Who is it for?
Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice when we feel that there is something in our lives that continues to trouble us and that profoundly needs healing. The motivation to enter psychotherapy can range from a vague dissatisfaction to a sense that life has become completely unmanageable, or come through knowing someone who has benefited from psychotherapy. Often it is one specific area in life that causes dissatisfaction, such as work problems that repeat through job-changes, or relationships stuck in similar patterns. There may be depression, anxiety, low self-esteem or a struggle with addictions. There are many physical problems (such as ME or infertility) that respond to psychotherapy. Sometimes it is just a lingering but persistent sense that life could be lived in a much better way, that something essential is missing. In any case, the decision to ask for help is a crucial factor in psychotherapy as is a deep down need to heal oneself.
Why Jungian?
Among the founders of analytical psychotherapy, Jung was the one who most profoundly believed in the possibilities of positive change. For Jung the human being is infinitely creative. He theorised an inner agency called the Self that is always, often unconsciously, engaged in change and healing. One of the better known Jungian methods is, of course, the use of dreams. In Jungian analysis or psychotherapy, dreams open up deeper levels of experience to everyday consciousness, sometimes in small, sometimes in very profound ways. Dreams can chart the process of healing, although this process is not dependant on them. Jungian psychotherapy aims at unlocking our potential both creative and relational, opening the door to a deep and profound healing.
About the therapeutic process
The effect of psychotherapy sessions is considered to be cumulative and, as a senior practitioner, I am able to custom-make the therapy and tailor it to my client in a bespoke way. My outlook is profoundly positive as I will always look for creative capacity that is already there and perhaps needs to be perceived more clearly or needs to be harvested. At the same time, I will help my client to attend to anything that might need to be faced as being injurous to the self or standing in the way of creativity and expansion. In addition, I hold empathy to be a human right both within and without the consulting-room. Both long and short-term work is possible as needed. I will usually suggest an appointment for an initial session, which is a psychotherapy session but also serves to find out whether Jungian psychotherapy might work for you and what your needs are.