Face to Face
Counselling and Psychotherapy is meant to provide you with a space; a place outside your day to day existence, where you can talk, observe, explore, figure things out, all with the help of an empathic and trained listener. 
Having this space to talk can go a long way towards helping you feel better. The effect of therapy can be profound. Being in therapy can lower your level of stress, it can give you more energy to make changes in your life, and it can increase your ability to cope with things that can’t be changed.
ITS founder, Ron Gathercole, was trained as a psychodynamic counsellor. This orientation is mainly concerned with ‘making the unconscious conscious’ which I guess when thinking of the problems of living is more concerned with identifying and understanding underlying causes which in turn brings ‘relief’ and ‘choice’….. ‘It is easier to find your way along a lit path than to stumble about in the darkness.’
Over the years he has identified that some people who are suffering various ‘symptoms’ do not get relief from understanding or identifying causes but actually can get worse and so has integrated other theories and skills into his own practice so he can offer appropriate interventions to the client in front of him. He has also put together a team of affiliate counsellors so we can meet your needs both in terms of the most appropriate intervention but also in cost.
To treat everyone as unique individuals we have made a distinction between symptoms and causes and although both are important, as the treatment of both can be very different, we do not dictate what you the client have to work with.
For many it may be that the symptoms need addressing first and then when not so intense causes can be identified. (or not as the case may be) for some it may be the treatment of symptoms is sufficient. Others may want to look at causes (who they are) to avoid symptoms developing again even though they are not in immediate suffering. YOU DECIDE .
I believe that every problem should be approached with an open mind. You might find relief after just one e-mail, or after just a few sessions – and that’s great! What I don’t believe in is deciding in advance how many sessions you get, as you will find in some types of therapies. I also do not believe in ‘fixing’ people or ‘correcting’ your thinking. I try to help you find out what’s best for you. I do give advice when I feel that’s helpful and I do encourage people to take certain practical steps. But the goal is to help you find yourself, not to tell you what to do. I believe that to some degree we construct our own selves and the goal of therapy is to increase our freedom of choice, rather than to strive towards what someone else has defined as “normal” or “healthy”.
Life is a process, with new situations and new difficulties emerging as we go along. Therapy can help us be more open to our own selves and learn how to deal with things differently than we are used to, hopefully – a little better than we had been. Ultimately, the goal is to live the best possible life one can live; to understand and accept yourself, to change your behaviour to that which is more productive and rewarding for you, and to help you move towards becoming the kind of person you want to be.
So if you are the kind of person that values being listened to and understood, if you value being accepted for who you are and how you feel, if you value time to explore and focus on your own life and what matters to you, then give us a call and come and get started…..
And if you haven’t ever experienced any of the above or don’t know if you value them……….…then give us a call and find out.
Call us now to arrange an initial consultation. You’ll be on your way to the best therapy available.
CALL 0800 298 7556 NOW
