If this is you, then you are not alone. We have found that people usually turn to therapy when they feel there is something wrong with them or their lives and cannot find the solution alone.
Maybe your life feels overwhelming or your relationships feel out of sync. Perhaps your internal narrative is filled with self-judgement, or you feel doomed to repeat the same painful patterns over and over again.
What we’ve found is that usually these patterns originate with some kind of wounding: unresolved trauma which requires awareness and compassion for healing.
Unresolved core wounds often manifest as anxiety, depression and unhealthy relationships with food, alcohol, sex and more.
But with support, unresolved traumas, whether historical or current, can be healed: in fact, our pain often points towards our healing and wholeness.
Kintsugi is a Japanese artform, which takes shattered ceramics and mends them using gold. Core process therapy is a lot like that too. By looking at our scars, and offering them tenderness, we can begin to honour our full and true selves, and ultimately, put the pieces back together.
These are some ‘typical conditions’ we find people often seek support for. However, our belief is that people are more than their symptoms, diagnosis, or struggles.
Stress and anxiety can have a profound effect on both mental and physical wellbeing, and when severe, can be debilitating. Whether you've been diagnosed by a professional with generalised anxiety disorder, or are experiencing daily stress, we can help support you.
Having a sense of belonging, to our family, friends, or community is key to our mental health. Feeling as though you don't belong can be a painful experience, and often is exacerbated by messages or experiences in our childhood which made us feel that we don't belong.
On a spiritual plane, it's thought that in our journey from source to birth, there is a loss; a disconnection from the collective consciousness and the pure love that we once knew.
Living with, or caring for those with disability or chronic illness can be difficult. Diagnosis later in life can also have a huge effect on our identity and sense of self.
Being a carer can be an isolating and all-consuming role, making it difficult to prioritise yourself and your needs. In adulthood it can evoke emotions and patterns which occurred in childhood.
Depression is characterised by persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. It may also manifest as an existential crisis, or loss of meaning or purpose in life.
24% of women and 13% of men in England will be diagnosed with depression at some point in their life- and that doesn't include those who go undiagnosed.
Suicidal ideation is more common than you may think. It may not always involve a plan either, and can be a feeling of 'I'd just rather not exist.' One in 5 adults report thinking about suicide at some stage in their life. Talking about suicide is key to reducing stigma and helping save lives. If you need immediate support, you can call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123.
Eating disorders do not discriminate. They affect men, women and people of all genders, races and sizes. Anorexia and bulimia are commonly known eating disorders, but disordered eating also covers binging (eating in excess) and restricting tendencies, like calorie counting.
Eating disorders are more than how we feel about our bodies- though they do also encompass this. They are often a reflection of our relationship with our own self, and a means of coping with distressing emotions.
Whether you've lost a family member, friend or pet, grief is a difficult experience and may be accompanied by a range of emotions. The way in which someone died may affect your grieving process: whether the death was sudden, expected, or a relief at the end of a battle with illness.
Psychotherapy can help you explore the full range of emotions that emerge from your grieving process.
From aging to divorces, or moving house, life transitions can be disruptive to your mental health, your sense of identity and security.
Psychotherapy can support you in navigating these endings and ease the process of letting go. It can also help you identify opportunity for a more conscious beginning.
Whether you have claustrophobia, agoraphobia or emetophobia, the depth work that psychotherapy offers is a powerful aid for examining phobias. Mindfulness can also be used to explore your bodily responses as well as utilising breathing techniques to ground you and soothe your nervous system when faced with triggering situations.
Challenging relationships are a key reason people come to therapy. Whether you find yourself drawn to the same types of people and stuck in the same patterns, or if you find you're ambivalent or avoidant towards relationships, psychotherapy can help you explore the reasons why you feel the way you do and create possibilities for you experience healthier relationships.
Trauma comes in all different shapes and sizes: from sexual or physical abuse, to car crashes, bullying, hospitalisations or someone you know dying suddenly.
Trauma can also occur outside of a one-time event. It can be small, persistent events that occurred over time. These instances usually affect our sense of self and security. Perhaps our physical needs were met, but our emotions were invalidated or ignored.
Psychotherapy can offer you a safe space to explore the feelings that result from these traumas, at a pace which is set by you. There is no rush, nor any obligation to share any details about the event that you do not wish to.
Work makes up a huge proportion of our lives, yet is often a cause for distress, upset and frustration. Whether your work/life balance is out of kilter, you find your work unfulfilling, or you find that the same person at work triggers you time and time again, psychotherapy can help you explore these emotions and figure out a way forward that fulfils your professional and personal aspirations.
Maura Sills, founder of Core Process Psychotherapy