Bristol Positive

What to expect

After an initial assessment, we may spend early sessions supporting you to come to a safer space in yourself or perhaps to release and better manage distressing feelings. We may then move to gathering information, this includes naming the problems, taking the life story, looking at ways in which you 'think' and 'behave' which may not be helpful to you, and maybe looking at ways that you have learnt to form relationships. From here we will decide together on what the focus of the work will be, paying particular attention to the core of what limits or restricts us. I sometimes use diagrams to help clients observe and revise problematic patterns. Depending on the life issues you bring, we may explore such diverse things as when and how you have managed successfully in your life, how you derive meaning, early family patterns and perhaps use imagery to access more emotional, intuitive, unconscious aspects of yourself. I recommend a diary of thoughts and feelings is kept by you. Agreed insights are noted, a powerful tool for use within, outside and beyond therapy.

About the therapy

Sessions draw on varied theoretical ideas to suit what you may need. These may include psychoanalytic and existential ideas, cognitive and social psychology and also cognitive behavioural approaches such as Schema Therapy, transactional analysis or cognitive analytic therapy. We work collaboratively to discover what beliefs, behaviours and assumptions may cause you to perhaps be feeling sad, angry, anxious, obsessed, stuck or unfulfilled in life. Having spent 3 years in psychotherapeutic Gestalt groupwork, I may use Gestalt therapy, which helps us feel more alive in the present, by accessing emotions and making better contact with our world. In terms of addiction, as an 'evidence based' practitioner, I subscribe to neuroscience findings on the role of the reward pathway in process and substance addiction/s, pointing to dopamine/glutamate impairment in the brain. I see 12-Step addiction recovery as a key solution to this.

How does it work

We discover together how problems have evolved and we work together to look at what has hindered change in the past. Problems are understood in the light of personal histories and past experiences. I may suggest self-monitoring to notice how you currently think, behave, feel or 'avoid' in ways which may be unhelpful. The relationship we have with ourselves and others; how we think and interact with other people and situations is then better understood and tasks may be devised 'to unlearn' unhelpful responses and make more adaptive, healthier ones. We may challenge ruminatory thinking with more balanced, less emotive, realistic dialogue.

Everyone seeks change for different reasons - perhaps you want change because you feel sad or bad, unhappy or empty, but aren't sure why. You may not necessarily be aware that change is what you want, until you begin to look closely at yourself and the ways you have become used to doing things. Just being prepared to look at ourselves from a different perspective is already embracing change. And deciding to have therapy will reinforce this.

What is just as important as changing unhelpful patterns, is to value the things that you have done well and feel good about. Acknowledging that you have survived through difficulties in your life is important. For example, having survived through a less than perfect childhood, working at what we can, trying again and again to make relationships - is brave! So we spend some time looking at courage and encourage you to look at your own resources and capacity for success and endurance.

The core of my approach is a mix of Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies, Person-Centred and Gestalt (feelings based work). So I place great emphasis on the quality of our relationship, listen empathically and respond to what I hear. This will help you to explore painful places and limitations to growing and moving forwards. Cognitive - means I help you unwrap the processes inside your head. As part of this I explain relevant psychotherapeutic theory and evidence based psychological research. And we take a microscopic look to 'notice' the detail of your life which may be surprising and enormously helpful for you. I may also set homework tasks.

As a result of awarenesses gained; distress decreases (and in most cases what is called 'state distress', when it does occur, will become far more tolerable). Better self-mastery of 'life controlling' feelings, tends to lead to more socially and personally satisfying life choices and enhanced feelings of self belief and self esteem. Self development work, in terms of higher functioning, may then follow.