Susie Christensen

My psychodynamic approach means that I believe our early life experiences shape us and the way we form relationships. Therapy can be a space to work this through and to make sense of aspects of ourselves or our behaviours that may be troubling us or feel confusing. However, therapy is not all about exploring the past; it can also be a space to think about and explore the way you are feeling now and the things happening in your life at the moment. Addressing the past can be a way of moving forward. Most importantly therapy is about you. This is your space and you can use it however feels best for you. Therapy offers a space in which to be truly heard. Some people come in crisis, others to come and reflect on unwanted patterns of thoughts or behaviours or just to find a space to explore themselves. Therapy focuses on your thoughts and feelings and some people find it helps them to feel more real or whole, or to accept and integrate past experiences and find a story that makes sense to them. Coming to therapy can require commitment but can be an enriching and rewarding experience as well as sometimes a painful one. You are the expert in yourself, my role not to give advice but to provide a safe space to think together about what it means to be you. If any difficulties arise we can work through these together.

I have previously worked seeing clients for a bereavement charity and for a low-cost psychotherapy service in Brighton. In addition to my client work I am a lecturer in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy at The University of Brighton. Prior to this I did a PhD in English Literature and taught this subject at King’s College London. This background in teaching and researching literature lives on in my interest in stories. Therapy can be a place for us to think about and perhaps reconsider the stories we tell about ourselves.