The difference between counselling and psychotherapy is not always clear and often comes down to the difference in training programmes and resulting professional memberships. Professional forms of both are based on formal training which includes attention to a body of theory, development of clinical skills, personal development and therapy and supervised practice. After training and qualification these requirements continue as continuing professional development (CPD) and ongoing supervision for as long as the counsellor or psychotherapist continues to practice.
Counselling and psychotherapy are mainly based on talking and listening as a way of addressing psychological and psychosomatic problems including human suffering, current dilemmas and crises. Counselling and psychotherapy offers a way to address developmental needs and the opportunity to review choices and make changes. Counselling is usually limited to once weekly sessions whereas psychotherapy can be once, twice or more dependent on the therapists qualifications.
(CBT) focuses on how your thoughts (cognitions) affect your feelings and actions. It recognises and challenges negative thoughts that perpetuate the problems you experience.
The objective of cognitive behavioural therapy is for you to experience healthier thoughts and emotions.
Please get in touch if you would like to arrange an appointment.
The word psychodynamic refers to the way the psyche (meaning your mind/ emotions/ spirit/ self) is seen as active; that there is a dynamic going on within the psyche, as well as between us and other people.
An example of this is when someone says ‘I don’t feel myself today’. This means that we can refer to different parts of the self in internal relationships. Psychodynamic therapy works on the assumption that a large part of the dynamic mind is unconscious, or outside conscious awareness, and that increased insights can lead to healing and greater choice.
The past is important in psychodynamic psychotherapy. This is because childhood experiences create templates in our mind about who we are and how we ‘fit’ in the world. During therapy, we can expose these templates and make them conscious, so that new templates can be created.
Supervision has been defined as ‘thinking about thinking’, a process of conceptualising and consulting with another mind. It can mean asking for validation of a working hypothesis, for a second opinion when something is not yet fully understood or for confirmation of what is only dimly perceived and requires further assisted reflection. Most psychotherapists and counsellors will at times during their working lives need another professional with whom to share and explore the problems and dilemmas they come up against in the course of the complex work and the diversity of feelings, thoughts and practical decision-making it creates for them.
I am a qualified supervisor with over 12 years experience of providing supervision. My experience spans groups of trainee psychodynamic counsellors, health care professionals, palliative care teams and individual psychodynamic therapists and counsellors in private practice. I believe supervision should be somewhere the psychotherapist and counsellor can think creatively about their practice in a safe and supportive space.
For more information about my Supervision and working with me at Counselling Haslemere, please get in touch.
If you would like to find out more about working with me or to make an initial appointment, please contact me by phone, text or e-mail. If you reach my voicemail, please leave a message with your name, contact number and the best time for me to contact you. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Your contact with me is confidential. My e-mail and voicemail are accessed only by me.