Charlotte McLachlan

Many people choose to come to psychotherapy at a time of crisis. You may feel lost or stuck, or out of control in some way. This may be due to reasons such as relationship issues, uncertainty about the direction of your life, grief, anxiety or depression. It may be due to experiences that have happened recently, or experiences from your past.

Often the things that trouble us have been there for a long time. We might be afraid that these things might be too powerful to bear if they were to talk about them, but in most cases these frightening things have already happened, such as a childhood rejection or abandonment, a traumatic experience, or negative messages. What you may be left with are distorted beliefs and outdated responses to situations from your past that are now limiting you in living the full life you want.

A psychotherapist is a trained professional who will listen empathically to you and help you talk about things that perhaps you have never talked about with anyone before. A psychotherapist can help you to understand what may be the core of the problem and to offer you a greater insight into this, and how you can find resolution, or to make changes. This process happens through meeting regularly, building a safe, ethical and confidential relationship based on trust and respect. You may begin to understand yourself in ways that you haven’t before and to free yourself from the self-protective but often limiting measures you have developed over your lifetime.