Integrative Psychotherapy
What Is Integrative Psychotherapy?
An integrative therapist is someone who has studied a variety of approaches to therapy, which can then be woven or ‘integrated’ together into one coherent, effective framework to match each person’s unique needs.
Every integrative therapist will draw on a different set of therapeutic methods and frameworks. My own core training included therapies that can address problems with – and utilise strengths from – your early attachments, your life experiences, your thoughts and behaviours, and your spirit and creativity. My further studies have extended to areas such as trauma-treatment, mind-body connections, sociology, myth and dreamwork.
Integrative Psychotherapy views therapy as a shared partnership. Our first task will be to find the right language for describing your inner and outer life, and to establish what you need from our sessions. Then, together, we can figure out the best way forwards for you, and ensure that your changes in therapy will ‘stick’.
Who Can It Help?
One of the main features of Integrative Psychotherapy is its flexibility. I’ve trained in a wide range of approaches, so sessions can be tailored to each individual person or set of problems. The focus is always on attuning to your unique story and situation, and finding the path or solutions that will work best for you.
Integrative Psychotherapy has been proven to be effective in helping people with a very broad range of issues including depression, anxiety, anger, addiction, stress, and low self-esteem.
In my own practice, I specialise in working with older adults, as well as those on the autistic spectrum, and adults who went to boarding school.
And I’ve undertaken extensive further studies to help people transform the impact of trauma, PTSD and Complex PTSD; and to navigate issues around grief, ageing and dying.
What Will It Be Like, In A Session?
My approach to Integrative Psychotherapy involves taking a wider-than-usual perspective on your life, and also conducting a more forensic examination of the details. Whatever number of sessions we have together, our work is likely to cover:
1. Investigating and Understanding
We will look together at what you’re facing, how it’s affecting different areas of your life, and what you might like to be different. We’ll get curious about your life-patterns, your coping strategies, and your habits of thought – so we can start to make sense of where you are. We may also attend to more unusual aspects of your experience, such as your internal sensations or your dreams, which may hold significant information to help you move forwards. It’s really important at this stage for us to attune, gently, to what is hidden or subtle or hesitant in you; to make space for every part of you. Sometimes the things you thought were most inconsequential or even shameful turn out to be ‘diamonds in the dust’ when it comes to change.
2. Exploring, Observing, and ‘Life Testing’
This is when we begin to make our way forwards, trying out new paths and seeing how they ‘fit’ with you. As you start to test out new ways of being in the world, we’ll notice carefully how things affect you on a practical, physical and emotional level. We may take unexpected turns as new information emerges. We’ll identify and engage your existing resources, challenge old habits where appropriate, and look at new tools for problem-solving where necessary. And as we progress, we will take time to observe, reflect, and deepen our understanding, at whatever pace is right for you.
3. Consolidating and Ending
At a certain point, it will become clear that you are nearly ready to move forwards on your own. But preparation is crucial. Taking time to fully integrate your changes makes them far more likely to stick, in the long term. So we will fine-tune and strengthen your new sense of self, and make sure it’s comfortably embedded in your daily life. We’ll review what you’ve achieved, look at how you might cope with any future difficulties, and consider what you might be taking away to continue working on by yourself. And we will ensure you leave feeling confident and resilient for whatever the future may bring.
Want to get a more in-depth feel for what therapy with me might be like?
How Long Will It Take?
Integrative Psychotherapy may last just a handful of sessions, or it might continue for several months, or even years.
How long it takes will depend partly on what brings you to therapy. If you are seeking focused help with one particular issue, or support through a period of crisis or upheaval, then our work together may be quite brief. If we need to look in-depth at the root causes of long-term behavioural patterns, and work towards changing them, that’s likely to take longer.
It also depends on you. For example, what is a comfortable pace for you on this kind of internal journey? Is there part of you which is hesitant about unpacking things, or about change? Do you have a wide range of supports and resources available in your life, or are you unsupported or even discouraged by others?
I am trained to work both short-term and long-term. Around half of the people I work with achieve what they want from therapy in under 20 sessions; others find it useful to undertake a longer journey. I will meet your individual needs so that our work is never rushed, but also doesn’t drag on for longer than required.
How Do We Start?
Trying to untangle a life and find the right way forwards can be complex… but my experience as a psychotherapist has shown me that it is always possible. Whatever your story, wherever you find yourself now, you really can achieve significant and lasting change.
Your most important task, then, is to find the courage to begin – to book a first session, and start talking. From there on it will be a joint endeavour.
“One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through, and it will be someone else’s survival guide.”
Brené Brown