Psychodynamic Counselling: Deep Work

I am trained in psychodynamic therapy. It sounds complicated so let me explain;

If we break down the word it is in two parts - psyche - the mind and dynamic - movement

We look at the movement of the mind; how you relate to yourself and others (including me). I am interested in childhood, adolescence and life events (such as grief and loss). It’s important for me to look at your present difficulty with some awareness of the past and the imprints it can leave. That doesn’t mean I’m only interested in the past, far from it, but it’s an important aspect that makes up the whole of you.

I work at a deep level with clients, examining unconscious processes that are often the driving force behind the issues we’re facing. These automatic behaviours are usually outside of our awareness and one of the goals of treatment is to make the unconscious, conscious. This gives us the freedom to respond differently if we choose to.

Common mental health concerns such as anxiety are often treated as the cause whereas I treat it as a symptom, a symptom manifesting itself because something is going on within you. Feelings and emotions are like our compass directing us toward or away from something. It’s something important and shouldn’t be extinguished, which we can often want to do.

The image of an iceberg is a great metaphor to depict what is outside of our awareness. Many other forms of therapy only examine the tip of the iceberg but for real and lasting behaviour change it’s important to look at the whole iceberg and to work holistically. It’s why I enjoy this way of working so much.