Steve Smith 
Counselling and CBT in Balham and online

How I work 

I generally work in a way that combines an Existential approach with elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This sounds complicated, but it can be summed up very simply.

CBT works by identifying your typical responses to situations and showing you how you can modify those responses if they are causing problems

Existential therapy is about getting a really clear, non-judgemental understanding  of how you experience life - your thoughts, feelings, assumptions, beliefs, and values -  in order to resolve the problems or the dilemmas you are facing.  

The initial aim is to understand how you feel at the moment, setting aside all judgments about whether those feelings are valid, fair, 'silly' or 'wrong'.

Both these approaches are, at heart, about taking control of the way you react to what life brings you, rather than walking through it on automatic pilot. They show us that we have the freedom to choose how we respond to thoughts and feelings that initially might seem overwhelming.

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Once you see this, you can begin to live in a more fulfilled, creative and less anxious way.  This may also mean taking more responsibility for the choices you are making at the moment without being fully aware of doing so. This can seem hard at first, but it is invariably worth it.