Psychotherapy in Central London - Camden
Glen Gibson - psychotherapist London
Dip. Counselling, MA Psychotherapy, Dip. Psychotherapist

Entering into therapy is no small step and becomes a commitment for both of us ...

At the beginning my role is to listen and to assess why you have come, what you might need and how I can help. I usually ask a lot of questions to find out about your life now, your issues, who you are and a little about your past. Alongside the current issues you bring to psychotherapy, we may look at where you’d like to be, and what stops you to getting there, so far.

My initial approach as a psychotherapist is to get to know you and for you to develop a greater understanding of yourself in a safe, confidential, supportive and jargon-free environment - a space for you to explore what you want to explore. For the range of issues go to Psychotherapist Session Details, Issues / Symptoms

Therapy will include making connections to how you feel, think and act in your life. Working at your own pace, I offer guidance and support so fresh ways of seeing yourself, the options and making choices become available.

As a psychotherapist I have both a professional and human approach, which is not just "symptom" related. Most people have found that our way of working together and the quality of the therapeutic relationship is the most important factor. In normal social life it is unacceptable to express all our feelings and tell everyone about our experience - even with our closest friends and family. Even with people we trust, limits are usually set in what we say or are prepared to hear, restraining what we disclose about ourselves. Therefore, many people value professional help by talking to a psychotherapist as someone independent, not directly connected, who isn't too close and can hear you without a vested interest or preconceptions. Receiving a different response and perspective to what is usual in life can also be significant. Many people view psychotherapy as a supportive resource, just as acceptable as learning about diet and physical health.

I recognise that no one theory holds the truth, and that deep and lasting change is possible at any stage of life. Psychotherapy is not a medical treatment or an exact science, we are infinitely complex with many possibilities, and I do not hold a “one size fits all” approach. No one is a stereotype and because we are different, what works for many people does not work for everyone. We are all hampered by how the limits of language, don't quite explain the full depth of our experiences and my role is to find out about you and the way you do things - your modus operandi. My experience and training as a psychotherapist includes creatively working with a range of approaches and strategies which work for you.

My role is to support you in discovering not only your external sense of yourself - what you do and would like to do, but also your internal sense of yourself - your home truths, who you are and what you may become.

My approach is also to help shed light upon the obstacles in your life, so insights can be gained to change the areas you want to change or manage your life differently. My focus is less about techniques or analysis and more about curiosity, exploration and reflection, providing an external perspective. My approach here can be to offer a mirror, reflecting back how I experience you, so you may be able to see more of yourself and focus upon the important areas in your life. Some people come to therapy experiencing their life being like a jigsaw, and I see my role as helping make sense of the whole picture with the separate pieces, including any redundant, new or missing ones.

My affirming approach is to be alongside you, and the issues you bring to therapy, so the choices you make, enrich rather than limit life. I hold the view that each person takes responsibility for the way they use therapy in their life, so the outcome is in the individual’s hands.

Having an impartial perspective, I aim to bring clarity and sensitivity to my work with warmth, humour and fresh insight, together with my passionate beliefs of self-determination and responsibility.

I value each person's uniqueness and respond in an individual way to your circumstances, and at the same time appreciate what we human beings hold in common - that beneath our differences are fundamental shared experiences and concepts, that the human heart and suffering are universal. I welcome and respect people's diversity. My experience includes working with men or women, old or young, who are straight, bisexual, lesbian or gay, white, black or mixed race, of many nationalities and cultures, those who are religious, hold spiritual beliefs, atheist or agnostic. What I have found clients value the most is feeling comfortable with the therapist.

For some people, knowing that they will be seeing a psychotherapist on a regular basis can help relieve the sense of being on their own with their difficulties. This can help to manage their life more easily.

One key aim of psychotherapy is to assist people in managing any transitions in their life. Another aim is to help a person to talk about emotions and thoughts that they may not have been able to express before, or address important matters they have put off, which always seem to return. New perspectives may emerge. Therapy also helps enable people to manage difficult feelings, without avoiding them or acting them out. This can bring a sense of relief, so we can understand our current situation. Psychotherapy is also about freeing ourselves, moving away from what we don't want, towards what we do want. It may include supporting people to gain and maintain pleasure in life, despite the difficulties life brings.

Some problems may have started off small and have begun to snowball. The therapy can include exploring the dynamics of your own personality and maintaining cycles - how you re-create situations; looking at what’s in your control, what’s reactive, what’s choice. Holding that each of us are more than the impact of our history, we’ll look at what works in your life, what doesn’t and why some problems may continue. This may include unpicking the meanings you have made in your life, exploring what matters in your life alongside your feelings, beliefs, the way you perceive reality and fears as well as your aims, hopes, dreams, imagination, aspirations and values. So a further benefit is about becoming more aware of your own actions & reactions and how you make up your mind to act. We will also explore how the role of volition (the act of willing) plays in your life. For some their source of motivation may seem locked away, and for others - present, yet not fully utilised.

