Sometimes people have had negative or difficult experiences of therapy in the past. This can relate to different experiences – it could be that something happened that left you feeling unheard and silenced, disempowered or devalued, hurt, angry, betrayed, or uneasy and unsure. It could be something clearly inappropriate took place. Sometimes harmful experiences are a one-off event, and other times it’s an accumulation of difficult experiences. It may be that you’re not sure what went wrong, you just know how you feel about the experience, or you feel to blame.

If you are considering seeking therapy again after a past experience of harm in therapy, it is understandable that you may be hesitant.

I aim to listen to any aspect of your experiences that you want to bring to therapy. My aim is for you to have a space where you can feel heard and respected, where you will not be pathologized or blamed, and where – if you want to do so – you can explore what happened to you and the impact this may have had, without any pressure.

As you feel able, I welcome you letting me know about anything that you may need. This includes sharing your experiences of therapy with me, and discussing and giving feedback on any aspect of therapy that might worry you. This might mean clarifying roles and expectations, boundaries, or discussing the challenges associated with the inherent power imbalance between me as your therapist and you as the client. My aim is to help find the best way forward together.