Mid Life Crisis or Opportunity?
Am I experiencing a midlife crisis? What are the signs and symptoms of a midlife crisis, and how do [...]
Mindfulness and Therapy
What is mindfulness-based therapy? How does mindfulness-based therapy work? What are the connections between Mindfulness and psychotherapy? And how can [...]
Core Concepts in Psychotherapy: Holding
We continue our occasional series on central concepts in psychotherapy. What does “Holding” mean in therapy? In psychotherapy, holding refers [...]
Anti-oppressive practice in psychotherapy and counselling
Some reflections about inequality and oppression within our society, from the perspective of a psychotherapist The term anti-discriminatory practice has [...]
Core Concepts in Psychotherapy : Containment
Core Concepts in Psychotherapy : Containment In this series, registered psychotherapist Alyss Thomas explains some helpful concepts from psychotherapy that [...]
How To Have a Good Experience During Your First meeting With a New Psychotherapist
It’s understandable you might feel anxious or nervous about your first meeting in a psychotherapist’s consulting room. However, remember that you are doing the hiring! The psychotherapist will greet you at the door, possibly with a handshake (just for the first session), and they will show you to a private consulting room and shut the door. Everything is held in a special atmosphere of openness, respect and confidentiality.
What Does a Psychotherapist Actually Do?
(Especially when it looks like he or she is just sitting there listening to you) A counsellor or psychotherapist is someone who makes the attempt to be present with you, and to listen to you. Perhaps this doesn’t found like much? In some ways it is a bit like asking what a mother or an artist is doing, when they appear to be doing nothing in particular, maybe just washing some dishes or gazing into space. The lines of this timeless poem by WB Yeats come to mind: