When seeking a counsellor in Portsmouth, Dean Richardson is your choice as a professionally trained, fully qualified and significantly experienced male counsellor / psychotherapist.  Dean is a BACP accredited therapist with over twelve years’ experience.  He is a therapist in Portsmouth with private practices in Portsmouth & Southsea (Hampshire).

His therapies include affordable & effective couples’ relationship counselling, individuals counselling and support groups in and around the local Portsmouth area +/- 30 miles.

In Portsmouth, Dean’s residence is Albermarle House (Osborne Road, Southsea) which is easily accessible by car, Portsmouth bus service, train and Isle of Wight ferry port (click for other locations).

Portsmouth Counsellor = Counselling in Portsmouth!

Therapeutic Counselling Services Offered.

The PortsmouthCounsellor.co.uk website gives information on Dean Richardson’s Portsmouth counselling services.  Therapies include:-

Counselling Qualifications.

You may also be interested in reading about Dean Richardson’s professional qualifications as a therapist.

About Portsmouth Counsellor.

When thinking about counselling in Portsmouth, consider Portsmouth Counsellor for your local therapy needs.

(Image (c) ElvertBarnes / Flickr)

In tough economic times, an alternative to long-term therapy could be what you need.  Brief Focal Psychodynamic Counselling focuses upon your choice of an important matter limited within a set number of sessions (eg 6 or 12).  Brief counselling combines your motivation, brief psychodynamic counselling, skills and support of a qualified & competent Portsmouth therapist, the incentive of limited time, and the containing sense from a fixed number of sessions.  Gain relief in a shorter amount of time.

Overview of Brief Focal Psychodynamic Counselling.

In general, brief focal psychodynamic counselling (also called “time-limited counselling”) offers the same effective therapy as long-term/open-ended psychodynamic psychotherapy but with the added benefits of it working to a fixed number of sessions (usually six or twelve sessions … agreed and set between counsellor and client at the start), focuses upon with one particular personal matter, and can be quite stimulating & targeting toward the patient’s problem.

For brief/time-limited counselling to be effective, both the client and the therapist must be able to be engaged with each other, and motivated to work on the focal problem.  This usual is not so much of a problem when therapy starts as both therapist and patient are aware that time is passing and the end of the therapy is already in sight the moment it has begun.  This awareness can be quite motivating to stay focussed on the presenting issue.

Brief focal psychodynamic counselling is available for Individuals Only (not for couples) and in Portsmouth (Southsea coast), Hampshire or Online via Skype.

Fixed number of sessions = Fixed budget.

We will discuss and set the number of sessions when we have met for an initial 50-minute assessment session in my Portsmouth & Southsea consultation rooms.  We might, say, agree six sessions of focal psychodynamic counselling (or more or fewer) – but whatever we agree we will aim to stick to that set number.  Working towards the end of counselling can be a struggle and confusing if the end is a moving target!  At the same time, though, we can be flexible enough and considerate to accommodate fewer or more sessions as the therapy seems to demand.

Having set the number of sessions, we will meet weekly – same time each week – to focus on the presenting issue that we discuss in the first session.

Staying focussed means that less “interference” may come into the counselling work.  Whilst in open-ended work, inviting you to freely associate and talk about anything that comes to mind, working to a brief-focal model suggests that anything that comes to mind (that is not part of the original assessment focus) may be invited to wait until a time after the time-limited work is completed.

Why “Focal” Counselling?

Dripping Tap Analogy.

Let me give you an analogy to think about … imagine that you have a dripping tap at home.  You don’t attend to it.  You put off repairing the drip or calling a plumber.  You usually manage to put the dripping tap out of your mind and get on with your life.  You don’t think about it – it doesn’t bother you.  But … occasionally something occurs or you find yourself in a place where you are reminded: drip… drip… drip…!  You find yourself in a minor battle between knowing you can do something about the dripping tap, but put effort in ignoring the problem.

Now, focussing upon getting the tap repaired may take some effort from you.  It will take some time (finding a plumber you trust, evaluating them through newspapers and adverts etc) and it will cost you some money.  The work being done may make the bathroom (say) untidy for a bit and there may be a spray of water (if not careful) that requires some mopping up.  You might not be able to use the bathroom for a bit.  You might find you get on well with the plumber … or he/she may be someone you’d prefer to avoid.

However … once the job is done it’s done.

Resolved!

Over with!!

Relief!!!

Brief Focal Psychodynamic Counselling.

Brief Focal Psychodynamic Counselling can be through about dealing with an emotional dripping tap.  It may be painful and a little scary to begin with when dealing with an emotional problem head on – but you’re not on your own when the counsellor is with you on the journey.  The “job” is done in a known/set amount of time.  The counselling may be, like the tap repair, a bit messy sometimes and may be a little bit water-spraying sometimes, but once it’s done it’s done.

Resolved!

Over with!!

Relief!!!

Is Brief/time-limited Therapy Right for You?

Brief focal psychodynamic counselling can be ideal for those that it works for!  But this is unfair to say if it will or won’t work for you on a web page. So, we’ll talk together about what the work may consist of – particularly with the emotional problem you bring to talk with me. We’ll aim to keep the counselling brief, and the problem addressed.  And if things seem not to be going as well as we’d hoped, we’ll talk about that too and find a way to address this also (which might suggest longer term therapy, a referral to another form of therapy or saying ‘fair well’ for now).

(image (c) Fran Tapia / Flickr)

Couple’s Relationship Counselling is a therapeutic intervention for relationships that are in distressing conflict.

