...is a specialist service offering psychodynamic psychotherapy to people who are experiencing difficulties affecting their emotional and/or psychological well-being which can manifest in a number of ways.
Psychotherapy is not about giving advice, providing solutions, managing behaviour or 'fixing' things, although it does bring about change. Jeanine provides a space to reflect together, make sense of and manage life experiences and transitions with specialist support. She has helped people who have experienced the following:
Loss
Physical illness Hopelessness
Panic Sleep disturbances Gender identity
Depression Obsessions
Disordered eating Suicidal thoughts Autism
Sexual abuse Post traumatic stress
Domestic abuse Ritualistic behaviour
Bereavement Mental health diagnoses Low self esteem
Problems associated with alcohol & drugs Nightmares
Rejection Social withdrawal Fears/phobias
In treatment
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a non-directive talking therapy, which means that what happens in each 50 minute therapy session is determined by the client. You might choose to talk, play, draw or sit and think quietly with the therapist.
The therapist will be attentive to the content and process of the session and will verbalise observations and interpretations about what might be happening both consciously and unconsciously in the room. The psychotherapist will be attentive to the themes that develop in what you bring to therapy and will make links between past and present experiences. This enables a better understanding of what might be going on for you so that change can happen.
Psychotherapy treatment duration
How long psychotherapy continues depends on the nature of the referral, your life story, and your reason for embarking on therapy. Some people benefit from a brief psychotherapeutic intervention of weeks, for others, a longer intervention of months or years is indicated.
The decisions to begin and end therapy are important ones that are made jointly between client and therapist. Careful planning and thinking is essential before starting or stopping therapy, however brief and whatever your age or presentation. Sudden, unplanned breaks and endings can replicate previous losses, which will usually have a psychologically detrimental effect and should therefore be avoided. A timely and carefully planned ending can be of huge psychological and emotional benefit and can bring about a sense of reparation.
The unconscious
Psychodynamic psychotherapists, in particular, believe in the power of the unconscious mind. The unconscious is present in what we say and do as well as in our play, drawings, dreams, decisions, jokes and slips of the tongue (known as Freudian slips). The unconscious contains relics of past experiences, which continue to influence us in the present, often without our conscious awareness.
Becoming aware of the unconscious through the therapeutic process can enable us to manage our emotions and experiences, make safer choices, have healthier relationships, achieve better mental health and live happier, more rewarding lives.
Jeanine Connor © 2023 (update)