Psychotherapy & Counselling for Depression, Anxiety, Midlife Crisis, Relationship Problems

Are You Looking for Help?

You may be hesitating about what to do next. You may have lost confidence in yourself. You may be disillusioned about past ways of dealing with problems that no longer work. It feels like a crisis is brewing or a dead-end is in prospect. You know that it shouldn't be like this: life should be enjoyed and not merely endured.

Perhaps you believe that the subconscious is working against you, undermining you. And you may believe that the outer world is thwarting you too. You may feel misunderstood and even misused by others.

You may even suspect that this has been true for as long as you can remember.

The various mental health labels like depression, ADHD, and so on, offer no lasting relief because they do not indicate what can be done about the problem.

Before we can do anything effectively about a problem we need knowledge. What is going on inside of me? Why am I in this situation? We need clarity about ourselves and about what we are trying and failing to achieve.

So what can be done about it?

We are capable of doing this for ourselves but without the guidance of a psychotherapist at our side in this task it is very difficult.

How I can help

I offer myself as your guide to your unconscious and to the way out of your difficulties. In particular I offer psychotherapeutic skills based on the insights of Alfred Adler and his followers.

I have no doubt that you have heard of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung but possibly not of Alfred Adler, who was working at the same time. But you may well have heard of his proposition that Feelings of Inferiority underlie many problems of the mind. An Adlerian Psychotherapist such as myself will help you to locate the source of internal discouragement that frustrates your efforts to thrive and to enjoy life.

What about Counselling?

Psychotherapy entails a radical character adjustment, changing deep-seated and mostly unconscious attitudes which lead the person into unnecessary conflict with the world. Counselling is relatively simple work, suggestive of a change in tactics in dealing with the world. In practice these overlap. It is only on completion of our work together that we could look back and say, that was counselling or that was psychotherapy. Even the seemingly less ambitious work of counselling leading to modest changes can eventually have far-reaching and liberating effects. Perhaps your problems have been brought on by recent shocks such as stress at work, redundancy, unemployment or bereavement. Then you need counselling.

How much do Psychotherapy and Counselling cost?

The full charge for a 50-minute session is £50. I offer an initial single session for a reduced fee of £30. I also offer Psychotherapy and Counselling in certain circumstances at that same reduced fee.

Where is your Surrey Counselling and Psychotherapy practice?

In a purpose-built garden room in Great Bookham near Leatherhead offering a calm and discrete setting well suited to this kind of work. I offer sessions Monday to Thursday, daytime and evening.

What if I have other questions?

Please contact me, if you have questions or concerns, which I have not dealt with. Some of your concerns may be dealt with in other pages. See the menu at the top of this page.

What are your qualifications?

I trained for 4 years at Bucks Adlerian Training in Aylesbury and earned the Adlerian Society’s Diploma in Individual Psychology DipIIP. I am experienced in working with individuals, couples and groups. For over 21 years I have worked with people struggling with drug and alcohol addictions. Before training I worked in production, sales and marketing in printing, librarianship, publishing and engineering.

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Adlerian: What does that mean?

The movement that broke away from Freudian Psychoanalysis and formed around Alfred Adler in Vienna took the title of Individual Psychology. Instead of seeing the person as the product of drives or instincts, or as being constituted from distinct and warring elements (id, ego etcetera), the Adlerian sees the personality as a self-creating unity, taking a view of the world and striving for a position within that view. The personality can reinterpret itself and the world and thereby forge itself anew. This essentially optimistic and positive view of human nature and human potential is a fundamental distinguishing feature of the Adlerian approach.

Our human tragedy is that we establish our view of ourselves and our world during childhood when everything is seen and felt keenly but before we have the maturity to interpret objectively. Too easily we have learnt from the errors of our perception or the suggestions of our human environment that we are inferior, unlovable, flawed and unacceptable, unwanted, in some way not full members of life. Sometimes perhaps through the ineptness of our families and teachers or through their neglect or abuse. These deeply negative feelings would be unbearable and have to be pushed away from awareness. At a time of crisis we may feel the full force of their presence.

For more information on the Adlerian approach to Psychotherapy and Counselling

• The Adlerian Society ASIIP

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