The therapy model is systemic & psychodynamic based.  The therapist & process helps couples to perturb their relationship “system” enough so that they open up new space for inspiration, experimentation and new ways of relating.  It’s not just for intimate relationships, neither – platonic relationships are welcome too.  Couples counselling also assists couples who are considering separating either before or whilst engaging in couples counselling.

Couple Relationship Counselling.

Portsmouth Couple Relationship Counselling may be suitable for any relationship between two people that is in conflict. Initially we’ll meet in my Portsmouth/Southsea private practice to discuss the process and to learn if the process can be helpful for the couple.  If it cannot we’ll discuss other options and referrals.

Relationships that can be a candidate for couple relationship counselling:-

… and you don’t even need to be a resident of Portsmouth … you both just have to be able to get to my practice in Southsea, Hampshire.

An Overview of the Counselling Process.

Continue the hypothesising, theorising and perturbing process upon the focus of the relationship until sufficient change comes into effect so that the counselling can conclude.

How can Relationship Counselling help?

Perturbing the Relationship.

Relationships can become stuck in patterns of behaviour.  An example might be if you have every said (or thought) during a discussion or an argument:- “you ALWAYS say that” or “you ALWAYS do that.”

By becoming stuck, the relationship is unable to move past conflicts and the couple are left feeling helpless when relationship behaviour does not change.

Relationship counselling uses systemic methods from Family Therapy to:-

Preparing for Separation.

Sometimes relationship conflicts can not be worked through.  This may be due to one or both partners simply not wishing to invest any longer in resolving the conflicts and wishing to move on.

Relationship Counselling can assist a couple in separating on amicable terms.

Arrange an appointment for Couples Counselling in Portsmouth.

See my appointments page for more information about meeting with me for counselling in Portsmouth and Southsea, Hampshire.

Portsmouth Personal Counselling is a therapeutic intervention for individuals seeking relief from emotional conflicts.

The psychodynamic counselling process helps to form an understanding of the individual’s personal problems by using the client’s real-world experiences plus the experiences between counsellor and client in the therapeutic relationship.  By gaining insight the client is assisted in understanding unconscious motivations for emotional conflict.  When the unconscious is made conscious, the client is given more choice where before there may have been helplessness.

Who is Portsmouth Personal Counselling for?

Firstly, you don’t have to be a resident of Portsmouth – but you will have to be able to get to my Portsmouth & Southsea consultation rooms to meet with me for counselling (see locations).

Personal Counselling may be suitable for any individual who :-

The first session or two we’ll use to gain an overview of your presenting problems and to discuss if my form of counselling may be suitable for you.  There’s no commitment by coming just to talk with me.

An Overview of the Counselling Process for Individuals.

Continue the process either for an agreed fixed number of sessions, or on an ongoing basis until both client and counsellor agree that matters have shifted sufficiently that the counselling can conclude.

What can Portsmouth Personal Counselling help with?

Some examples of what personal counselling in Portsmouth with Dean Richardson has helped with include (but not limited to):-

What to do next?

Interest? See what appointments I have in my Portsmouth location, make contact with me and we’ll arrange an appointment to discuss your therapeutic needs.

(Image (c) Webb Zahn / Flickr)

Internet Counselling is a therapeutic intervention for individuals seeking secure & remote access to a therapist.

Based in Portsmouth, the Internet counselling process is for individuals only and aims to offer the same service as Portsmouth Personal Counselling service but with the convenience of being available from your home computer.  For your weekly session fee you get access to a secure, 24/7, virtual counselling room in which you can write correspondence to your counsellor.  In support of proven therapeutic practice, your counsellor attends your virtual counselling room once a week for a full 50 minute session, reading your previous week’s correspondence and writing his response.

Live Skype Counselling Sessions … coming soon for both individuals and couples … remote video counselling services, accessible from your home, office or anywhere … using Skype video conferencing as our communication medium (video-enabled Skype-compatible device & WiFi required).

Who is Internet Counselling for?

Internet Counselling is available for anyone – not just Portsmouth residents!  Internet Counselling may be suitable for any individual who:-

An Overview of Portsmouth Counsellor’s Internet Counselling Service.

The counselling follows similar therapeutic processes, boundaries & basic service as with Personal Counselling with the following differences:

Internet counselling continues either for an agreed fixed number of sessions, or on an ongoing basis until both client and counsellor agree that matters have shifted sufficiently that the counselling can conclude.

Try an Internet Counselling room for Free.

…and he’ll set you up with a private virtual counselling room. You can use the room for no charge to get the feel of it. If you then later wish to use your room to begin regular weekly counselling, then we will move into the assessment-for-counselling process and proceed from there.

Internet Counselling Appointments.

Because Internet Counselling occurs asynchronously, the counsellor will let you know the day and time during which he will respond  to your correspondence.  You do not need to wait for this time to write to the counsellor (a virtual counselling room is provided for you in which you can regularly write / upload your material) and you do not need to be online at the same time as the counsellor.

During the day/time that your counsellor allocated to you, he will spend the full therapeutic-hour reading your previous week’s correspondence and writing his reply.  He will post the reply into your virtual counselling room by the end of the hour.  You can sign on at any time to read his response, and begin your response at any time too.

There is no “real-time” interaction with the counsellor – which is a great flexibility for clients using this service – plus you have the benefit of knowing exactly when your counsellor will respond.

For more information…

See http://www.icounsellor.co.uk/internet_counselling/

(Image (c) nyuhuhuu / Flickr)