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Counselling and Therapy

“Each person’s map of the world is as unique as their thumbprint. There are no two people alike. No two people who understand the same sentence the same way. So, in dealing with people, you try not to fit them to your concept of what they should be…”

-MILTON ERICKSON

Counselling and Therapy provide a unique opportunity to focus on a specific area of your life, in order to address any difficulites or problems in this area.

People attend Counselling and Therapy for a range of reasons. Although this list is not exhaustive, some of the issues that we deal with at the Portland Practice are:

Bereavement and Loss
Relationship Problems
Addiction (ie drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, food)
Self Esteem
Obsessions and Compulsions
Anxiety
Depression
Anger
Eating Disorders (ie anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating)
Self Harm
Abuse Issues
Trauma
Childhood Issues
Phobias (ie open / enclosed spaces, animals etc)
Sexuality
Gender Issues
Sexual Functioning (ie impaired sexual interest, orgasmic and erectile dysfunction)

Sometimes people approach us with a range of different issues and we are able to support them in unravelling these and then addressing them in a focussed way. Sometimes people approach us and are unclear about their core problem. Once again we can help to provide some clarity and identify and address any necessary issues.

We combine and integrate a wide range of different approaches, including:

Humanistic Principles – The idea that all humans beings are capable and resourceful people, able to make their own decisions and that each of us is completely unique and cannot be understood by theory alone. This approach means that your therapist will be open and honest with you and not hide behind a professional mask or a set of hard to understand theories.

Psychodynamic Theory – The idea that we are influenced by our earlier experiences in life and that these in some way help to shape our personalities and outlook on life.

Transactional Analysis – The idea that within each of us exists three key characteristics: The Parent, The Adult and The Child. Noticing how these are activated and “played out” enables us to develop greater freedom and healthy control in our lives and to develop more productive relationships with others.

Cognitive Theory – The idea that we all see and experience things differently and to truly help a person to deal with an issue, we need to understand the meaning that they give to a particular situation and the ways that this meaning is both helpful and unhelpful. This then enables us to make any necessary changes.

Evolutionary Theory– The idea that all beings are subject to certain instinctual drives (ie survival and reproduction). By acknowledging and understanding these, we are able to hold onto healthy and productive instincts and their related patterns and alter and redirect unhealthy and unproductive traits.

The Portland Practice is also committed to using “Evidence Based Interventions” , ensuring that the help we offer you combines the latest and most effective approaches. This is particulary the case when considering behavioural problems such as obsessions, compulsions and phobias.

To arrange an initial assessment please call Nick Gully on 07742 026290