Robert Evans

A thought concerning help

We spend our lives being helped in different ways yet how often do we consider our relationship to help, our need to be helped or our capacity to tolerate and bear being helped? Asking for help is complex. We carry assumptions concerning what we can and can’t be helped with in our lives that go unchecked and unexamined. In order to be helped, we have to acknowledge that there is something that we cannot do for ourselves. Acknowledging our need for help can be daunting but can also open up new possibilities for us to consider.

What is Psychotherapy?

We might think of psychotherapy as a process in getting to know ourselves. This includes bearing in mind our strengths and our vulnerabilities but also invites us to consider the past upon our present lives. There may be times when we find ourselves repeating old or familiar patterns that no longer serve and support us. Until we can see the influence of the past it can be difficult to know what changes we need to make in the present. Psychotherapy is concerned with getting to the root of our difficulties and offers a way of exploring our underlying problems and obstacles which aren’t so readily accessible to our usual ways of thinking.

What do I do in therapy?

Your therapy sessions are an opportunity to speak as openly and freely as you can. This is often more challenging than you think as we usually edit much of what we feel. So try and say whatever comes to mind. Talking is the life blood of psychotherapy. The more open you are during your sessions the more you will discover about yourself. The more you speak, the more you will make connections in your life. I would encourage anyone interested in beginning psychotherapy to be patient, results are rarely instantaneous but gather momentum.

As therapy progresses you will find yourself experiencing all manner of thoughts and feelings towards your treatment and your therapist. It is important at this point to speak about this in your therapy sessions. Often these thoughts and feelings arise when we touch upon something deeper within ourselves. There will be times when it becomes a struggle to keep your appointments. Demands from work and family responsibilities will try and take you away from your therapy. These interruptions seem unrelated to your therapy but often occur when we touch upon something difficult and challenging. Try and keep to each and every appointment, no matter what. 

What can I expect?

I can offer both online and in-person appointments. When we meet, you can tell me about yourself and what it is that has brought you here. You may have some questions that are on your mind about how I work. I usually suggest that we arrange three consultations to help us both decide upon whether working together will be useful. A desire to understand yourself better, and perhaps function better in the world may be sufficient motivation to engage in psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy can help address depression, anxiety, loss and grief, anger and rage, as well as family related issues. It can also be helpful in attending to trauma and self-destructive behaviour, self-harming and suicidal thoughts, as well as themes of meaning and transiency.

I offer short-term therapy as well as longer term treatment. Individual appointments cost £70 and last 50 minutes. I can offer some reductions to students and those on low income. Sessions are held at regular intervals, at least once weekly, and sometimes more often depending on your specific situation.