How can I help you?
Sessions take place weekly, unless otherwise arranged, and last for fifty minutes. Punctuality and regular attendance are important, enabling the sessions to be of most value. Sessions missed or cancelled for any reason must be paid for. Once this space has been booked for a client, I make a commitment to keep it reserved, which means I cannot then offer it elsewhere. In illness or emergency, I will do my best to arrange another space where possible. Four weeks notice of any holidays are requested, and when planning holidays, bear in mind that breaks longer than two weeks can be disruptive to the course of therapy. Ending is an important process. So many endings in our life are not given enough time or attention, and every ending has the potential to bring up for us our issues of attachment, loss and grief. When the point comes, sufficient time will be taken to bring about a successful completion and conclusion of our work together. Important facts to remember
Many people who seek psychotherapy are going through a crisis. Others embark on it as a journey towards self understanding, better relationships and a more fulfilling life. Professional accreditation and registrationAs an accredited Psychotherapist and Counsellor, and Supervisor, I abide by the ethical codes and procedures which are applicable to all members of the Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners, which is an Accrediting Member Organisation of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy and of the European Association for Psychotherapy. Fundamental core beliefsThere are certain core beliefs about the theory of Human Nature and Self which are fundamental to the practice of all therapists and counsellors who belong to the Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners:
The individual is neither intrinsically good nor bad and is motivated towards self actualisation and to seek security, love, belonging and, ultimately, truth. A person is greater than the sum of their parts, which includes their body, behaviours, beliefs (secular and spiritual), thoughts and feelings (conscious and unconscious). The person is an integrated and self regulating whole, and only when this balance is disturbed or incomplete do dis-ease and dysfunction arise as symptoms, rather than as causes. Accordingly each individual has a right to autonomy and self determination, subject to accepting responsibility for their own actions. Each individual also has responsibility towards others, respecting their rights and honouring difference and diversity. The Aims of Therapy and GrowthThe aim of personal growth is self awareness and actualisation. This means in part: To bring oneself to a state of wholeness and completion in whatever way one experiences this To gain sovereignty over one's life, to be authentic To be emotionally competent and to further one's creativity and one's search for truth, meaning, love and relationship with oneself and with others To relate to others in ways that demonstrate awareness of and respect for difference To heal past and current wounds and traumas To achieve integrity and autonomy while acknowledging mutual interdependence with others and with the environment. Therapy and other means of personal growth assist in these aims by bearing witness, promoting self regulation and healing, completion of unfinished business, acceptance of responsibility and love and acceptance of oneself and of others. The Nature of the Therapeutic Relationship
Views Consistent with Core BeliefsThe process of living is creative and involves interaction between the physical world, the intellectual and emotional realm (thoughts, intuitions and feelings), the spiritual (the nature of the soul), the social world (relationships, society and institutions) and the environment (politics, community and nature). We are part of the environment and inseparable from it. We cannot get outside the environment to look at ourselves and are therefore objectively un-examinable by ourselves. Hence a person supersedes the sum of his or her parts, is affected by relationships with others, is aware, has choice and is intentional. There is no split between mind and body. Purpose of Therapy and Counselling
Characteristics of Humanistic PracticeHumanistic practice works creatively with the dynamic between individual uniqueness and the categorising process that some find necessary to understand human beings and the world generally. The therapeutic relationship is the main or even perhaps the only medium of change rather than techniques, strategies and modalities which are only gateways to the encounter. Theory is used as metaphor to aid a needed common language. Transference and counter transference are seen as aspects of communication and are handled as such, rather than as the mainstay of the relationship. CostThe cost for a fifty-minute session of individual psychotherapy or counselling is £50. Couple counselling is £60 per session. Supervision and Professional Consultations are £50 per session. All sessions are provided at a comfortable, easily accessible location in the St. Clements area of East Oxford, England. If you would like more information, or to discuss arrangements for an initial appointment, please call 01865 24 99 75 as direct contact is always beneficial. If you prefer, or find it easier, send me an . top | back |
Embarking on counselling or psychotherapy can be challenging as well as courageous. My experience has shown me that clarity, continuity and commitment are essential in order to progress. With every client, these are the essential points I draw to their attention before we begin:
As an accredited Psychotherapist, I have been through an extensive period of therapy myself, as part of my training and a pre-requisite for practising. I also have ongoing supervision, as a further commitment to my clients and as a continuing support for my practice.
The individual is unique, while being part of the environment, including relationships with others within the larger systems of humankind, incorporating family, community and society, and with the natural world. 
The therapeutic relationship is the primary agent of change in fulfilling the aims of personal growth. It is founded on the therapist being genuine, congruent, empathic, open, honest, non-judgmental and accepting. Contact between the core self of both client and therapist is the point of healing and growth for both. The relationship is "real" but includes appropriate challenge, guided exploration, skilled interventions and the maintenance of contractual arrangements and boundaries. It also recognises transference and resistance by the client or counter transference issues of the therapist. 
People are fundamentally capable of self-actualising, self-regulating and self-forming. This is the continuous and creative process of living. A humanistic practitioner enters into this process with another human being or beings and through the medium of a professional therapeutic relationship seeks to help them regain sovereignty over their lives. The need for psychotherapeutic intervention arises when interactions between or within the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual parts of a person are damaged or distorted, including interaction with the environment in which they live and with others.