I’ve been musing on a few ideas relating to effective therapeutic work and I thought I’d share them with you in the hope that it will benefit you along your healing journey, wherever you are.

Therapy isn’t always about feeling better right away. Sometimes, it’s about learning how to sit with the feelings we’d rather turn away from. In my work as a therapist, I draw from existential, Gestalt, and psychodynamic approaches—all of which share a common thread: helping you become more present to your inner world and the deeper currents shaping your life.

That doesn’t mean diving headfirst into overwhelming emotions; while catharsis serves its purpose—and BIG, emotive experiences certainly draw clicks on social media—becoming more conscious of your emotional world as it ebbs and flows, whilst it undulates, is key.Instead, effective therapy is about gently nudging towards what feels uncomfortable, step by step. I believe lasting change happens when we press against our “growth edges”—the places where we stretch beyond old patterns, but in a way that feels safe and supported—especially within a relational context.

Think of it like strengthening a muscle. If we push too hard, we risk injury. If we never push at all, we stay the same. In therapy, we aim for that middle ground: enough challenge to grow, but at a pace that feels steady and manageable.

Over time, this process helps you build a deeper connection to yourself, untangle old stories, and create space for more freedom in how you live and relate to others, no longer burdened by unconscious material that dictates your conscious life. As the famous 20th century psychoanalyst Carl Jung said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will rule your life and you will call it fate.”