Welcome 

I am Malika & I am an integrative psychotherapist, which means I am trained in more than one approach to therapy. The approaches I offer are person centred and psychodynamic therapy. This is my first blog! It is the first in a series of blogs. I aim to share information, lived experiences and all things therapy. Giving you an insight into my therapeutic perspective and what to expect when on a therapeutic journey. Our first topic being, what is therapy? 

Therapy is a process, it is essentially a relationship that is built over time between you and your therapist, which provides support and facilitates space where you can improve your mental health and emotional wellbeing. Many people seek therapy to help them cope with challenges in their lives, manage difficult emotions, or make positive changes. But what exactly does therapy involve?

In short, therapy provides a safe space for people to explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours with an objective professional. The therapeutic relationship is built on trust, respect, and confidentiality. A good therapist listens without judgement, asks thoughtful questions, sits with all your feelings, including the uncomfortable ones and offers new perspectives based on psychological formations. You may be wondering, what exactly do I have to do in therapy?

A quick answer is, be yourself. The more honest you are the more you’ll achieve in therapy, after all, honesty is the best policy! Once a safe space has been established, it is yours to explore yourself, share your real feelings, allow yourself to be vulnerable and in return you are gifted with new understandings of yourself, which allow you to make changes to your life for the better. 

At this stage I’d like to share that therapy is not a quick fix. The therapeutic relationship often takes a while to establish. Allowing yourself to be truly open, honest and transparent will take time, it is a process. For some the process is lifelong, and for others it is a short experience, depending on a variety of factors. For example, why you access therapy, how you’ve accessed therapy, or what type of therapy you are accessing. 

I’d like to note that the relationship between you and your therapist is almost always more important than the approach they use. As therapy sessions may employ a mix of techniques like cognitive-behavioural therapy to modify unhelpful thought patterns, or psychodynamic therapy to uncover unconscious drivers of behaviour. The focus is shared, no matter the technique used, to improve your mental health and emotional wellbeing.

The overarching goals are increased self-awareness and personal growth. Therapy often focuses inward but also examines how we relate to others. It can provide coping strategies for struggles such as anxiety and depression, and in general it can improve your relationships. All of our lives are spent in relationships, with ourselves and others. Therapy allows space to focus on these relationships and helps us understand how and why we interact/behave in the way we do.   

Ultimately, therapy is about feeling understood, gaining insight, and making positive changes. With an empathetic facilitator, it can lead to a more fulfilling life. Although a more fulfilling life can be achieved via therapy, this is hardly the conscious reason many people access therapy. Which leads me to our next topic, why access therapy?