Why wasn’t I taught this before?
I have worked with many people who struggled with personal [...]
Don’t expect a fire truck!
The importance of working on yourself before you find yourself [...]
Journal Writing in Therapy
Keep a Journal to make the most of your therapy [...]
What is my therapist really thinking?
My psychotherapist doesn’t say much – what is he or [...]
Mid Life Crisis or Opportunity?
Am I experiencing a midlife crisis? What are the signs [...]
Anti-oppressive practice in psychotherapy and counselling
Some reflections about inequality and oppression within our society, from [...]
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: