Potential Issues

What Kind of Therapy?

Sandra Hughes MA, Dip. Psych.

Psychotherapist

Counselling/Psychotherapy in Marlow 


I know that it’s difficult to take the first step by acknowledging that there are some issues you are not happy with, and your life is not quite how you wanted it to be – but that’s why you’re here.


So let me explain what to expect if you decide to give therapy a try, and take the next step to change your life.


 

I am an "integrative therapist", meaning I am qualified in many different schools of psychotherapy and combine them in the treatment of clients, therefore I am able to offer a range of talking therapies:

  • Psychodynamic Approach
  • Person Centred / Humanistic
  • Jungian Psychoanalysis
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Gestalt Therapy
  • Existential Psychotherapy
  • Transpersonal​​

The type you find suitable will depend on your issue, your needs, and your personality.

  • Feeling overhwhelmed
  • Depression
  • Loss & Bereavement
  • Sexuality & Sexual Difficulties
  • Paranoid Thoughts
  • OCD, ADHD, Antisocial Behaviour
  • Phobias
  • Meaninglessness & Futility of Life
  • Panic attacks & Anxiety
  • Relationship Difficulties
  • Anger, Rage & Aggression
  • Trust & Jealousy
  • Childhood Trauma
  • Anxiety Stress
  • Suicidal Thoughts
  • Antenatal & Postnatal Support
  • Bereavement
  • Bullying
  • Drug, Alcohol & Other Dependency
  • Isolation & Disassociation
  • Personal Development & Growth
  • Lack of Self-Esteem or Confidence

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        I offer individual (one to one) therapy,             couples therapy and antenatal and                   postnatal group support.

My Approach to Therapy


​My approach to therapy is to treat each client with dignity, integrity, care and compassion in a non-judgemental environment. I can help you make sense of the issues you are facing, by encouraging you to share what is worrying you, and giving you the opportunity to be listened to.


Each session is an opportunity to feel truly seen and heard in a way that can be deeply healing, providing a safe and confidential environment to enable you to explore your thoughts and feelings. This will bring about awareness and the ability to recognise and accept more aspects of yourself and how you relate to other people and situations.


"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." – Carl Rogers


My approach is not prescriptive, but is designed to help you to find your inner resources, discover new ways of living, and make positive changes to enrich your life. You will find yourself better able to deal with problems related to life circumstances and events, such as loss and grief, marital difficulties, abuse or traumatic events, ageing parents or adolescent children.


“Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious.” ― Freud


You may be invited to explore your dreams – not through some prescriptive system of interpretation or symbolism, but in a way that is unique to you. A dream is unfinished business from the person’s life, and a statement of the here-and-now existence of the dreamer. 


What issues can I help you to deal with?


Psychotherapy is a highly effective way to deal with any challenges or issues you may be facing, be they personal or professional. Personal issues might include relationship difficulties and breakups (including divorce), family problems, depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bereavement, recent trauma (such as being the victim of a car accident or crime), past trauma including abuse or neglect in childhood, self-harm, eating disorders, sexual issues, and addiction problems. Professional problems psychotherapy can help with include stress, low self-confidence and self-esteem, difficulties getting along with colleagues, confusion about your career path, troubles focussing, the challenges of redundancy or loss of employment. For all these issues and more, therapy can help you work through your feelings, whether they are of anger, depression, confusion or isolation.


What can you get out of your therapy sessions?


Therapy can help guide you to find effective and satisfying ways to make healthier and more fulfilling choices in the future. As you share your past and/or day-to-day experiences, I will help you interpret and recognise important patterns between your past experiences and present behaviour, helping you to gain insight into your current situation. By building self-knowledge and self-awareness, my clients are able to grow and conquer issues which may at times feel all-consuming or overwhelming.  


Psychotherapy is not a quick fix or a perfect solution, but it is a commitment to yourself and your emotional wellbeing that can be very rewarding, albeit sometimes challenging.​ 


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