How I work
Counselling and psychotherapy professionals have a dazzling array of names that we use for the various theoretical approaches from which our work has developed. The BACP currently lists over 30 approaches on its website and there are certainly many more than that in current common circulation. Thankfully, in practice, you don’t have to understand all these labels; the fact is that no one theoretical approach has been proven to work better than all the others. What we do know, though, is that the relationship you develop in the therapy space can have a major influence on the effective outcome of a therapeutic treatment. Put simply, therapy works well with someone you feel comfortable with.
"Let no day pass without humbly remembering that everything has still to be learned" CG JUNG.
I like to think of my way of working with people as creating an individual therapy that is unique, facilitating and with direction. By using an integrative framework I can draw on a wide range of techniques and approaches fulfilling this way of working. Over recent years I have fully integrated Self Determination Theory (SDT) into my practice. SDT was developed by psychologists Deci and Ryan and fully outlined by them in the mid-1980s. Focused on understanding the factors that enhance or undermine motivation, SDT identifies three essential psychological needs:
Autonomy – the need to feel self-directed and in control of your own actions
Competence – the need to feel effective and capable
Relatedness – the need to feel connected, valued and have a sense of belonging.
An SDT-based approach to couples work will help you both to identify and meet your psychological needs while simultaneously promoting mutual respect and empathy within your relationship. You can read some more detail about how I use SDT in my article Empowering ADHD/NT couples with self-determination theory (SDT)
