A foundational principle of depth therapy is that until mourned, the past is never truly past. It lives on in the present in our relationships shaping how we see others, how we see ourselves and in how others see us. In the consulting room, this process plays out much the same way as it does…
The importance of boundaries in psychotherapy I think it’s probably fair to say that all models of psychotherapy view boundaries as important. Analytic therapies particularly emphasise the role of boundaries and see them as integral to the psychotherapeutic process. There are many ways of understanding why boundaries are crucial. When I reflect on my work…
Transference is a complicated process and concept. This article attempts to describe it in simple terms, focussing on a basic understanding and highlighting why it is felt to be so important in analytic psychotherapies. I will end by thinking about how it can emerge and be used in both individual and group therapy. What are…
I am sometimes asked, “What is transference?” Some patients are strongly negative towards the idea (of how they understand) the concept. A blog seems like a good opportunity to de-mystify this term and emphasise its importance to psychotherapy and to psychodynamic and psychoanalytic counselling. Freud Again! The notion of transference dates back to Freud. He…