Karen Davison

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a talking therapy founded on the understanding that our unconscious, and early life experiences and relationships affect our development, our current experience and relationships with ourselves and others. It provides a safe, personal space where you can talk about yourself and what troubles you.

During the sessions, I will encourage you to say whatever is going through your mind, to help you become aware of meanings and patterns in what you do or say, as well as conflicting desires and feelings, that may have been hidden (unconscious) up to that point, and which may be contributing towards your problems or getting in the way of you reaching your fuller potential.

Our work with the unconscious may involve exploring your dreams and the meaning for you of other symbolic experiences and material, as well as straightforwardly talking things through. Together we will aim will be to reach beyond the initial symptoms which may have lead you to seek therapy, to get in touch with the underlying causes.

In making the unconscious conscious and understanding the conflicts within yourself, you will learn more about yourself, the decisions that you make and why you experience things as you do. This in turn, will allow you to make new choices about how you live with greater awareness and less distress. Working in this way can provide profound and lasting change.

As a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, I am interested in what’s going through your mind. For this reason, I will tend to wait for you to talk, this may feel like silence, but that doesn’t mean that I am being unhelpful, what I am doing is leaving open a space in which you and I can uncover what you do not yet know.

My role is also to try to understand and point out particular difficulties in talking or thinking about certain things. Although we know that it’s helpful to talk, we also know it’s not always easy. It’s important to understand what might be getting in the way.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy allows for a sustained and meaningful therapeutic relationship to develop. As the therapy develops this includes possible feelings about me as your therapist. This is not unhelpful, as it allows us to explore and understand the difficulties and conflicts in your inner world in the safe and contained setting of the consulting room.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy sessions last for 50 minutes. You may be offered different models of attendance from once a week, to twice or more times each week. Psychotherapy can take place over a limited time period, but it is more usual for it to last for some time, from several months to several years. It can be a slow process, but it is widely acknowledged that working at depth can bring about enduring relief from suffering and lead to profound change in the individual.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy can help with a range of psychological problems, particularly difficulties that can impact on relationships. Research shows that psychoanalytic psychotherapy is effective in the treatment of both mild and complex mental health problems. Studies show that psychotherapy, in addition to antidepressant medication significantly reduces depressive symptoms, compared to antidepressants alone.

In the case of somatic disorders, studies have shown that short term psychoanalytic psychotherapy can be more effective than other therapies. (Somatic disorders are physical complaints that initially appear to be medical but after investigation can’t be explained with medical diagnosis.)

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is not recommended during active psychotic episodes but can be very helpful in relapse prevention and when a psychotic episode has come to an end.

It can be painful to face the past and the truth. Talking and thinking about emotional problems can be difficult. For this reason some people can feel worse before they feel better. As your psychotherapist, I will work with you to help you manage strong emotional reactions, however psychoanalytic psychotherapy is not for everyone.

Sometimes the work involved in psychoanalytic psychotherapy can make people feel too angry or makes their depression worse, or some can
feel too criticised. There is a range of alternative therapies that I will talk to you about during our initial consultations.

Counselling

Counselling provides a safe and confidential space for you to explore how past experiences, worries about the future or current difficulties may be affecting your life and relationships.

My role as your counsellor is not to tell you what to do or give advice, but rather to explore with you on how you respond to life events and how you relate to yourself and others. Through this process you can come to understand yourself better, find your own solutions and move from a situation where you may feel a victim of circumstance to feeling that you have some control over your life.

Most counselling takes place in planned, regular 50 minute sessions. The frequency of your sessions and how many sessions you have, will depend upon your circumstances and the nature of the issue that you wish to address. Deep rooted or recurrent problems may need weekly sessions for many months, while solution focused counselling for a specific problem may take a few sessions. In rare cases one session may be enough to resolve an issue.

What you talk about during a session will depend upon what you are seeking help with but could include: past and present life events, situations that you find challenging, your feelings, thoughts and behaviour, your relationships. This first session is important for making sure that you feel comfortable seeing me and with my way of working. During this initial consultation, I will ask you to give a brief history of the issues that lead you to seek counselling and to tell me what is troubling you and we will explore how we might work together. Please feel able to ask about my qualifications, experience and anything that you are not sure about.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is based on two assumptions:

  • It is not what happens but how you interpret what happens that matters
  • What you do or how you act affects how you think and feel (including the physical sensations you experience)

CBT usually focuses on difficulties in the here and now rather than looking at the past. The therapy relies upon us working together, to identify and develop a shared understanding of the relationship between your thoughts, feelings and behaviour, so that you can understand how or why a problem developed and how the problem has been maintained. Identifying and modifying unhelpful and inaccurate thoughts and beliefs to help you change how you think and behave which in turn can change how you feel.

In the initial sessions, we will explore the nature of your difficulties,, how they developed and what keeps them going. Although CBT tends to focus on the here and now, you will be asked questions about your background and earlier experiences, so you can understand how they affect you now. I will also be interested to know what has helped before now.

Together we will develop a shared understanding of your difficulties (this is ‘formulation’ may be drawn up on a flip-chart and worked on together over a small number of sessions). Goals for the therapy will also be agreed and treatment plan developed. I may ask you to complete questionnaires during these early sessions to help us to monitor the progress of our work together over time.

