People come to individual counseling or psychotherapy to talk about different aspects of their lives and difficulties which they may be having in solving their problems. Many people experience psychotherapy as a safe place to share their deepest thoughts and feelings without judgment. Individual psychotherapy offers a powerful setting for the disclosure of secrets, emotions and experiences that may be difficult to discuss. As the relationship between the client and therapist develops, therapy can provide a framework where clients can create the life they desire. The weaving of past stories, events, feelings and traumas, with current emotions, patterns, stressors and events enables us to integrate the past with the present. There is truly something very healing that occurs when someone can feel understood in an atmosphere of safety and acceptance.

Some of the problems psychotherapy can help may include:

• Confusion about who you are, problems with identity
• Feeling empty, lonely, abandoned, unable to maintain lasting relationships
• Feeling afraid, panicky and stressed
• Feeling in crisis or in a state of breakdown
• Experiencing anxiety, depression or suicidal feelings
• Destructive patterns - addictions, phobias and obsessions, eating problems, self-harm
• Problems around sex or sexuality
• Loss, bereavement, relationship breakdown
• Impact of violence, abuse and trauma
• Impact of problems at work, unemployment, bullying or harrasment

The bottom line is that if you are burdened by problems with emotions or behaviors, if your ability to love and/or work are being negatively affected, then you may benefit from our assistance.

What is psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is a very individualized treatment; a single theory or technique cannot work for everyone. Each one of us has a life and a history which is unique. That is why psychotherapy has to be "person centered" for it to shed light on your life and develop more meaning.

Our practice is built on the principle that psychotherapy is a process of knowledge and transformation. It deals with things that are of oneself: relationships and behaviours, memories and emotions, talents and limitations. These things are put into words and made explicit; they are thought in new ways so that they can be explored, worked through, and put to the test.

Psychotherapy is our opportunity to discover who we are, what we are, who we wish to be, and how we can change. Here, respect and confidentiality are necessary and guaranteed.

We offer positive psychotherapy which is based on a positive image of man and human capacities. Which means that humans are inherently good by nature and full of potential capacity and capabilities.

What psychotherapy does?

Grief, trauma, and conflict are the kinds of experiences very few of us can really avoid; but we often know how to manage them and move on. Sometimes though, they can take a very heavy toll on a life. When that happens, we need to take the time to deal with the pain and the confusion.

Psychotherapy is a very effective and enduring way of doing just that. It doesn't pretend to erase the past, that would be impossible. It doesn't numb the present either, that would stop not only the pain but the pleasure too.

Psychotherapy is an opportunity to uncover the causes of pain and to make sense and bring meaning to them. In the process, it opens up new possibilities for a more meaningful and satisfying life, in spite of a painful past or a restrictive present.