The mind is a lake of surface manifestations and unexplored depths; stillness and ripples. Your emotional weather may change but always return to your unique shape. Have you found your base, your container? Are you secure there? If you are interested in following the ripples, or ready to dive in, I can be your companion. I am a fully qualified psychotherapist with a commitment to providing compassionate, relational-focused therapy, informed by research . My professional interests are wide-ranging:
- existential anxiety
- gender-sensitive psychotherapy with male clients
- social anxiety
- performance anxiety
- obsessive thoughts
- compulsive behaviours
- body image
- shyness and loneliness
- suicidal thoughts
- low self-esteem
- depression
- trauma
- medically unexplained symptoms
- 'false' self
- infidelity
- relationships
- emotional difficulties
- loss
I am currently seeing clients face-to-face and via zoom
Why is talking therapy with an attuned person effective?
Establishing a collaborative, positive working relationship is an essential aspect of successful psychotherapy treatment. According to research (Norcross, 2010, Wampold 2001), the most important ingredients that contribute to a successful therapy outcome are the client's motivation and psychological-mindedness, and the relationship between the therapist and the client.
I also subscribe to an explanation coming from the field of interpersonal neuroscience: the brain is plastic and genetically programmed to develop through interaction with other brains. This happens most dramatically in the first years of life, but this process continues across a lifetime. When we engage with another human being in dialogue, certain very physical processes are set in motion which help us regulate our emotions and shut down our stress response. Therapy stimulates the formation of new neural networks, the integration of split-off aspects of self, and the unlearning of unhelpful coping strategies.
The therapeutic dialogue provides an opportunity to test old assumptions and experiment with new ways of being – all in a context that is safe, confidential, and containing. We learn through reflection, conversation, a real relationship, experimentation, mindfulness, journalling, and bibliotherapy.
Stories are a central focus of my work: how we story our lives, how we think about our values, how we share ourselves with others, and how we shape our futures.
Silvia Baba Neal - therapy and supervision