Psychotherapy can also provide the opportunity to look at the obstacles in our life, those we are conscious of and others we are not. This may include exploration of your habits or traits that maintain stuckness or suffering. With new insight we can understand our life differently, and a new meaning may emerge.

Some problems may never go away entirely, but how we manage them, and the attitude and relationship to them can change. (Paradoxically, as we feel better, or make different meanings, the problem may not be so dominating.) There may be something worthwhile you want that’s not working; how you see yourself getting there and the journey itself may also be important. Besides resolving or accepting conflicts, the process of therapy is successful when we are freer to choose, living our lives less automatically, resourcing our own strengths, clarity of thought, free will and inner wisdom, living a fulfilling life.

One common obstacle may be how we interpret our conscious and unconscious belief systems, where we may mistake our personal view as the reality. We may also assume that a crisis is negative, because it is difficult and painful. However, it may also be a sign that needs paying attention to, and opportunity for change. A further challenge may be a need to feel more authentic or living life from our core self, a place that is calm and centred, less affected by external influences.

Therefore a further aim of therapy may be to assist you in developing & building a deeper sense of yourself - your own centre, able to self reflect and utilise your awareness, with the ability to make choices and act.

Therapy can offer guidance in resolving conflict and solving problems. Everyone, universally, has some ingrained ways of relating, so in a sense the focus and benefits of psychotherapy are always about relationships with:

Our partner - see Relationships

Others - parents, siblings, children, friends, colleagues, neighbours, authority

Ourselves - our internal relationship, how well we understand and manage our own feelings and emotions (anger, sadness, fear, intimacy, loss, guilt, shame, sexual desire) alongside how we feel about our body and the life we've led so far

Another key aim of psychotherapy is to help improve your greater wellbeing. The experience of therapy can help enable us to accept ourselves, others, and life's limitations.

The process of psychotherapy is further outlined in the section
Our Life Now

My interest in therapy developed in 1982. I have completed 7 years training in psychosynthesis psychotherapy and counselling in London drawn to it because it was described as a psychology of the soul.

My training combined the physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, and spiritual aspects of a person and help me gain a broader understanding of myself and others. I realised that some things come naturally in life and other things need to be learnt.

As qualified Counsellor and Psychotherapist, in my practice I bring together over twenty-five years experience of working with people at points of change in their lives, both in the voluntary sector and privately. Over this period I have valued listening to people’s life stories. I acknowledge and aspire to share what I have learnt from others.

Accountable to their codes of practice and ethics, as a psychotherapist and counsellor I hold registration with the main UK counselling and psychotherapy professional and regulatory bodies, namely:
United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) - I am a Registered UKCP Psychotherapist - a national body of psychotherapists and psychologists
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) - I am a Member and Accredited BACP Counsellor - a national body of psychotherapists, counsellors and psychologists
National Council of Psychotherapists (NCP) - I am a registered member of NCP - a national association of psychotherapists in private practice
Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners (AHPP) - I am an Affiliate Member of AHPP - an organisation of humanistic psychotherapists, counsellors, and psychologists

Alongside self-referrals and personal recommendation from clients, I accept referrals from GPs, law firms & employers, other psychotherapists, counsellors & professionals. Potential clients will be offered an assessment as soon as possible. They will need to have an interest in thinking about themselves and desire to change.

A set fee is charged and I have a limited number of reduced rates for those on a low income. It is usual for the full fee to be charged for missed sessions.

My Counselling and Psychotherapy practice is based in central London, Camden Town. A range of easily accessible and frequent tube, bus and rail services is available, with parking nearby.

For more details, or to arrange an initial introductory consultation for Psychotherapy or Counselling in London, Camden Town, telephone Glen Gibson on 020 7916 1342. If no one is available to speak to you, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If I am unable to see you or you would prefer to see a psychotherapist closer to you, I am able to put you in touch with other Psychotherapists or Counsellors throughout London.

If you are contacting me by email, it would help if you said a little about why you are seeking psychotherapy.

During the initial session you will be encouraged to talk about why you have come in order to assess your needs. By the end of this initial assessment, if psychotherapy is suitable and we feel comfortable working together, further booked sessions can be arranged. If this is not the case, a discussion will usually take place as to what other alternative therapy or assistance in London may help. Please note, for relationship / marital concerns I only see individuals who want to explore or work through their own issues, I don't see couples.

People may come to psychotherapy with an infinite number of issues, including depression, anxiety, stress, anger management, abuse, self confidence, self-esteem, grief, bereavement, relationship, marriage guidance, and a whole range of wider concerns. For a comprehensive outline of symptoms I work with and session details see Psychotherapist Session Details, Issues / Symptoms