Brighton Psychotherapy and Counselling Practice

Cherry Potter MA, M.Inst.GA, UKCP

After many years as a writer and lecturer in film and creative writing, I trained as a psychotherapist.

I am a registered psychotherapist with the UK Council for Psychotherapy www.psychotherapy.org.uk. I have a post-graduate diploma in group analytic psychotherapy and I am a full Member of the Institute of Group Analysis www.groupanalysis.org I have also worked as a honorary psychotherapist for 4 years at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital (London) where I conducted psychotherapy groups and saw individual patients.

Curretly I see private clients individually for weekly psychodynamic therapy and counselling. I also see clients who would like brief therapy or counselling for a specific life problem. And I conduct psychotherapy groups in my private practice in Brighton, Kemp Town. I see clients fortnightly in London Swiss Cottage at the Institute of Group Analysis.

The clients I see have a variety of different problems such as:

- difficulties with relationships / sexual problems / family issues

- Depression / anxiety and work related stress

- Sexual abuse/ domestic abuse / post traumatic stress

- Problems with creativity or writers block

Your therapy begins with a one to one assessment session. The aim of this session is for you to talk through your problems and for us to discuss which kind of therapy would best suit you. This session will also give you a chance to meet me and for us to decide whether I am the right therapist for you.

Individual Therapy

The aim of psychodynamic therapy is to enable you to gain a better understanding of yourself and the causes of your current difficulties and to work towards changing aspects of yourself and your life that may be causing you unhappiness. The therapy consists of weekly 55 minute sessions. The length of the therapy depends on your progress and the end date will be decided when you feel ready to end the therapy.

Brief therapy

Brief therapy or counselling consists of weekly 55 minute sessions for a specific time period - 6 weeks to 6 months. For this form of therapy to be effective the focus and the aim of the therapy will be decided near the outset and the focus will be actively worked with throughout the therapy.

Group Therapy

Most psychological suffering is rooted in relationship problems, past and present. This is why a therapy group can be an ideal safe, nurturing and confidential setting to enable you to reflect on your experiences and gain a fresh understanding of yourself, your relationship patterns and develop more effective ways of managing your life.

The group has a maximum of 7 members and meets weekly for 90 minute sessions at my private practice in Brighton, Kemp Town. The work of the group is confidential. This is important because a therapy group is an intimate place where members explore difficult issues in both their past and present life as well as their here and now relationships in the group itself. These here and now relationships in the group are important because we learn most about ourselves from the thoughts and feelings experienced during our interaction with others. This is why group therapy has proved to be one of the most effective forms of therapy for personal growth and real change. Sadly many people are afraid of groups and assume that individual therapy is better. In my experience this is far from true, a therapy group can be just as safe and nurturing as individual therapy.

If you think you might like to join a group, or you need help but you are not sure about group therapy, please contact me for more information, or to arrange for an initial one to one session to talk things through.

Other Activities

I have been a guest speaker at the Institute of Psychiatry Maudsley Debate www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/iopweb/eventsand a keynote speaker for the IGA workshop series 'Talking about Sex'. I am a member of the IGA Development Committee and Series Convener for 'Dark Forces: Understanding Destructiveness and Transformation', a series of 5 one-day workshops which explore the origins of destructiveness in childhood and the family and its manifestations in organizations and social conflict.

To read more about my writing career, books or journalism please visit my personal website at www.cherrypotter.co.uk