Welcome

Angela Dierks, Counsellor Palmers Green & Southgate

Counselling in Southgate/Palmers Green & Online

Thank you for showing an interest in my counselling practice in N14, Palmers Green. We do all encounter difficulties in our lives but at times the world gets on top of us and it may be more beneficial to talk things over with someone who listens impartially. The first step is often the hardest and deciding to enter into a counselling relationship can be quite daunting, particularly if you are new to counselling. On these pages I aim to give you some idea about counselling and more specifically about my way of working as a counsellor/psychotherapist.

You may be facing some difficulty in your life, a major crisis, unhappiness in your personal or work life or a sense that you would like to change a particular aspect of your life.

Counselling/psychotherapy allows you to talk to a professional who gives you their undivided attention and doesn’t judge you in any way. We will be looking at thinking, feeling and behaviour patterns, understand where they come from and see whether they still service you well or may require some changes and adaptations. You will gain a deeper understanding of yourself and of the relationships that you have with other people. We will clarify what changes you would like to see happening in your life and ways to bring change about.

I am a warm, insightful therapist and have over 15 years of experience working with a diverse group of clients on a wide range of issues in sessions lasting between 8 weeks to several years. My aim is to offer you a safe, confidential space where you can freely talk about any issues giving you cause for concern. I am very dedicated to my work as a therapist and feel passionate about it. I witness my clients change through our work together and strongly belief that therapy has a profound effect on people’s life.

I have worked with a very diverse range of clients and am respectful and affirmative of difference and diversity related to race, culture, sexuality, gender, faith, class and physical ability.

Anxiety can be a disabling experience; panic attacks are an even more frightening experience of being completely out of control. We all experience worry at times but if the worry becomes persistent and overwhelming, it can start to interfere with daily life experiences. Anxiety can present in a number of ways: excessive worry and preoccupation, health anxiety, social anxiety, phobia, OCD or panic disorder.

Most people feel sad or low at some point in their life. We talk about depression if these feelings persist, intensify and significantly impact on your day to day living. Depression can present in a number of different ways: psychologically, physically and socially. We will look at the underlying root causes of your depression and look at ways of coming out of the negative cycle that you experience.

Approaches to Counselling & Psychotherapy

How do I work?

Our sessions take 50 minutes each. In the first session we will discuss why you are seeking therapy and what you would like to get out it. You will have an opportunity to ask any question you like. I will ask you some questions about your present circumstances, your family and social network. We will then decide what works best for you in terms of short term or long term therapy. My way of working as a therapist is informed by a number of different theoretical models.

Theoretical models for therapy in a nutshell

Psychodynamic counselling is concerned with how your experiences from the past influence the way you feel, think and behave in the present. This is the ‘classic’ model of psychotherapy starting with Freud and Jung and including psychoanalysis, attachment theory, object relations theory and present day relational models.
The focus is on uncovering your unconscious ways of doing things, making your aware of them and ultimately to help you implement changes in your life.

Cognitive-behavioural theory (CBT) is most concerned with your thought patterns and how they affect your behaviour, which may occasionally seem irrational and come out of nowhere. CBT is a more practical approach to issues that trouble you, focusing on concrete, goal oriented exercises that help you to change your way of (negative) thinking.

Humanistic theory started off as a reaction to both classic psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural models of counselling where the therapist was largely seen as the ‘expert’ and the client as the ‘patient’. Humanistic models include person-centred counselling, Gestalt therapy and psychosynthesis. The belief is that the client knows best what choices to make and that the therapist helps by providing an environment where the client can flourish.

Integrative Therapy acknowledges that one theory cannot address everything and that every individual has different needs that demand different responses. As an Integrative Counsellor I believe that all of the three main theories referred to above are most effective when not dealt with in isolation but when used to address a specific need in the most holistic way.