Systemic psychotherapy addresses individual problems by considering the relevance of family relationships and the impact of the wider social and economic context on people's lives, their wellbeing and their mental health. Therapeutic work is undertaken with families, couples, or individuals and may include consultation to wider networks such as other professionals working with the family or the individual. Therapy aims to identify and explore patterns of belief and behaviour in roles and relationships and to facilitate personal and interpersonal resources within a system as a whole. Therapists actively intervene to enable people to decide where change would be desirable and to facilitate the process of establishing more fulfilling and useful patterns.
Because we live our lives through our relationships and because our sense of who we are is intimately associated with our relationships, conditions that are given labels such as depression, anxiety and conduct disorder are often effects of relationship problems and these are very often best treated within those relationships. Family members are a powerful resource for change and so including them in sessions can help them to recognise options they have not been making use of and identify their strengths and resources that they can bring to bear to support each other.
Systemic psychotherapy aims to respect different values, beliefs and ideas and recognises that families vary widely in terms of family structure, ethnicity and culture. Systemic psychotherapy is relatively short term and the frequency is decided collaboratively by the family and the therapist together and is often every 2 - 4 weeks. Some families say the meetings provide a space in which they can explore potentially contentious or difficult issues more safely with an intermediary. Other families describe how, as we all have busy lives, we often do not have the chance to talk at home.Qualifications & Training
BA Psychology (London University).
Certificate of Qualification in Social Work.
Diploma in Applied Social Studies.
MSc Family Therapy Practice, Teaching and Research (Tavistock Clinic).
Tavistock Qualification in Family Therapy Supervision.
UKCP registered.Experience
Since 1981 working in a range of in-patient and out-patient settings within the NHS, social services and independent sectors. Experience of a wide range of issues including relationship difficulties, depression, anxiety, stress, fears, phobias, OCD, self esteem, eating disorders, abuse, substance misuse, conduct disorders, bereavement, coping with illness, managing conflict, divorce and family breakdown.Fees
£70 per session.
Key words for this entry:
Couples, Individual Counselling, Adults, Children, Elderly, Men, Women, Young, Long-term, Short-term, Single sessions, Time-limited, Face-to-face, Supervision, Training/tutoring, Workshop, Concessionary rates, Abortion, Abuse, Addiction, Adoption, Anger, Anxiety, Attachment, Bereavement, Body image, Cancer, Child Abuse, Chronic illness, Conflict, Depression, Divorce, Separation, Domestic abuse, Eating, Identity, Loss, Self-esteem, Mental Health, OCD, Panic, Parenting, Phobias, Psychosis, Rape, Relationships, Self-confidence, Self-harm, Sexual Abuse, Stress, Substance Abuse, Weight, Workplace, Family Therapy, Psychodynamic, Solution-focused, Systemic. |
