Psychotherapy FAQ
What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a talking cure. It involves meeting regularly with a therapist in a confidential setting to talk about what is on your mind.
Can talking really cure?
Through talking about your life with a trained therapist you can come to a deeper understanding of yourself. How you understand yourself affects how you live your life and how you experience the world.
How long/often are meetings?
A session lasts 50 minutes, and we will meet once or twice a week depending on your needs and availability.
How long will it take?
There is no simple answer to this question because the answer depends entirely on you. Some find that a consultation is all they need to help them move past something that is troubling them. Others require long-term therapy to help manage their particular difficulty.
What kind of problems can it address?
Psychotherapy can help with a range of immediate emotional problems such as depression and anxiety, stress, phobias, sexual problems and difficulties with relationships. It can also help to address deeper issues which keep us locked into repeating unhelpful patterns of behaviour.
How do I get started?
Contact me and we will arrange a consultation together.
What is a consultation?
Typically this is two sessions. I will get a chance to see if I can help you, and you can see if you can use the help I am offering. At the end of the consultation we will discuss the best course of action and agree a therapy plan.
What is the difference between psychotherapy and counselling?
There is a good deal of overlap between counselling and psychotherapy, so much so that one might be hard pressed to distinguish the work of a counsellor from that of a psychotherapist. Broadly speaking, the distinction is usually found in the scope of the work. For instance, a person who has lost a loved one may go to counselling to help them to work through their grief. Whilst another who suffers from anxiety in social situations may want psychotherapy to help uncover what lay at the heart of this.
Does that mean that one is better than the other?
No-one but you can decide which suits you better. What is perhaps more important than the particular title is that you feel able to relate to your therapist. To undertake the bold endeavour of self-discovery places a great deal of trust in the therapist who accompanies you.
