Psychodynamic counselling is one of the major traditions within contemporary talking therapies. It derives from the principles of psychoanalysis. Its aims are to help the client achieve insight and understanding into the reasons for his or her problems, and to translate this insight into a capacity to cope with current and future difficulties.
The central aim of the counselling is to help the client to become more self-aware and to bring unconscious feelings into consciousness. The counsellor’s role is to help clients to gain understanding and insights into aspects of the self which were previously unrecognised. This is achieved by identifying patterns of repeated behaviour, and bringing into awareness unconscious processes, resistances, defences, conflicts and emotions.
Sessions are for 50 minutes, usually at a regular time, once a week, for a limited length of time which is agreed between the counsellor and client.
Next Steps
If you think this sort of therapy could be helpful for you, contact us to arrange an initial consultation.
At the consultation session, you will have the opportunity to talk about the issues you want to explore, and find out if this way of working will suit you. This session will last for up to an hour and a half (normal therapy sessions will be 50 minutes).
At the end of this session you will have an idea of what your therapy may be like, and what you can expect from your therapist. At this point you may want to discuss the benefits of either counselling or psychotherapy. Normally, we expect to offer you regular sessions to start within 3 weeks of the consultation.