Where it helps

This work is primarily about the psychological growth of the person, but here is a list of some of the life-situations and conditions that have been helped:

• trauma, especially early relational trauma

• depression, anxiety, and bipolar states

• creative or personal growth, and integrating powerful experiences

• difficulties and upsets at work

• sexual and other abuse

• the effects of narcissistic, intrusive, or unreliable parenting

• relationships, particularly parental, work, sexual and caring relationships

• feeling stuck

• breakdown

• hearing voices

• agoraphobic, claustrophobic and obsessive suffering

• sudden setbacks in life

• mid-life, aging and other transitions

• early wounds, including boarding school syndrome

• worrying, compulsive, or criminal behaviours

• historical, political and intergenerational trauma

• The work can also be helpful professionally, especially for doctors, those in leadership positions, and for those facing organisational change.

There are some areas, however, such as dangerous eating disorders and substance-misuse, and autism spectrum disorders where specialist treatment is almost always recommended.

Finally, in addition to especially high-value or high-risk cohorts such as children and criminals, a range of mental illnesses (including personality disorders, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic disorders, and, interestingly, some gastro-intestinal disorders) are often treated with psychodynamic psychotherapy in the NHS. Private treatment has the advantages that the clinician is likely to be a specialist delivering psychotherapy only, unlike a psychiatrist, and people can stay for as long as they need rather than treatment being time-limited.

The practice has two psychiatric consultants it works with from time to time, and this is a safe and containing where the need for private psychiatric assessments or other referrals can be considered.