My passion in psychotherapy is to offer a relationship based on respectful understanding. This relationship provides a means of exploring aspects of experience which may have previously been too painful or confusing to face and supports courageousness in finding words for previously unrecognised truths.

While I enjoy working with adults with various anxiety and mood related issues and have an extensive and broad professional background, including working in a senior psychology role in the NHS, and working at a university; I have expertise in the areas of interpersonal conflict, identity, troubled eating, and body focussed distress.

I care deeply about anti-discriminatory practice and spent my doctorate researching the nuanced meanings encoded in the troubled eating and bodies of queer people with eating disorders. I remain committed to recognising the impact of all forms of violence, oppression and ostracism; and to attending to the often-obscured stories of resistance.

In addition to it sometimes being necessary to make a commitment to doing things that are within our power to change differently, patterns of thoughts; feelings; and behaviours, can also be meaningful.

Psychoanalytic theory tells us that being sensitively supported and witnessed in efforts to put meanings into words can reduce suffering and reliance on harmful or self-limiting ways of coping, leading to the living of a fuller and more stable life. This is the philosophy that underpins all my clinical practice.

What happens in therapy?

Starting therapy begins with a detailed assessment.

During assessment, you will be asked about your current and past situation, and whether you want to plan for time limited (e.g., 10-40 sessions) or longer-term therapy. However, you remain free to bring therapy to an end when you feel ready.

We will also develop our shared understanding of the focus for therapy, and establish what is required to work on this together. The latter includes considering practicalities to enable you to make the best use of therapy and ensuring clarity about each of our roles.

Once the focus of, and agreement for therapy has been reached, you are invited to voice your uncensored thoughts and feelings about your experiences, including those in relation to the therapy focus, agreement, and the therapy relationship itself.

My role includes paying careful attention to what is communicated and potentially inferred, and to share and check my observations with you in a way that is both manageable and helpful.

We continue to hold your goals for therapy in mind to ensure that we are talking about what is important to you, and to inform review of how things progress.

You can find out more information about how I work, or how to make an enquiry, on my website: https://drcharlotterose.co.uk