Thinking of seeing a therapist for the first time? You may well be wondering what the process entails when seeing a therapist, especially if you have had no prior experience of seeking help. There might also be some questions about which tools and techniques will be employed and how long the process will take. A lot […]
Some questions for when seeking therapy Read More »
My interview with Allan Pimentel, jazz musician and psychotherapist for over 25 years. Allan is a member of the management committee of CCPE, the largest transpersonal training institute in the UK. In the interview Allan chats about the history of CCPE, which recently celebrated 30 years of being a training institute, how he became a therapist
My interview with Allan Pimentel Read More »
Well, I have started my second year on the course. The marking of the passage of time, a new calender year, a new academic year, a new supervision group and a new year tutor was a bit unsettling but such is the nature of change. My new year tutor started the new academic year off
Brief therapy: All you need is now Read More »
Therapists are often wondering when it is okay to break silence in the therapeutic relationship or whether there are any times when it is never okay to intervene. The appropriate answer will clearly depend on the therapeutic setting and the nature of the relationship, whether it is a contracted (long term) client, a new client or a
Dealing with silence in the therapeutic relationship Read More »
This week’s lecture was on “acting out”. It is tempting to view the term “acting out” as a throw back to the hippy culture of coolness. In fact Freud talked a lot about “acting out” saying that patients do not remember their repressed feelings but reproduce them not as memory but as an action. The action
Acting out – What are the fantasies? Read More »
This week’s lecture was on resistance in therapy. This was particularly useful given that I am now seeing clients at the drop in centre. Resistance is viewed as a positive force which opposed the return to memory of painful experiences. Freud talked about the positive sign that the truth was emerging. It is important to
Resistance in therapy – infinitely variable Read More »
I have now seen my first client. It is a relief to finally start on the road when hitherto there has been so much theory and triage group work on my course. I have secured a placement role on the back up roster for a drop in centre in Central London. Clients know that they are seeing trainees so the
Seeing the first client on placement Read More »
Last night’s lecture was part 2 of clinical personality types and it was fascinating. The previous week was all about the schizoid (fixated in the oral development) and the obsessive (hiding of feelings). Last night covered the depressive and hysterical types. The important thing to remember in all of this is that this is just a map,
Clinical personality types Read More »
If you are feeling angry then slow down. If you are feeling anxious then slow down. If you are dealing with an angry client then slow down. These might sound like a mantra but the importance of slowing down when angry cannot be overstated. In counselling and psychotherapy, asking an angry person to start describing what
Slow down when dealing with angry clients in counselling Read More »