12 Jun What Exactly Is Involved?

Just as there are myriad types of medicine so there are now hundreds of sorts of therapy with different trainings. Some analytical psychotherapists study for seven years after first obtaining a relevant degree and doing five years personal therapy. Others take fast track routes. My approach is this:

1. To meet for an hour regularly once or twice a week (more, or less).
2. The regularity of the meetings will help you make changes. (One client said: “You’re the first person in my life who’s ever been reliable”; another said: “I had never felt acknowledged before I met you”).
3. You will probably have feelings about me, including those of dependency.
4. But therapy is hard, difficult work precisely because the aim is your greater independence.
5. l do my best to offer time and space for you to say and feel anything you like. The hope is you will gain new confidence.
6. I offer the guarantee of confidentiality.
7. I will use the best methods devised for the problem.
8. I cannot exactly predict the outcome. I can only suggest the -you- at the end will be different from the one you live with now.
9. We are working together – I am not “doing things to you”.
10. Successful outcomes depend most on the quality of the therapist so choosing the right person (who feels right to you) is critical. Therefore audition your therapist before signing up.

I add a warning: psychotherapy is hard on friends, lovers and families because with the right methods it does produce change. There is also the possibility that you will remember events which you have had a good reason to forget, so be prepared to face your bad feelings when reclaiming the good. Long-term psychotherapy is expensive and favours the articulate.