Stephen Weaver Counselling & Psychotherapy
Central London and Putney, South West London

Counselling is not about giving advice but about listening and helping people to find a better way of dealing with such problems.

The longer you continue, the more you will connect with patterns from the past and see how they influence you now.

Where a problem persists, psychotherapy looks in depth at those patterns. Its emphasis is on the future rather than the past, focusing on outcomes which can be profoundly life-changing.

That's where the idea of unfolding comes in.

Like the tree, we are involved in a continuous process of growth and change. Optimal mental health includes making sense of the suffering and conflict which are an inescapable aspect of human development. As we address problems and crises, previously unrecognised or distorted qualities emerge within us, which challenge our assumptions about who we are and who we may yet become.

In this sense counselling and therapy explore, not only the causes of our experiences, but also the purpose of them. This is a life-long process, as we come to a better understanding of ourselves and our relationships.

I work with both short-term counselling (6 - 12 sessions) and long-term psychotherapy (3 months - 3 years).

A typical session takes the form of a conversation, in which you are free to speak about whatever you wish, in complete confidence. I respond in a constructive and non-judgmental way. Sometimes the conversation will flow; sometimes it may move into silence. Occasionally I may suggest working in a non-verbal way, with pens and paper, for example, or by focusing attention on what you are feeling in your body.

It is difficult to be more specific than that, because so much depends on the issues you bring, the goals we set for our work together and the ways in which our personalities interact.