are both types of talking therapy. Psychoanalysis, as created by Freud, predates psychotherapeutic systems such as Humanistic, Integrative, Existential, Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, and focuses on the principle that much distress has been caused by events in early life of which we are no longer aware. Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy, which is my practice, has its focus more on the here and now and the past is addressed only if it is relevant to you.
What type of Psychotherapy do you practise?
I practise Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy, an approach that does justice to the whole person: mind, body, emotions and spirit. It represents a broad range of psychotherapeutic methods and each method recognises the self-healing capacities of the client. My belief is that the relationship between client and therapist is crucial and therapy should be a humanising process for both parties. Integrity, acceptance, healthy contact and communication are the basis of an authentic meeting of equals in the therapeutic relationship.
You can learn more about my approach on the About page.
What are your qualifications?
I am a registered Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapist and an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy and Coaching Division. I have completed further postgraduate training in Solution Focused Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Family Constellations, trauma-informed approaches and Somatic Experiencing.
Where did you train as a therapist?
Spectrum, a centre for Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy in London. Spectrum is one of the most established and renowned training organisations in the world, committed to the development of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy.