Psychodynamic Counselling
in South Woodford and Rainham

The Founders of Psychodynamic Theory

The roots of psychodynamic counselling lie mainly in Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic approach. Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Otto Rank and Melanie Klein are other famous psychologists who are known for further developing the concept of psychodynamic counselling.

How does Psychodynamic Counselling work?

The purpose of psychodynamic therapy is to bring the unconscious mind into consciousness. This can help a the client in a therapy session to explore and unfold deep rooted feelings. Our unconscious holds on to memories and experiences that have been painful, which are too difficult for the conscious mind to process. What tends to happen is that we suppress these memories, mostly without knowing it.

To cope with these traumatic events and memories, we often develop certain psychological defences. These can include blaming others or one’s self, being denial, feeling guilt or projecting our flaws onto others. These psychological defense mechanisms and inappropriate coping skills can often get in the way of living a happy and fulfilling life.

When it comes to facing difficult situations, relationships and communication, life can become challenging and we often ask why? It could be that you are reacting from a painful, past memory but are not aware of it or defense mechanics are causing you to feel bad about yourself or struggle dealing with situations in your life.

Who can benefit from Psychodynamic Counselling?

The psychodynamic approach is designed to help people with a wide range of psychological issues. These issues include anxiety, phobias, depression, addictions, feelings of low self worth, relationship breakdowns and problems communicating. Psychodynamic therapy can help in dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder and many other psychological issues.

One example of how psychodynamic counselling can help a person heal from past problems is that if somebody keeps attracting a certain type of partner and their relationships keep falling apart, the counsellor and the client will discuss together how the client can learn how to break that pattern, by unravelling their unconscious conflicts. They will then be able to see the benefits within the first few months of undergoing therapy based on psychodynamic principles. In this way the psychodynamic approach is very useful for relationship and other forms of counselling.

How Psychodynamic Therapy Can Help You

When you choose to come in for a psychodynamic counselling session, we can work together, as therapist and client, to face immediate problems and look at finding a quicker solution. By understanding any psychological issues, we can start to move forward and work towards resolving them. Some of the benefits of psychodynamic therapy include, changing relationship patterns, learning about difficult attachments and how to do things differently. As your counsellor, I will help you find new ways of dealing with problems and help you to learn how to communicating differently, building awareness of how you function in life and respond to the world. Gradually, as your counselling treatment progresses, the feeling of being ''stuck'' will start to shift away and you will have a better way of coping with the problems you face.

The relationship between counsellor and client should always be an equal one, and we will work towards building a trusting, authentic relationship with one another. I will provide non judgemental and unconditional acceptance throughout the entire counselling session. By doing so, you will have a safe and trusted space to open up and explore unresolved issues that have affected your moods or behaviour. In this way, psychodynamic counselling can help you to bring unconscious issues to light and help you resolve old memories or traumas.

To find out more about psychodynamic therapy or to book a counselling session please contact me on 07581 410 015. I offer counselling in South Woodford and Rainham as well as online and telephone counselling.