Individual CBT usually takes place on a weekly basis with each session lasting 50 minutes. As you come to the end of therapy, sessions maybe spread out to give you a chance to put what you have learnt into practice. This helps build your confidence to manage without ongoing therapy.

In line with best practice some CBT sessions may be longer than 50 minutes. The fee for such sessions is calculated as a multiple of the normal fee. I will always discuss arrangements for longer sessions with you in advance.

Behavioural experiments (experiential activities undertaken in or between CBT sessions) to enable you to test out the validity of unhelpful beliefs and assumptions are sometimes helpful. Such experiments can include activities can include for example, driving a car, flying or standing in elevated places. Expenses incurred whilst arranging and conducting such experiments (including the fees of advanced driving and motorcycle instructors) are charged at cost. I will always discuss arrangements and expenses with you before hand.

Towards the end of your therapy, we will explore how you can manage future challenges as they arise, to reduce the Research shows that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be as effective as medication in the treatment of some mental health problems. CBT can also be completed over a relatively short period of time compared to other talking therapies. However, to benefit from CBT, you need to commit yourself to the process. I can help and advise you, but I can’t make your problems go away without your full co-operation. Due to the structured therapy sessions CBT may not be suitable for people with more complex mental health needs or learning difficulties. If you are feeling low in mood, it maybe  also difficult to feel motivated and to concentrate.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is not a quick fix. In CBT you need to confront anxiety to overcome it. This can make you feel more anxious for a short time and I will help you with this.

Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Experience or exposure to (single, multiple or repeated) traumatic events such as a violent personal assault, traffic accidents, natural or manmade disasters, being taken hostage, sudden and unexpected death, can give rise to a range of confusing and sometimes distressing responses that can have a significant impact on the physical and emotional wellbeing of those affected.

Trauma focused cognitive behavioural therapy can assist by helping you:

  • Understand your responses to the traumatic event(s)
  • Safely process traumatic memories
  • Process trauma related emotions including shame, guilt, loss and anger
  • Modify those thoughts and beliefs that are causing you emotional distress and relationship, social and occupational difficulties
  • Develop strategies for managing heightened arousal, anxiety, flashbacks and safety planning
  • Safely confront situations, people and objects associated with the traumatic event that you may be avoiding because they evoke strong emotions or cause physical distress
  • Focus on re-establishing relationships, work and other activities that are important to you

    All the therapy provided is evidence based and conforms to National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines and standards.

    Typically trauma focused CBT lasts 8-12 sessions, although this can vary depending on individual circumstances and the nature of the trauma experienced. Individual trauma focused CBT sessions usually last 50 minutes, however in line with best practice some trauma focused CBT sessions maybe longer than 50 minutes. The fee for such sessions is calculated as a multiple of the normal fee. Arrangements for longer sessions will always be discussed with you in advance.

    Follow up sessions are sometimes helpful particularly around significant dates such as the anniversary of the trauma. The usefulness of such sessions is something we can discuss towards the end of therapy.

    Individual trauma focused CBT sessions usually last 50 minutes, however in line with best practice some trauma focused CBT sessions maybe longer than 50 minutes. The fee for such sessions is calculated as a multiple of the normal fee. Arrangements for longer sessions will always be discussed with you in advance.

    Follow up sessions are sometimes helpful particularly around significant dates such as the anniversary of the trauma. The usefulness of such sessions is something we can discuss towards the end of therapy.

Psychotherapy & Counselling Supervision

As an experienced psychotherapy and counselling supervisor, I am happy to discuss your supervision needs and workwith you to find the best ways to support your development and wellbeing as a psychotherapist / counsellor.

I see supervision is essentially a collaborative process. We will be working together to ensure and develop the efficacy of your psychotherapy / counselling practice and supporting you in maintaining ethical and professional standards of practice, and in enhancing creativity.

I provide supervision for psychotherapists, counselling psychologists, counsellors and other professionals working in mental health or with people.

Experienced in supervising trainees, recently-qualified and experienced practitioners, I am aware of the challenges and rewards of each stage in a practitioners professional life and understand that practitioner’s needs in supervision are likely to change over their working life.

The safety and welfare of clients and the quality of the service they receive is central to the supervision I offer. I understand the importance of recognising the diversity of individuals and contexts within counselling and psychotherapy takes place.

I provide psychoanalytic psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, solution focused brief therapy, CBT, integrative and counselling supervision on an individual basis and in small groups, as well as clinical consultancy for organisations. (Please see below for more details of the clinical consultancy and training that I offer for organisations).

If you have any questions about my approach, or just want to find out more, please contact me to arrange a mutually convenient time for an initial telephone conversation. If you would then like to explore the possibility of us working together, I offer a free 50 minute session. This initial consultation provides a chance for us to get to know each other, and a space to discuss your requirements for supervision, clarify frequency of sessions based on your caseload, experience,
accreditation requirements and explore the scope /boundaries of our potential supervisory relationship. It is also an opportunity for you to air your hopes, address any fears and explore our expectations of each other and the supervisory process.

Clinical Consultancy and Training for Organisations

I have extensive experience of providing clinical consultancy, clinical training and behavioural risk management solutions for a wide range of organisations, including:

  • UK Government Agencies
  • Probation Service
  • Health providers
  • Employee Assistance Providers
  • Housing Associations
  • Schools and Further Education Colleges
  • Small, medium and multinational employers