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Our sense of personal well-being is an expression of good function in both our psychological and physical life.  The goal of psychotherapy had been described as the capacity for autonomy, intimacy and congruence.  From a personal perspective a good outcome gives meaning and satisfaction to life.  At any stage of life we may benefit from the support it offers, understand ourselves better and make constructive choices to change our lives.

Psychotherapy, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is ‘the treatment of mental disorder by psychological means’.  Though true, this does little to describe what treatment entails.  Psychotherapy, with its various schools is best understood in terms of its 19th century origins.  Freudian psychoanalysis had made a huge contribution to common perceptions of neurosis and psychological health and Freud’s thinking still influences psychotherapeutic practice today.

However, its highly elaborated theoretical framework has been largely replaced by more accessible therapies focused on behavioural change.  These newer therapies have been supported by research based on the long-term observation of children and an emphasis on ‘good enough’ parenting. Practitioners, now trained with a recent understanding of personality development, offer various approaches to the psychological problems of their clients.  These are broadly psycho dynamic or humanistic in origin and offer the recipient insight and behavioural change.   

Psychotherapy may offer you a way to resolve your present-day problems; it may or may not require you to address issues from an earlier period in your life.

In the course of some months your relationship to a skillful therapist may enable you to develop insights into the past,  resolution/ acceptance of events, a capacity for empathy, a sense of authenticity and a choice of ways to deal with your future. Different therapists work differently: find a person you feel you can trust and feel free to ask how they work.