Welcome. My name is Clive and I want to first recognise and appreciate the courage it takes to begin a course of therapy and that choosing someone to work with can be a difficult or daunting task.
I am a Counsellor and Processworker (Psychotherapy Phase 2) with over 30 years of experience within the mental health sector.
The first question people usually ask me is ‘how do you work’? And that is not always a simple answer. Every piece of work is individual and will be guided by both your specific needs and the relationship that we develop together. Our sessions are for finding direction through challenging times. They are also a ground for developing awareness and a sense that your action, creativity and contribution to community comes from who you are. We will explore this using a type of therapy called Processwork.
How I work
Processwork (or What is Processwork?)
Below is an attempt to give a brief outline of the work, whilst recognising that it simply provides a premise of something that can only be grounded by real experience.
Processwork is a psychotherapeutic approach that emphasises working with the unconscious and exploring the dynamics of relationships, conflict, and diversity. It integrates elements from Jungian psychology, Taoism, and Nature to help individuals and groups tap into their own inner wisdom and creativity. Processwork is based on the idea that every experience contains valuable information and that working with the entirety of the experience, including its edges and disturbances, can lead to greater awareness and transformation.
Processwork utilises a range of techniques, including dreamwork, bodywork, and group facilitation, to help individuals and groups identify and work with areas of conflict and potential growth. It also emphasises the importance of working with diversity and exploring different worldviews and perspectives. Through Processwork, individuals and groups can develop greater awareness, creativity, and compassion, leading to a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Unlike some other contemporary psychological approaches, PW does not have ideas about what is “normal” or “healthy” nor does it have ready-made protocols of what to do to help people feel better. Rather, it assumes that what people perceive as “problems” or “obstacles” carry information about a solution that’s best for them as an individual or a group. (Joanna Boj 2018)
In our sessions, we will uncover these solutions, which can be found by bringing awareness to the moment-to-moment experience and helping unfold it using various techniques, such as working with dreams, body symptoms, emotions, thoughts and other elements of the experience.
A Processwork approach encourages a deeper understanding of what is happening, believing there is a higher purpose beyond what may seem distressing, and/or disturbing at times, while respecting and caring for the pain and trouble caused by that which distresses you.
Sessions
I first qualified as a therapist in 1997 (Dip Counselling) and have continued my professional development and training in various models of intervention/support. This has included Groupwork, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Psychoanalytical Therapy. It was my experience of other modalities, or rather my perception of their confines in certain areas, that led me to Processwork. I consider Processwork to be a more holistic framework that is able to meet the multidimensional aspect of our existence. Over the last 4 years I have been training as a Processwork Psychotherapist.
My experience encompasses working with charities, specialising in Substance Misuse and Criminal Justice, 8 years working in the NHS and most recently in private practice. My belief is that there are many routes to understanding and working towards our true self, however, the path is an individual one and we ourselves need to recognise which route/practise resonates with us.
I am trained to work with the whole range of human emotions and experiences. I have supported clients with depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, relationship difficulties, addictions, sexual abuse, trauma, the pain of bereavement, existential issues and integration.