Dean Addams
Gestalt therapistAbout Me
As a MBACP accredited Gestalt Practitioner with over 20 years of experience, I have developed a comprehensive and holistic therapy approach.
I work with and explore every aspect of someone's individuality, from how they think and articulate themselves in their personhood, to the ways in which emotional wounding and trauma can manifest and express itself in the physical body.
Whether the therapeutic journey is explicitly body-oriented, spiritual, experimental or practical, or a combination of all of these approaches, I work differently with each one of my clients as each client that I see is a unique individual. In every case, I completely respect and honour clients’ values and beliefs. From my perspective, therapy is about two people engaging each other with their personal experiences and beliefs, their gender, sexuality, age and cultural backgrounds to grow and move together towards peace, aliveness, healing and happiness.
The fundamental goal in Gestalt counselling is to promote awareness. Accordingly, as one becomes more aware of their body, mind, environment and spiritual self, they are better able to create vivid, meaningful experiences and therefore improve the quality of their life by making better, more satisfying decisions. I aim to continuously promote clients’ awareness by working with body movements, vocal patterns and styles, one-to-one interactions, and where appropriate, through the use of experimentation in a safe, professional and supportive environment. In addition to the development of awareness, I also take a strong focus on helping clients to improve their ability to emotionally self-support and strengthen interpersonal contact.
I am in private practice seeing individuals and couples for Counselling and longer-term therapy. I work short-term or long-term work, as required. I do offer concessions for those on low-income that can come daytimes so do enquire. I specialise in issues surrounding childhood sexual abuse, sexuality, depression and anxiety. I offer supervision to trainee or qualified counsellors and psychotherapists.
Issues often worked with
Therapy offered
Client groups
Fees
Sliding scale from
£60 - 80 evening fees (low income/full employment).
£60 normal day fees
£40 - 60 lower income daytime/student (limited)
Training and qualifications
Educationally, I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree (graduated with honours) and a Master’s degree in English Literature. I have also completed a Post-Graduate Certificate in Psychoanalysis and Culture and subsequently achieved a Diploma in Gestalt Therapy. Most recently I went back and completed my psychotherapy training in Gestalt Theory & Practice, but I prefer to refer to myself as a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor.
Throughout my academic training, I took a keen interest and specialisation in the field of sexuality including cultural taboos and sexual dissidence, and during the course of my professional career, I have maintained an enthusiastic and devoted interest in human psychology. This interest has been a driving force throughout my many years of practical experience as a counsellor.
Dean Addams