Helen Cordery

Are you tired of feeling stuck in unhelpful relationship patterns? Do you feel stuck in self-sabotaging cycles, judging yourself harshly yet still making the same mistakes over and over? Perhaps you have begun to wonder if your childhood might be the root of these difficulties, but either can't quite put your finger on why, or if you do have a clear sense, can't put them behind you, where they belong. If you answered yes to some or all of these questions, perhaps attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapy might help. Therapy with me is a collaborative process, where we explore your current difficulties and what you want to change, as well as your early life experiences and how these might have left a legacy on you as an adult. Sometimes, people can easily identify childhood experiences that have left their mark. Here, the work is to lay these to rest so you can leave them in the past, where they belong. But others come with a sense that childhood might be relevant, although they can't pinpoint why. They have memories of having everything they needed, at least materialistically, perhaps even growing up with substantial privilege (for instance, parents were able to send children to boarding school). But they still struggle to create and maintain meaningful, supportive and intimate relationships. Part of the process of the therapy I do can involve the impact both participants in the therapy process (the therapist and client) have on each other in the room. This is something that we explore together - some people take to this like a duck to water, others find it excruciating and scary. We work out how to proceed together, step by step.