What therapy is like

Most people have an idea in their mind of what counselling or psychotherapy is, and they usually get this idea from what they’ve seen on television or on the movies (from now on I’ll use the general term ‘psychotherapy’ to cover both psychotherapy, counselling and other related terms). Often they imagine lying on a couch whilst a bearded Austrian man sits behind them taking notes!

Getting comfortable

Whilst this sort of treatment is still practiced – and it’s generally known as psychoanalysis – it’s a lot different to the counselling or psychotherapeutic experience that most people have.

Although there are many variations, the most common situation for psychotherapy is a room where two people sit on chairs more or less facing each other. The more comfortable it is, the better it is. This is the sort of psychotherapy I practice.

Even though one person has come looking for help and the other is trying to help, the client and I have in common that that we are both trying to pool our resources to work through the client's problem. It is this that marks the difference between contemporary psychotherapy and older forms of psychotherapy.

Taking the time to understand

In contemporary psychotherapy you can expect that the psychotherapist will take great pains to understand the difficulties that you are going through and what you are experiencing. To increase their understanding, the psychotherapist may ask questions from time to time; you can respond in any way you want.

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