Amanda Jeffries

I work Mondays to Wednesdays. My first appointment is at 8.00 a.m. and my last appointment is at 5.45 p.m.

I am an experienced therapist offering short or long term counselling and psychotherapy. I deal with issues including depression, loss or bereavement, anger, anxiety, relationship and mental health difficulties, as well as exploring who you are and life directions.

I can offer short term or long term therapy. I see people once or twice a week for 50-minute sessions at a regular time each week. Sessions can be either in person or online, or a mixture of both.  In-person work can be in a consulting room in central Oxford, or take the form of walking and talking in a quiet Oxford park. 

Please do contact me if you would like to discuss or clarify anything, either by email or text or in a short phone call (leaving a message if I am in session), before setting up a meeting.  

I have a Masters degree in Psychodynamic Practice from Oxford University. I have also done post-qualification Jungian training with the GAP. I was until recently Chair of the Oxford Psychotherapy Society. I have worked as a therapist in different NHS settings, including Psychological Services, as well as in a large workplace organisation. My background is in languages and I have a wide professional experience of working with people from diverse cultures and religious backgrounds. I also have experience of working with people with mental health issues and have a good understanding of the different treatment options on offer.

My core approach is psychodynamic therapy. This means trying to get below the surface of what is troubling you - whether that is depression, anxiety, low self esteem, relationship difficulties, loss, or some other issue. Present distress is often connected with ways of thinking, feeling and behaving that got set up in the past - maybe as a result of trauma or difficult experiences - but which are no longer serving you well. Understanding the past, and unconscious motivations, can help shed light on how to go forward.

Every person is unique and every therapy is unique. My aim is to give you space to speak, and to listen and offer you insights, so that together we can help you understand yourself better. Often therapy will involve exploring and working through difficult feelings. Or you may be at a time in your life when you are exploring questions of meaning, and your sense of yourself. Sometimes we might also discuss together practical ways of going forward, or think about how your lifestyle might change to support your wellbeing. I aim to offer you the right balance of support and challenge, which might be different at different times. We will keep reviewing how the therapy is going, and I will encourage you to share your thoughts and feelings as openly and honestly as possible as we go along.

It is always good to meet in person for our first meeting if at all possible.

In this fifty-minute session I will start by asking you what brings you to seek therapy, and answer any questions you may have. I may ask you some questions as we go along, but mainly I will be listening in order to understand what is going on for you. Towards the end I will offer some thoughts about this and about how we might go forward if you decide you would like to meet again. At this stage you might decide either to contract for a limited number of sessions, with the option to extend, or to carry on meeting on an ongoing basis. Or you may prefer to go away and think about what you would like to do.

If we decide to go forward with therapy I will send you a leaflet with more details of how I work, practicalities, and my terms and conditions, and I will ask you to confirm you agree with these. I will also ask you to fill in a short form giving personal details.

The most important aspect of therapy is feeling comfortable with your therapist; the first meeting is an opportunity to get a sense of whether we might be a good fit.