CBT | Psychotherapy | Couple Counselling | Family Therapy | Bristol | Bath | Frome | Somerset | Bradford on Avon | Wiltshire

Why Counselling or Psychotherapy?

Life challenges and feeling persistently unwell can sometimes be hard to cope with on your own.

Talking to a counsellor/psychotherapist can help you make sense of what is going on. A counsellor/psychotherapis listens without judgement, and will help you learn how to overcome your difficulties. He will support you in changing things you want to change so that you can find your way back to feeling well and in balance.

Through counselling / psychotherapy you can come to know yourself better, to feel more at peace with yourself and explore the full range of your potential.

What is Counselling / Psychotherapy?

For those who do not know, counselling is a form of therapy in which the client sits comfortably in a quiet room and talks face to face with the therapist. That is why it is often known as “talking therapy”.

Through carefully guided conversations I would help you to understand better what is happening and why, and then to seek effective ways to address the problems that are affecting your life.

Therapies I offer

When meeting the needs of my clients I try to be flexible and creative by having the approach that best suits them and their specific problems, including:

CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

My main therapeutic approach is CBT which is widely accepted as an evidence-based, cost-effective psychotherapy for many disorders. CBT addresses negative thoughts and unhelpful behaviours in order to change the way we feel and so gain greater balance in life.

 

Mindfulness - based therapy

 

Mindfulness is the art of living in the present with full awareness and can be a powerful therapeutic aid. Many of the difficulties people face can be addressed with a mindful attitude as this can bring a sense of balance and tranquillity in their lives.

During or after a treatment with CBT, Mindfulness can help to consolidate what was achieved and thus prevent relapses. As I am learning and practicing Mindfulness, I am increasingly introducing it into my practice.

Compassionate or Non-Violent Communication

 
Is the art of respecting and expressing your feelings and needs as well as requesting what you would like to change, whilst at the same time respecting the other person and being aware of their feelings, needs and wants. I teach this form of communication to help improve relationships in couples, with children, in the family and at work. This can also be a major tool in dealing with conflicts.

Long term Psychotherapy

Is offered to those who need more time to deal effectively with more deeply seated behaviour patterns and negative core beliefs.

Couple Counselling

I help couples address their relationship problems mostly in a twofold way:

§ Through coaching communication skills, which will improve the way they listen to each other and express how they feel, what they need and what they want, in a more compassionate and effective way.

§ Using the CBT approach to develop a better awareness of their expectations and underlying assumptions and to help them consider whether they need to change them.

During couple counselling it is also possible to have individual sessions for each one.

When it is not possible to save the relationship our work will then focus on how to manage the separation in a respectful way.

I provide counselling to both heterosexual and homosexual couples.

Family Therapy

Is used to address the problems within the family and usually involves one or both parents and one or more of the children.

I help parents and children deal with a variety of problems and situations that affect relationships within the family and I try to use the approach that best fits the situation. When there is a need to improve the way people interact, I teach listening and communication skills. Sometimes there is a need for conflict mediation or anger management. Support for parenting skills is an important element in many cases. 

CBT is an aid to understanding how unhelpful assumptions and behaviours contribute to maintaining the problems, as well as how these can be changed to improve relationships.