About Psychotherapy and Counselling
It is increasingly becoming the norm to see help from a psychotherapist or counsellor. Most of us at some point in our lives have had to deal with problems such as :
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- A sense of not belonging
- A lack of self-confidence/low self esteem
- Depression
- Sleeplessness
- Phobias
- Difficult relationships
- Changing career
- Bullying
- Work issues
- Bereavement and loss
- Anger
- Sexuality
- Living across cultures
What to look for in a counsellor/psychotherapist
Check that the person is accredited by at least one of the two professional bodies : The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, (UKCP), and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
Increasingly research is showing that the single most important factor in predicting the outcome of therapy is the quality of the relationship between the client and the therapist. It is very important that you take the time to find a person with whom you feel comfortable and safe enough to speak openly. I fully appreciate that taking the first step to meet with a counsellor can be daunting. It is accepted practice in the therapy profession for potential clients to make a one-off appointment in order to find out whether or not the person you are meeting feels right for you.
If you call and leave your name and telephone number I will call you back so that we can discuss some of the practicalities and the way forward for you.
Tel : 020 8809 0332
You may also email me on : info@suhithsivanath.co.uk
How long does it take?
I offer an initial consultation session so that you can talk through what is troubling you. You will be helped to identify your issues, and decide whether or not counselling or psychotherapy is appropriate for you. If you do decide to that this is what you want then you can choose to have a specific number of sessions or to have an open ended arrangement. The sessions are for 50minutes.
About counselling and psychotherapy :
People use counselling and psychotherapy to help them with all sorts of problems. They may be about things in their current life, or they may be issues that they need help with which relate to their past. They may be about life stage changes, and dilemmas about the future. The important thing is to see this as a space for you to have time to talk about yourself confidentially, and to be heard and listened to without being judged. You can start by exploring, explaining and setting out the areas that trouble you.
Both Counselling and Psychotherapy can enable you to express your thoughts and your feelings. This is an important process in getting to know the patterns that you bring from your past to the present, and how these may affect you both positively and negatively.
The basic difference I make between counselling and psychotherapy is that : Counselling is usually time specific (weekly sessions up to 6 months) where particular problems are explored with the aim of finding ways of managing these problems.
Psychotherapy is more long term. The aim is to give you the opportunity to get to know yourself at a deeper level, so that you are able to take charge of your problems and give yourself new perspectives and options. Your task is to be as open as you can about your responses, thoughts and feelings, and I will use knowledge, training and experience to help you widen your perspectives and options.
About my practice
I have a private practice in counselling and psychotherapy. I also supervise other counselling and psychotherapy practitioners.
I teach on the TA Masters programme at the Metanoia Institute in West London, and at CPPD in North London on the Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling. I have co-authored a chapter on the dynamics of race in a book called ‘Ego States’ edited by Charlotte Sills.
I am a qualified Transactional Analyst and I am experienced in working with several approaches which means that I am able to draw from the humanistic field as well as from psychodynamic theories. This means that I am able to be flexible and can tailor my approach to individual clients.
My practice is confidential, I am non-judgemental and I work to the code of ethics stipulated by UKCP, BACP and by the ITA. My clinical work is regularly supervised.