My name is James and the way I practise psychotherapy is largely very simple and straightforward.

I believe that the majority of suffering that we experience arises from our attitude to what is happening. As the Greek philosopher Epictetus wrote nearly two thousand years ago: "People suffer not because of what happens to them, but because of their thoughts about what happens."

I always explore a client’s life from the perspective of attachment theory. This is a psychological theory concerning early relationships between human beings. Attachment theory proposes that young children need to develop a healthy, consistent, “good-enough” relationship with at least one primary caregiver for normal social and emotional development. This gentle exploration always reveals insights into the client’s present issues and possible ways to address them.

I have worked in the field of addiction for many years, including seven years at The Priory Hospital in Roehampton between 2001-2008, and I consequently have a wealth of experience in assisting both addicts and their families. Furthermore, I believe that viewing any issue as stemming from compulsive thought, emotion or behaviour can potentially prove very helpful. 

I see therapy as far more about self-exploration and self-development than 'fixing' areas of ourselves or our lives that have been labelled dysfunctional.

In addition, the evolving experience of parenting a now thirteen-year-old daughter has contributed to the simplification of many of my previous perceptions of life, and some of the apparent complexities of psychotherapy also.

In our sessions together, we can consider alternative perceptions of you, your life, the world and beyond. We can explore the web of judgement you and others may have constructed and limit the impact of conditioning. You can then entertain radically different possibilities in terms of how you perceive life, increasing self-acceptance, inner peace and love.

If any of this resonates with you, please get in touch and we can discuss your situation in greater depth.

Take care.