Dr Nick Blackburn
I believe there are many possibilities for your way forward through life and that therapy offers a space where you will find you can speak openly about yourself, sometimes for the first time.
Often people find that simply being able to speak of something in complete confidence results in a considerable lessening of anxiety.
Putting our problems into words often reveals how we feel about them at a deeper level.
I have extensive experience working with gay, lesbian, trans and non-binary people, for whom questions around relationships, identity and sex may or may not be the focus of our work together.
I would encourage you to see therapy as a time in your life where you devote an extended period to in-depth work on your thoughts and feelings, about yourself and your place in your world.
I am also pleased to offer short-term courses of ten weeks or more on addressing a specific life change, such as a loss or major decision.
For some this is a natural gateway into a longer-term commitment to therapy.
The way I work is informed by the psychoanalysis of Freud, but adapted to the modern world. I came to therapy through literature and the arts and hold a Ph.D. from Trinity College, Cambridge where I taught English Literature for several years.
I have worked as a therapist for Mind and the Single Homeless Project.
I am currently Honorary Secretary of The Site for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and a member of the College of Psychoanalysts-UK. I am a Full Clinical Member of the UKCP, who require their members abide by a code of ethics and participate in regular, confidential supervision.
The first session is free.
Consultation fees range from £60 to £120, depending on time of day and personal circumstances. There may be some special low-cost spaces reserved for students in full-time education or low earners.
Couples therapy starts from £90.
What should I expect from therapy?
You will come for an initial consultation of 60-90 minutes where you will be invited to discuss what brings you to therapy and what outcomes you are hoping for. Typically you will then come at a regular time each week, for 50 minutes. During this time you will try as far as possible to put whatever comes to mind into words without censoring yourself. This can take a while to get used to but the results are very powerful. The therapist’s job is to listen, intently and without judgement and to respond to the unconscious when it speaks.
Psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and counselling are known to be helpful methods for untying the knots of depression, addiction, anxiety, job and relationship stresses as well as blocks to effective performance in work, sports, social and sexual life.
