I offer short or long-term therapy for adult or adolescent speakers of English, Russian or Estonian.
I provide a safe and confidential space to collaboratively explore any issues and difficulties that you may be experiencing.
Possible reasons for starting therapy
Therapy can help with a range of issues. You can use therapy to focus on a specific problem, manage certain mental health conditions or reach a particular goal in life. You may decide to start therapy because you feel lost, confused, depleted, unhappy or because you are seeking personal growth and change. You do not necessarily need to be really struggling or have a diagnosed problem to benefit from therapy.
There are various reasons for considering therapy.
People may reach out and seek support in a safe space as a result of:
- Challenging life events
- Loss of motivation
- Apathy and hopelessness
- Persistently negative mood and thought processes
- Struggling with self-care
- Social withdrawal and feeling isolated or alone
- Relationship difficulties
- Needing better coping strategies
- Feeling like you need to talk to someone
- Sense of being overwhelmed and not in control
Potential benefits of therapy
The aim of therapy is growth and change through self-awareness and self-exploration. This means changing
The aim of therapy is growth and change through self-awareness and self-exploration. This means changing what is not working and what needs to be different in order to improve your quality of life. Research using brain imaging methods has shown that therapy can bring about change within the brain itself – by rewiring our neural pathways (click here for further information).
Therapy deepens your understanding of the issues through a collaborative exploration of your thoughts and concerns, and by encouraging you to identify, experience and express your emotions. Therapy also helps you develop better coping skills to handle complex life situations. There are many potential benefits of having a safe space and a therapist’s support when navigating life challenges.
These include:
- Increased self-awareness
- Increased confidence and self-esteem
- Readiness to take action to achieve goals
- Feeling empowered and developing a sense of mastery
- Learning more constructive ways to manage distress
- Learning better coping strategies and how to make healthier choices
- Improved communications skills
- Learning better ways to relate to yourself and others, resulting in more fulfilling relationships
- Overall better quality of life
My therapeutic approach
The aim of psychotherapy
The aim of psychotherapy is to promote change. To facilitate the process of change, my aim is to support you to the best of my ability, to be present, empathically attuned and open to engage with what you decide to bring to therapy.
INTEGRATIVE APPROACH
My approach to therapy is integrative, drawing on relational psychoanalysis, transactional analysis, person-centred and cognitive-behavioural approaches. I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. I therefore aim to hold a flexible stance in my work and adjust my clinical approach to suit the specific needs of the individual. As a result, the therapeutic process and the course of therapy are unique for each person, as they are based on what you want and need from therapy.
Collaborative process promoting growth and change
I see therapy as collaborative process of discovery and exploration, where growth and change are facilitated by therapeutic environment, shedding light on the emotional, cognitive and relational aspects of subjective experiences and meaning-making processes. I hold a holistic view of the person and aim to understand the individual across the lifespan, embedded in social and historical contexts and relationships, and motivated by creating and maintaining connections with others. Seeing each person as a unique individual allows me to respond to the client’s specific personal situation.
What happens in therapy
The first session
The first session will give us an opportunity to explore what brings you to therapy and find out if I am the right therapist for you. We will discuss the issues that are bothering you, and consider how therapy might work for you. We can talk about your goals for therapy and the focus of our work together and practicalities involved (e.g. availability, confidentiality, fees and cancellation policy). If you decide that you would like to begin therapy with me, we can agree on the time for our next appointment.
Therapeutic goals and outcomes in the short and long-term work
We will be regularly reviewing the therapeutic goals and outcomes, and whether you feel that you are benefiting from the sessions. This allows us to collaboratively adjust or find new direction and focus. I will support you in deciding on the length and depth of therapy that you would like to engage in. Short-term work can generally be used to look at a specific issue, identify possible solutions, manage symptoms and learn coping strategies. Longer-term work allows for more transformative changes, more in-depth exploration, an understanding of the roots of the problem, increased self-awareness, processing of traumatic experiences and the development of healthier ways of engaging with oneself and others.