When we come up against a problem or feel we have been struggling with something we often seek out someone to help.

Meeting with me is an opportunity to meet with another person to look at where you are now and to understand that, in terms of the experiences that you have had in life. When we can clearly see how we have arrived at our current position in life, we are able to thoughtfully and objectively make choices about the present and the future.

The reasons for seeking this are varied - sometimes the losses and traumas that you have experienced have been shared by others who expect that you should be "over it", or who deal with it in ways that bring you into conflict with them or leave you feeling isolated. Other times they are events, thoughts or feelings that very few others know about, and speaking with a therapist can be a place to begin that story.

Talking to friends, family and those we work with is very important - our relationships are the basic format from which and through which we know who we are. But sometimes you can find that the "talking" is not so easy and you feel more stuck the more you try and tackle the problem. This is often the time that your mind begins to think about whom else to seek advice from. Seeing me would enable you to develop a relationship with clear boundaries, through the process of contracting, as you would do when seeking help in any other area of your life. The experience of being stuck or lost can then be considered in relation to the problem, as you see it.

Noticing how we make sense of ourselves and those around us can help to shift a sense that we are powerless or fixed, and increase the range of possible solutions. Having a positive and empowering helping relationship increases our sense that we can meet difficultly in the future and survive it - perhaps even appreciate that we learn as much from it, as those events in our lives that we anticipate more eagerly...