What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy provides a confidential therapeutic relationship in which psychological and emotional difficulties can be explored in depth. People come to psychotherapy for many reasons: to address a particular difficulty or experience, to understand longstanding emotional or relational difficulties, or because something does not feel right even though it may be difficult to explain why.
Psychotherapy looks beyond symptoms alone to understand your experience within the wider context of your life. This may include current circumstances, significant experiences and relationships, emotions and physiological responses, beliefs about yourself and others, ways of coping and the meanings you have made of what has happened to you.
There is considerable overlap between counselling and psychotherapy. Psychotherapy often places greater emphasis on exploring difficulties in depth and understanding how different aspects of experience may be connected. It does not, however, necessarily mean long-term therapy or an intensive exploration of childhood.
Understanding the person, not just the problem
Psychological difficulties rarely exist in isolation. How we experience ourselves, other people and the world is influenced by many factors, including our relationships, significant experiences, temperament, social circumstances and the ways we have learned to respond to difficult or overwhelming situations.
Some aspects of our experience are easy to recognise; others may be harder to understand or put into words. We can also understand something intellectually while continuing to experience it very differently emotionally. Ways of coping that once provided protection can sometimes become restrictive when circumstances change.
Psychotherapy provides an opportunity to understand these experiences with curiosity rather than simply viewing them as symptoms to eliminate. This does not mean assuming that every difficulty originates in childhood or that every behaviour has a hidden meaning. The aim is to develop a fuller understanding of the individual and what may support change.
Psychotherapy videos
Explore psychotherapy and psychological theory in videos by Teresa Lewis, Founder and Clinical Director of Lewis Psychology.
What can psychotherapy help with?
People seek psychotherapy for a wide range of reasons, including anxiety, depression, trauma and the effects of difficult experiences, relationship and attachment difficulties, low self-worth, shame or self-criticism, bereavement and loss, difficulties managing emotions, childhood experiences, abuse or sexual assault, major life changes, questions of identity or meaning, or a sense of feeling stuck, disconnected or dissatisfied.
These are examples rather than an exhaustive list. You do not need to see your particular concern listed here for psychotherapy to be appropriate.
Sometimes there is a clearly identifiable difficulty or experience that brings someone to therapy. At other times, several things may feel interconnected, or you may simply know that you are struggling without being able to explain exactly why. You do not need a diagnosis or a clear explanation before beginning psychotherapy.
How can psychotherapy help?
Insight can be important, but understanding something intellectually does not necessarily change how it is experienced emotionally.
Psychotherapy can help you make connections between different experiences, process emotions that have been difficult to understand or manage, recognise protective ways of coping, examine established beliefs and assumptions, develop psychological insight and find different ways of responding to yourself and other people.
Your therapist will work actively and collaboratively with you. Depending on your needs, this may include psychological education, practical skills, exploring the relationship between past and present experiences, gently challenging assumptions, helping you recognise things that may be difficult to see from within your own experience, or exploring what happens within relationships.
All Lewis Psychology therapists are trained in several counselling and psychotherapy models and work from an integrative perspective. This allows the therapeutic approach to be tailored to you and to develop as your needs and understanding change over time.
Psychotherapy is not about pursuing emotional intensity for its own sake or eliminating normal emotional pain. Some experiences cannot simply be changed or resolved. Therapy can also involve finding ways to understand, process and integrate what has happened, while developing greater flexibility and choice in how you move forward.
Book an appointment
Appointments are available to adults throughout the UK via Zoom or telephone.
You can view current availability, choose your therapist and book directly through our secure Client Portal.
