Anxiety can take many forms. For some people it is a constant hum of worry; for others it arrives suddenly – a racing heart on the Tube, a sleepless night before a meeting, a dread that is hard to name. Often it has been there a long time, and the ways we have found to manage it – keeping busy, avoiding, checking, holding everything together – have started to cost more than they give.
Understanding the root causes of anxiety
Some approaches to anxiety focus mainly on reducing symptoms, and for many people that is a reasonable place to begin. My work as an anxiety therapist in London is a little different. As an adult psychoanalytic psychotherapist, I don’t treat anxiety only as something to get rid of. Together we try to understand what it might be signalling – what it is connected to in your history, your relationships and the ways you have learned to protect yourself.
Recognising the signs and symptoms of anxiety
In psychoanalytic psychotherapy, anxiety is understood not only as a symptom but as something that may be telling us about what matters to you.
Anxiety rarely appears out of nowhere. It may be tied to old expectations of how others will respond, to feelings that have seemed too risky to have, or to a period of change, loss or pressure that has stirred up something older. Noticing these patterns, slowly and in your own words, can loosen their hold. As anxiety becomes more understandable, people often find it becomes less frightening.
How I work with anxiety in psychotherapy
Sessions last 50 minutes; we usually meet weekly, sometimes more often, which we can discuss. We meet in person at Emperor’s Gate, or online where appropriate, starting with an initial assessment.
I see adults at the Liberis Practice, 27 Emperor’s Gate in South Kensington. I trained at the Tavistock Clinic and am registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council. You don’t need to arrive knowing what to say or why you feel the way you do. Working that out is part of what we do together.
If you’d like a conversation first, please book your time.