Psychotherapy is based on an understanding of how people develop from babyhood to adulthood and the way those experiences effect a person's current behaviour and feelings. Talking through memorable events can explain why someone holds certain beliefs or behaves in a particular way, even when it is no longer helpful to do so and is making them unhappy. In psychotherapy a person is encouraged to talk about significant events in their lives and the people who have influenced them.

 

The therapist will listen and help them express their feelings about their experiences. The human brain is a wonderful thing and so often one memory will trigger other , apparently unrelated, events. When viewed together patterns can emerge which trigger a 'light bulb' moment and the hidden dynamic which is driving the unwanted behaviour is exposed.

 

Psychotherapy can help in situations where the person is experiencing extreme anxiety, anger, grief or trauma. It can facilitate positive changes in relationships within the family and in work situations. Often marital difficulties can be addressed, including sexual problems, through the uncovering of the subconscious expectations and beliefs that were established in childhood and through early life experiences.

 

The point of psychotherapy is not to re-experience over and over again the pain and trauma of the past but to take away the power that these events are exerting over the present and which is causing unhappiness and unwanted outcomes now.