Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Do you feel anxious, isolated, lonely or depressed?
Do you find yourself questioning some of your life-decisions?
Notice the same self-sabotaging patterns repeating in your work and personal relationships?
Are you asking yourself, how did I end up here again?
If you are curious about how to change some of that and feeling lost, confused and unsure how to begin, then you've come to the right place.
Psychodynamic therapy offers you an opportunity to work long-term and in-depth, helping you:
- overcome deep-rooted feelings of anxiety, sadness and isolation;
- change self-limiting beliefs and behaviours;
- build healthier professional and personal relationships;
- increase self-awareness, confidence and connection;
- enhance assertiveness and emotional resilience;
- feel more grounded, autonomous and choiceful.
I have current availability for online or weekly in-person sessions in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
You will benefit from long-term psychotherapy with me, if you're open to exploring how childhood experiences might be influencing your present feelings, behaviour and ways of relating and are:
- looking to develop a deeper understanding of yourself and your internal world;
- interested in how your unconscious processes influence how you relate to others;
- seeking to restore balance to your life;
- ready to commit to regular, weekly appointments;
- willing and able to work online or for in-person sessions able to travel to Bolton.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Long-term psychotherapy offers you a space to explore in-depth how you became the way you are. We will think together about how your early environment and childhood experiences shaped your beliefs about yourself, others and the world. We will think together about how past experiences continue to influence your decisions and relationships in the present and explore what you might do instead.
We will make use of the therapeutic relationship to explore and better understand how family dynamics and
Eric Berne the founder of transactional analysis (TA), drew on the metaphor of fairytale, to explain the process of personal growth that can be achieved through long-term therapy. I have paraphrased him slightly here:
"Every human being is born a prince or a princess; early experiences convince some that they are frogs, the rest of the unhealthy development follows from this."
Continuing the metaphor, Berne goes on to say:
"There are two therapeutic goals. The first tries for something called getting better, or 'progress,' which in effect is making more comfortable frogs; the second aims at getting well, or "cure," which means to cast off the frog skin and take up once more the uninterrupted development of the prince or princess. Transactional Analysis aims for the latter." (Berne, E. 1966).
While Berne's language and way of framing therapy might seem outdated when compared to current approaches to transactional analysis, I feel one of the best things about TA is that it began with a fundamental belief that change is possible. Berne believed that all of us have within us the potential for growth and that we are both supported and held back by our early experiences, social and environmental influences. Early on we develop an unconscious life plan or Script that helps us make sense of the world, we might think of this as a creative system of defences that over time become unhealthy or stuck.
As adults we may unconsciously seek out, repeatedly, experiences which reinforce our unhealthy Script beliefs. One of the aims of therapy is to uncover those early Script decisions, by exploring the past in order to understand what is happening in the present. By thinking together about how Script continues to influence your choices and ways of relating in the here and now, we bring Script patterns into awareness. This process allows you to identify, re-evaluate and begin letting go of any self-limiting beliefs, unhealthy behaviours and unhelpful defences.
Therapy offers the opportunity to experiment with new ways of being and relating that feel more self-compassionate, choiceful and autonomous.
I have found this approach to be effective in supporting clients with longterm issues of anxiety, depression, co-dependency and difficulty maintaining healthy boundaries, childhood trauma and Complex PTSD.
Working psychodynamically with me
Transactional Analysis has developed significantly since the time of Eric Berne and theory and methods have been expanded and updated. My approach draws on my expertise and understanding of contemporary thinking in transactional analysis (TA), attachment theory, concepts from group analysis and current approaches to working with trauma and dissociation. I am concerned with helping you to gain a better awareness of yourself, your inner world, internal conflicts and unconscious processes, so that you are able to build a healthier more contactful relationship with yourself and others.
Listening to your story and exploring your current difficulties, we will work together to gain insights into how unconscious patterns are repeating and blocking you from achieving your goals in the present.
We will pay close attention to our therapeutic relationship. Reflecting together on what happens between us, can serve as a way of illuminating some unconscious, repeating, relational patterns allowing us to pause and consider alternatives This psychodynamic approach can help with a wide range of difficulties including depression, anxiety, social anxiety, issues of identity and low self-esteem, co-dependency and childhood trauma.
I believe therapy is a co-creative process. If you decide to work with me, we will build an empathic, supportive and mutually respectful working alliance. My aim is for you to feel heard, accepted and understood. All of my therapeutic work, is underpinned by my core training in transactional analysis psychotherapy and the following beliefs:
- You are OK.
- You have the capacity to think and to problem solve.
- We decide and shape our own destiny and these decisions can be changed.
Therapy is an investment in yourself
Long-term psychotherapy requires a commitment to a minimum of 40 sessions, which is usually a year's worth of therapy. Generally sessions take place weekly, with gaps for holidays. In-person sessions are available Tuesdays at a therapy room, in Bolton town centre. Depending on your needs, requirements and budget, I do offer some online availability for fortnightly appointments.
I appreciate this is a big step and finding the right therapist for you, is an important part of the process. I am BACP registered and you can check my credentials on the BACP website or by visiting my Psychology Today profile here.
If you're ready to get started, please get in touch to enquire about my current availability and request a consultation.
Next Steps
The initial consultation session is free, takes place online and lasts about an hour. At the consultation, I will invite you to tell me about yourself, your current situation and reasons for beginning therapy. I'll ask some questions about your background and what you hope to get from our sessions and I'll answer any questions you have about my approach. We'll think about how we might work together and whether the psychodynamic approach is right for you.
We can also discuss whether online or in-person therapy will work best for you.
After the consultation, if we decide to go ahead, my current fee for individual psychotherapy is £65 per 50 minute session.
Contact me to book a consultation, to enquire about fees or to request further information.