Meet the Therapist: James Bushnell
James Bushnell is an online therapist
What attracted you to become a therapist?
I found my desire to be a therapist while working in a rehabilitation centre in 1999 for people with drug and alcohol addiction. I heard the insights from the therapists there and felt truly inspired. They seemed to have a way of listening to people that I had not come across before. It was working at the frontline of people’s personal struggles and I knew that I wanted to pursue this for my career.
Where did you train?
I have trained in various places. Barnet College - Introduction to counselling. North Kent College – Counselling skills and theory. Bromley college of further and higher education – Integrative counselling FdSc (Greenwich university course).
Can you tell us about the type of therapy you practise?
My therapy is considered integrative. This means that I can incorporate a range of therapeutic approaches to tailor the therapy for the individual. I have been trained in psychodynamic, humanistic / person-centred, CBT and transactional analysis.
When meeting with a person, I get a feel for which kind of approach will work best for them and bring the appropriate therapy to the front. It also means that they can have a versatile experience in session as the style of therapy can adapt more to the individual. In my experience, most people seeking help, don’t know what kind of therapy will be for them. Therefore, offering a range of approaches can often be more reassuring.
How does your way of working help with symptoms of anxiety?
An issue that I often support people with is anxiety. This is becoming more and more common as our lives become increasingly more busy and complicated. Anxiety sets in when we are overloaded or overwhelmed.
Sometimes we don’t recognise that we are experiencing anxiety as it can come to the surface physically. People describe feeling the need to distance themselves from others when they feel suddenly unwell. They may also experience loss of sleep when their mind is racing.
My approach in supporting people with these issues is to form a relational bond with them where they feel more relaxed and safe enough to share what is going on for them. This is the person-centred approach and I use this as the baseline for all sessions.
I see therapy as something like a journey that we take together. Offering impartial and non-judgmental support can help the person to navigate the course. If I see a possible connection a person may have overlooked, then I bring it to them to consider and look at in more detail.
What sort of people do you usually see?
I have worked with a wide age range from young adults to people in their late 50s of either gender. The kind of needs I have helped with are: anxiety, depression, relationship issues, addiction, career issues, faith based issues and family dynamics.
I prefer to work one-to-one as I don’t offer couples counselling, but this may be an avenue for me in the future.
Have you noticed any recent mental health trends or wider changes in attitude?
I have noticed that as a society, we are becoming more vulnerable to busyness and stress. This may be because we live in an increasingly more instant culture. We are bombarded with instant information on a daily basis. While this has its advantages, it can also take its toll on us and diminish our resilience to pressure.
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted many with isolation and fear over the future. Many are still struggling with the long-term psychological aspects of the pandemic in 2020, and finding that mental health issues are impacting us more in ways we may not have realised.
Our culture has become more individualistic as well. Even though we are more connected with advancements in technology, the need to leave the home and interact with people in society has become less necessary. These are possible instigators of negative thinking and social anxiety.
What do you like about being a therapist?
As a therapist, I particularly value the opportunity to be there for people in their moment of struggle. Counselling can be intimate work at the frontline of people’s emotions. I believe it is a true honour to be allowed in to a persons private struggle and be there for them in a way that no one else can.
Being unconnected to anyone else in that persons life is such an advantage as I can be completely unswayed by multiple opinions and the person I support can feel safe knowing that no one else in their life will interfere.
What is less pleasant?
What can be a challenge is seeing someone in so much emotional pain that they feel helpless and lost. Sometimes people become self-sabotaging when overwhelmed. However, I believe that when someone is working through therapy, pain can be part of the journey. So helping to contain someone in these moments is really important.
How long have you been with Welldoing and what you think of us?
I have signed up with Welldoing for a few months now. Welldoing is a great way to gain more support when working to improve as a therapist. I have attended a support group and CPD and I plan to increase this in months to come.
It feels great to be part of a UK platform that has been set up with therapists in mind. It feels personable and caring and I feel like I matter to them. I hope to be with Welldoing for a long time.
What you do for your own mental health?
To keep myself consistent and on top of things, I enjoy playing classical guitar. I have been playing from a young age (self-taught) and it is a great way to relax and switch off the world for a while.
I also live in a very rural country village with a medieval history. There are three rivers that run through here and I love to walk the river banks to reconnect with nature.
What’s your consultation room like?
For the time being, I work online where I meet all the people I support. I have plans though to gain a physical space as a counselling practice in the near future. My ideal therapy environment is a place where people can enjoy quiet and feel safe. I plan to use many visual and practical methods to help people open their thinking and unlock their emotions.
What do you wish people knew about therapy?
I know that therapy has some misconceptions out there and it can take a while for people to unlearn them. Mostly, counselling can be viewed as an advice service. The therapist is sometimes seen as “the one with the answers”. The truth in reality is that the client holds the answers to their issues but they have needed support to discover them.
If someone comes to a therapist with the view that they are not there to be told what to do but guided to learn the answers, then therapy would have a really positive and healthy start to the process.
What did you learn about yourself in therapy?
While in therapy, I learned how much the opinion of others impacts the way that I feel validated as a person. Thankfully, therapy can help with the topic of validation and analyse why opinions of others need not matter as much as it appears to. I have also learned that listening and hearing are different things. To be an active listener is to participate in the experience of the person speaking. Many people we know may be better at hearing but not so great at actually listening to the things we say. Therapy has taught me how to be more of a listener and take into account the person’s body language and tone. It’s been quite an interesting journey.
