Psychotherapist and Registered Homeopath
SERVICES
Whether you began your search seeking for a counsellor, a psychotherapist or a homeopath, read on if you are interested in working with someone who offers something a little different, developed by way of over twenty years of experience. What I offer attends to the needs of the body as well as of the soul, something that usually involves seeking out more than one therapist.
Many years ago I inadvertently introduced myself at a party as a psychopath. It was new Year’s Eve, but I wasn’t drunk and that slip of the tongue spoke vividly of my struggle to integrate homeopathy with psychotherapy, having trained in both. Whereas homeopathy is traditionally practiced as medicine, with the emphasis on “cure”, I have chosen to work towards an understanding of what your physical, emotional or mental symptoms are asking for other than to be removed. This is particularly relevant through times of transition from one period of life to another, whether in youth, maturity or in old age. For a rite of passage is not an illness to be cured. It is a time for change, and a re-visioning of who we are and of our attitudes to ourselves, to others and to life itself. The thrust of the experience is towards the fuller expression of the person that only you may be.
I am a Registered Member of The Society of Homeopaths and abide by their Code of Ethics. I hold a certificate in Transpersonal Perspectives in Counselling and have undertaken a Jungian Training Analysis.
The Homeopathic Approach
How I work sprang naturally from my realizing that the majority of persons who asked me for help in my early days of practice clearly needed far more than remedies alone were able to offer.
It is not a requirement of working with me that you receive remedies. Rather, the homeopathic approach is fundamental to what I do. For homeopathy means “similar suffering” and it is my conviction that however you are suffering, it has a secret language that cries out to be understood rather than to be removed.
Take the young man who asked for help with homeopathy to “get rid of” a stutter. I wondered what his stutter would have to say about this. He suddenly realized that, “In my stutter are all the things that I haven’t said and that I need to be able to say.” That realization was just as important as my giving him a remedy.
When I do give remedies, it is by way of recognizing the ways in which the constellation of your symptoms and the ways in which you experience your physical, emotional and mental life may be matched with the precisely documented symptoms of poisoning by a plethora of substances of animal, vegetable and mineral origin. Remedies are rigorously prepared from extreme dilutions of those substances which are known to stimulate the healing responses of the body.
For example, Natrum muriaticum, Nat mur, is prepared from common salt. Persons poisoned by excessive salt intake exhibit the symptoms of dehydration, which may include dry skin, constipation and/or blocked sinuses. This theme of “retention” can also be recognized at the emotional level, for persons afflicted with chronic grief and disappointment. Administration of the remedy can be very helpful in supporting persons in moving on. My choice is to also work with our conversations in the consulting room as vital ingredients of any remedy.
Be aware that homeopathy offers a direct alternative to all kinds of conventional medication, such as for anxiety and depression. Its supreme advantage is that treatment lacks side-effects whilst it works with your symptoms rather than by way of suppressing them.
Psychotherapy and Counselling
On the whole I appreciate undertaking long-term, in depth work but I am happy to take on short-term work when it feels appropriate to do so.
I work primarily as a psychotherapist but many people approach me who are unclear about the difference between psychotherapy and counselling. Rather than striving to differentiate between the two, I believe that what is most important is that you feel able to talk with me. At the end of the day what matters most is your relationship with me as a real person. So if what I am saying strikes a chord with you, you are most welcome to make telephone contact with me to talk about whether what I offer is right for you.
I have developed my approach primarily by way of my own therapeutic journey, a sustained Jungian analysis. C G Jung pioneered an approach that emphasized the importance of realizing something of our uniqueness as human persons, by way of cultivating a relationship with the psychological dimension of our being.
I particularly appreciate working with dreams and I also enjoy introducing artwork, myths, poetry and literature when appropriate and relevant. In this way we may explore the deeper significance of whatever is troubling you, rather than merely endeavouring to relate it to the here and now.
Whilst I naturally take the wounds of your past into consideration, the thrust of our work is into the future and the choices you deserve to make in the life you have yet to live. Above all, the journey is towards the person that only you can be.
Be assured that our first meeting is always conducted on the understanding that it is an opportunity for us to establish whether what I have to offer is right for you.
Above all, I see my role as accompanying you on a journey of exploration rather than as the one who knows what you need.
Service Categories
Counselling
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