What can I expect from counselling or psychotherapy?
Counselling and psychotherapy are terms that tend to be used interchangeably and can have different meanings for different people. People can use the terms interchangeably, but many people who work in the profession say that psychotherapy originated with the discoveries and theories of Freud, Jung and others in the psychoanalytic field, whereas counselling is a more general term for all types of talking therapies. In particular, challenges resulting in deep-rooted issues are navigated in psychodynamic therapy, where as counselling tends to deal with less complex issues over a shorter period of time.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy explores how difficult experiences in the past can affect the way we think and feel in the present day, and can cause recurring problems that bring suffering and distress. The therapeutic relationship between client and the therapist helps gain insight and deeper understanding of themselves and their relationship with others.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy differs from medication and treatments such as CBT, which are largely focused on symptom control. The positive effects of psychodynamic psychotherapy are long-lasting and continue to develop after the therapy has ended as this approach aims to understand the client's emotional experience and their experience of being in the world, thus gaining insight and harnessing and developing one's own resilience.
'...the evidence indicates that the benefits of psychodynamic treatment are long-lasting and not just transitory and appear to extend well beyond symptom remission. For many people, psychodynamic therapy may foster inner resources and capacities that allow richer, freer, and more fulfilling lives'
Jonathan Shedler “The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy” in American Psychology, 2010, vol. 65.
The sessions take place in a private and confidential setting which provides a safe space for us to explore might be troubling, causing you distress, or otherwise preventing you experience your life fully. Therapy starts with an initial consultation to discuss how therapy could work for you.
