Dr. Adrienne Baker PhD Psychotherapy UKCP Reg

Addictions, Adolescence, Anxiety, Assertiveness, Couple Relationships, Creativity, Cultural Issues, Inhibitions, Loneliness, Low Self Confidence, Low Self Esteem, Midlife Crisis, Personal Growth, Personal Relationships, Self Development, Stress, Transitions, Unresolved Issues, Workplace Issues and Work Relationship Problems

Psychodynamic Therapy

Female

‘It’s not what you tell that makes you vulnerable, it’s the secrets you keep.’ (Isabel Allende, 2008) Starting therapy is often daunting. Lots of questions arise – ‘Will it help me?’, ‘May I feel even more vulnerable?’, ‘Will I become dependent on it?’ A first meeting when we look at these concerns helps to ‘demystify’ therapy, to explain what it’s all about and how it works. Together we’ll discuss how it helps to unravel the emotional knots that influence behaviour and spoil relationships. Therapy is a process which facilitates insight into repeated patterns of self-destructive behaviour and of difficult relationships. It’s a joint endeavour between client and therapist and this relationship, which is a safe and trusting one, allows emotional healing and the growth of self-esteem. The person lacking self-esteem struggles to feel valued. He or she may resort to false ‘solutions’ and self-destructive, often addictive, behaviour such as being a workaholic or succumbing to addictive shopping. I am particularly interested in the way that people hold themselves back, wanting yet fearing change. Relevant to this are cultural background, the potential impact of change and the fear of destabilizing important relationships.

My early professional background was in social work. I also worked as a volunteer with the Samaritans.

I then trained in family therapy, including group therapy, and psychodynamic counselling. After completing the research for my PhD, I was appointed Lecturer and subsequently Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychotherapy & Counselling at Regent’s College, London and have practiced as a clinician and tutor ever since.

I work at home in my consulting room where quiet and confidentiality are assured. It is a residential street with plenty of parking.

If you have a question not answered on my web profile, please contact me via the green Contact Me button.

I am both a keen gardener and an attentive responsive psychotherapist. Just as in a garden there may be dark corners inhibiting growth, so it is sometimes in people’s lives. Psychotherapy helps to cut back the emotional tangles and, within a safe relationship, tries to understand the bad feelings, where they’ve come from and to ask why they’re still lingering. Psychotherapy can begin to lighten the shadows.

A personal-professional development group for therapists can be arranged, meeting weekly, initially for four weeks. A group for women who shop addictively and who want to understand what underlies their addictive behaviour can also be arranged.

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