David Thompson

I have some availability for couples and individuals.  I  work afternoons, evenings, and Saturdays. 

I imagine that you're reading this because something feels painful.  The problem may seem small or feel overwhelmingly large.  I can help with either working for weeks or years. 

I'm an integrative therapist (humanistic / existential and psychoanalytic) also influenced by the cognitive awareness that comes from mindfulness. 

However, my practice is influenced just as much by my own lived experience and my doubts about the efficacy of the medical model in dealing with mental health issues. 

In plain English I offer an authentic, non-judgemental, and accepting personal relationship and notice what is happening in our relationship with regard to a wide range of psychological theory and practice.

In addition to being a Registered Member of BACP I'm also Accredited - only one in four qualified counsellors are fully accredited and this is widely considered an indication of mature competence. 

I've been practising since 2011 and have several thousand hours of experience.  I've also completed additional training including several years on a Masters psychotherapy programme (that included a secure psychiatric placement) and training in working with couples with the Centre for Relational Couples Therapy.

I have a broad range of experience in dealing with many aspects of human distress and suffering including depression, anxiety, self-esteem, bereavement and loss, and problems in family and other relationships. It may be that it's hard to be sure what the problem is: a loss of a sense of who you are and what you want from life, or maybe just a feeling of meaninglessness and that something is missing.

It's never too late to come to therapy.  You're never too old or too set-in-your-ways to change yourself and your experience of life.  There are some special moments in a person's life when they feel able to change.  I believe that there are many more of those moments in therapy.

You will be reading this because there is a particular problem you wish to address in your relationship or because the relationship has reached a crisis and it is unclear whether it will survive. 

As with individual work you may wish to focus on a particular issue such as improving communication skills.  Others may wish to work longer to try to understand the, often repeated, patterns in your relationship.  This often involves understanding the unconscious influences from the past which may impact upon your present ways of relating to one another.

It is not unusual for one of you to 'trigger' the other and for an escalating argument and deterioration in the relationship to occur.  In this instance the work will be for both of you to understand your respective triggers and begin to develop the capacity for empathy and understanding rather than being lost in a traumatised state.

Another potential area for growth and change may be in each of you communicating how you really feel and for the other partner to really listen and work at avoiding falling into a defensive response.

It may also be helpful to deepen the intimacy between you while also allowing each other space to be independent without fears of abandonment. 

The first session is an opportunity for both of us to get a sense of whether we wish to work together.