Psychotherapists and Counsellors Answer your Questions

Therapy has helped me understand a great deal about who I am and why - which helps me see much more clearly in relationships with other people in my life. I have found it helps me cope with...

Therapy has helped me understand a great deal about who I am and why - which helps me see much more clearly in relationships with other people in my life. I have found it helps me cope with difficulties without becoming overwhelmed, manage situations better, accept the past and move on without being weighed down, and made me a better friend, lover, and parent. I also feel it has made me a better therapist. In my training, I had a supervisor who was fond of saying that we can only help people come as far as we have gone ourselves. I do believe that my own personal progress has helped a great deal in helping other people through their own journeys, whether they be similar or different.

better relationships and quality of life

better relationships and quality of life

It has provided me the opportunity to really know myself.

It has provided me the opportunity to really know myself.

I have been on a personal development journey for 21 years and it has had countless benefits for me over this time, some subtle and some really momentous changes. Briefly, I find that therapy has made...

I have been on a personal development journey for 21 years and it has had countless benefits for me over this time, some subtle and some really momentous changes. Briefly, I find that therapy has made me more grounded. Another way of saying this would be that I find I have more of an embodied sense of myself and that my interactions with others come more from this place. - On a practical level this has improved my relationships, (at home and work) and made me at once more aware of my feelings, and less emotionally reactive. - Therapy has made me more effective in my actions and my work. - It has also gave me more of a sense of purpose in my life and made life more fulfilling. - Through my meditation practice I have also developed a certain amount of inner stillness which helps me to be a little less triggered by things that don't go my way.....

My own personal therapy has stretched me enormously. In the 1970s and 1980s in particular, like so many others I undertook a broad selection of various individual and group therapies as part of the...

My own personal therapy has stretched me enormously. In the 1970s and 1980s in particular, like so many others I undertook a broad selection of various individual and group therapies as part of the encounter movement. Some of these were personally 'brutalising' and even 'bruising' but in later years I am grateful for having lived through this period and having been exposed to some of these techniques for the simple reason they challenged me in ways I would never have willingly chosen. Having submitted myself to personal therapy over the past 40 years whilst training, developing and maturing as a counsellor and psychotherapist myself, I now feel humble and privileged to have had the opportunity to expose myself to such explorations. I view my therapy as having been an 'investment in life' rather than an 'expense'. All of it, the good and the bad, the useful and the decidedly not useful, has without a doubt improved me as a human being, has expanded my mind and thinking and has added depth to my soul. Working as a counsellor, psychotherapist and couple and family therapist has enriched who I am substantially. I do believe I have learned and gained from and been taught by my clients in significant ways about the humility of what it means to simply be human. Of course I am a better person for having experienced sharing together with so many others, their and my own internal worlds. It's a priceless gift.

It has made me much less reactive and much more mindful. TRTP has cured my own chronic fatigue after it haunted me for about 3 years, and TRTP also took the sting out of my previous triggers so they...

It has made me much less reactive and much more mindful. TRTP has cured my own chronic fatigue after it haunted me for about 3 years, and TRTP also took the sting out of my previous triggers so they hardly ever get to me. EFT-CT taught me to stop blaming my husband for hurting and upsetting me and see instead the negative cycles we created between us that hurt us both, and then how to create positive cycles instead. Working with clients is an honour and a delight.

Individual therapy made me realise that therapists should talk less! I wouldn't say therapy has made me a better person per say, but it improved my self esteem. An analogy I can relate to is...

Individual therapy made me realise that therapists should talk less! I wouldn't say therapy has made me a better person per say, but it improved my self esteem. An analogy I can relate to is picturing the roots of my tree, they have grown stronger so I cant be blown over in the wind so easily.

Tolerance - definitely tolerance. The understanding that at the beginning we are all the same, in the middle we all walk with our own stories, and at the end we are all reflectively wise.

Tolerance - definitely tolerance. The understanding that at the beginning we are all the same, in the middle we all walk with our own stories, and at the end we are all reflectively wise.

I believe I can only take my clients as far as I have gone myself. I am of the view that as therapists we have to practice what we preach. So I regularly see my own IFS therapist. It has given me a...

I believe I can only take my clients as far as I have gone myself. I am of the view that as therapists we have to practice what we preach. So I regularly see my own IFS therapist. It has given me a way of being with my own internal system in a completely new way. I am no longer trying to tame or remove parts of myself that other parts of me don't like. I am now able to be with them with curiosity, compassion, and openness. And in the light of my awareness, they soften and take on new and valuable roles for me. I have become more connected to my internal system in all ways. More connected to others. And I feel a deep sense of purpose and value in my life. I have overcome most of my addictions and no longer feel crippled by anxiety. I have also released some burdens from my traumatised parts, this is an ongoing recovery journey for me.

I need to continually make an effort to connect to myself (body and soul) as much as I can.

I need to continually make an effort to connect to myself (body and soul) as much as I can.

By being more honest with myself. It is interesting just how self deceptive (some might say “deluded”) we can be in the confines of our own mind. In therapy (the right therapy) we are...

By being more honest with myself. It is interesting just how self deceptive (some might say “deluded”) we can be in the confines of our own mind. In therapy (the right therapy) we are challenged to confront our demons, make our narrative explicit and take responsibility for our choices and our lives.

It increased my self-awareness and ability to feel compassionate toward myself. It gave me the roots I always missed throughout childhood, adolescence and as a young adult. Therapy gave me a different...

It increased my self-awareness and ability to feel compassionate toward myself. It gave me the roots I always missed throughout childhood, adolescence and as a young adult. Therapy gave me a different perspective of my past, helped me to learn how to become more mindful and the tools needed to become a better version of myself.

It has taught me the difference between empathy and sympathy and has showed me how to listen, set boundaries, ask for what I need and own what is mine. It has shown me the power of compassion and has...

It has taught me the difference between empathy and sympathy and has showed me how to listen, set boundaries, ask for what I need and own what is mine. It has shown me the power of compassion and has taught me that all emotions are important - emotions like fear, sadness and anger are indicators that something is not ok, that it is how I behave as a result of an emotion that is either appropriate or not. Being aware of and owning my own emotional world means I am taking responsibility for myself and doing this contributes to the continual development of my internal resources and resilience.

Therapy has made me a better person because it has shown me that we all at some point need help. I believe that when we are ready to reach out and ask for help there is always someone who is skilled...

Therapy has made me a better person because it has shown me that we all at some point need help. I believe that when we are ready to reach out and ask for help there is always someone who is skilled enough to listen to the unique story, provide compassion and offer techniques that can be life changing. Watching clients achieve their goals is such a rewarding job.

I understand myself, my family of origin and other people (in general) so much better. We are amazing and strange creatures and that both intrigues and challenges me.

I understand myself, my family of origin and other people (in general) so much better. We are amazing and strange creatures and that both intrigues and challenges me.

Therapy has made me understand human behaviour better and realise that we all experience issues in our lives, we are not alone in this,

Therapy has made me understand human behaviour better and realise that we all experience issues in our lives, we are not alone in this,