What types of psychotherapy do we offer?
Our clinical approach is psychoanalytic/psychodynamic and we can offer group, individual, couple and family psychotherapy. Psychotherapy offers substantial help with understanding and making sense of thoughts, feelings and ways of relating to oneself and other, by working through the relationship with therapist (transference and countertransference). The aim of psychoanalytic work is psychological change and bringing new insight to one's life.
We offer psychotherapy in some foreign languages, for example French and Serbo-Croat.
Individual Psychotherapy
We offer a particular kind of psychotherapy, which can help with a wide variety of problems. Examples are difficulties with relationships, depression and anxiety. Our aim is to offer help particularly to those who cannot afford full fees or find it elsewhere.The help we offer (called psychoanalytic psychotherapy) recognises that many problems are connected with things that happened earlier in life as well as with life as it is now. It looks at both the past and the present and the connections between the two. We work through what is uncovered to help the person to deal better with life.
This form of therapy also takes into account that we are often not aware of many of the things that affect how we feel and what we do. Things in our unconscious may make us unhappy when they come out as troubling symptoms or problems - such as difficulties in relationships or at work, depression or anxiety, lack of confidence, and so on.
As the root of these is in our unconscious, the advice of family and friends, reading self-help books and trying hard to change things will often only partly work, and sometimes not help at all.
Psychotherapy does not run to a structured programme, but rather clients are encouraged to talk about whatever is on their mind (also called free association). In this way the unconscious sources of the client's current difficulties gradually begin to appear.
This may be in the form of patterns of behaviour that are repeated through a person's life, subjects which the client finds it difficult to talk about, dreams, and the ways in which the person relates to the therapist (also called transference).
The therapist makes comments to help the client to discover more, by make things clearer, and by helping the client to get in touch with hidden or feared thoughts and emotions. During the months or years that therapy takes place the client struggles with these insights, going over them again and again with the therapist and experiencing them in daily life, in fantasies and in dreams.
In this way the client and the therapist work together on life patterns and troubling symptoms to bring about changes that are deep and lasting in the client's life.
Our clients are seen by accredited and trained therapists and also therapists who are presently in psychotherapy training.
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy normally takes 2 to 3 years, but sometimes this is less and sometimes more.
Couple & Family Therapy
Alongside our individual and group psychotherapy Share offers couple and family therapy. Family therapy can consist of couple and their children and other people who are involved in the family situation. Therapy can address various kinds of difficulties, including communication problems, conflicts and sexual problems. Couples do not need to be married, be in civil patnerships, or to live together to access this service. Therapy sometimes runs to a structured programme, or can be of a more exploratory nature. Often tasks will be set for couples to do between sessions.
As soon as possible after receiving your completed application form we will arrange the first appointment, which will last up to 1½. This will be for you to discuss your difficulties, and to find out what help we might be able to offer. Our aim is to offer this appointment within three weeks of receiving your application from, but this can be longer at busy times or during holiday periods.
If you have consulted your GP about your current problems we will ask them to fill in a referral form before offering the first appointment. Similarly, if you are under the care of the mental health services we require a referral form to be filled in indicating how our help will fit in with your current care plan.
Occasionally there could be a waiting time before we can offer you a couple or family therapy appointment this will vary depending mainly on when you can attend.
Family Group Conference and Network Meetings
All families are unique with their own values and personal dynamics. At a Family Group Conference, the decision makers are the family members, and not the professionals. Its here that the family members (mother, father, aunt or grandparent) get together with the child/young person to talk and make plans and decisions on how to resolve the difficult situation. The professionals/therapists are there to help people make these decisions or deal with the problems. Family Network Meetings can help divorcing and separating couples to make arrangements for the future. Family Network Meetings look at short-term and long-term concerns on separations or divorce and also helps to create new family arrangements, for example, help you communicate with your former partner/s. Discussions that take place in the above settings are confidential and all the parties involved must be prepared to compromise. These meetings are arranged according to the needs of the family and normally they will take up to 3 to 8 sessions.
Group Psychotherapy
Group therapy focuses on interpersonal interactions and emotional difficulties. Members of the group share with others personal issues which they are facing. Participants can talk about events they were involved in since the previous session, their responses to these events, and problems they have faced. Participants can also share their feelings about what happened in previous sessions, and relate to these material, give feedback, offer encouragement, volunteer support or offer criticism, or share their own thoughts and feelings. Subjects for discussion are not usually determined by the leaders, but rise spontaneously from the group. The group then becomes a source of support and strength in times of stress for the participants. The feedback they get from others helps to make them aware of inappropriate, disruptive, aggressive, or maladaptive patterns of behaviour. There are many different motivations associated with participation in group therapy. At one extreme are the people with severe emotional difficulties and disorders such as anxiety and depression. Some groups are, indeed, targeted towards a specific problem area, for example, eating disorders. But at the other end we find groups devoted to people who want to develop their interpersonal skills.
Typically the group will comprise between 8 to 12 members. Usually each session will last 1½ hours. The frequency can be once or twice a week. How long a group survives depends on many factors such as the severity of the problems and the targets sought. It can be from a few months to a few years. It usually takes about four to six months before the group reaches maximum effectiveness. The participants in the group are expected to be present each week and come on time. It is required that the information brought up by members of the group and their names be kept confidential by all the group members.
Group participants are not required to talk, or reveal intimate details of themselves. Clearly, however, the more they participate and talk frankly and openly about themselves, their feelings, their thoughts, the more they will gain from the experience.
The great advantage of group therapy is that you are working on these patterns in the ‘here and now'; the group situation is similar to the real situation and frequently the people you meet in the group represent others in your past or current life with whom you have difficulty. In group therapy you have the opportunity to work through these situations and, importantly, you are doing so in a safe and secure environment.
It is difficult to estimate the waiting time for a place on the group because it depends when a space becomes available. Once the group is full (8 -12 members) potential members will be place on the waiting list and will be contacted once a space becomes available.