My specialism is Gestalt Psychotherapy, a mindful, awareness based therapy. This involves focusing on the "here and now" instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It is based on the premise that by focusing on the ‘here and now’ you will become more aware of your patterns of relating and behaviour and gain a deeper understanding of your decision making. You will then be able to take more responsibility for how your mind, body and soul feels; rather than ruminating over the past or what may happen in the future. It sounds easier said than done, but once mastered can be of great benefit to your mental health, and life as a whole. It’s important for Gestalt psychotherapists to have an authentic and genuinely beneficial relationship with their clients to offer support and encourage them to support themselves.

Gestalt Therapy was first used professionally in the 1940s, but the word ‘Gestalt’ originates from the 1500s, meaning in German ‘to put before the eyes, expose to the looks’. Psychologists Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler, Max Wertheimer and Christian von Ehrenfels coined the phrase and developed the professionally-used theory; essentially that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts’. It’s all about being able to look at the big picture!

Gestalt therapy is seen as quite holistic compared to some other more traditional therapy methods. It values not just the patient’s mental health but also the affective, emotional, intellectual, physiological, sensory, social and spiritual parts of the person. A Gestalt therapy practitioner will never tell you that you ‘must’ or ‘should’ do anything, but instead will encourage you to see and accept yourself as you are, so that you can then work on yourself. Life is a series of cycles of experience and the ‘here and now’ is constantly changing (very fast in the case of modern life today), so it’s important to live through it and not focus too much on what has happened or what may.