Many people come to counselling saying they feel lost, disconnected or uncertain of who they really are. They might have spent a long time looking after everyone else, masking parts of themselves that they might have been shamed for or living life according to which behaviour makes them palatable and acceptable to others. This could mean they’ve lost touch with their authentic self, with their preferences and their wants and needs.

Dreamwork is about finding meaning through patterns, symbols and feelings rather than nice, neat interpretations. In my dream, a jacket became a symbol of perfection, structure and authority. The colour was a symbol of exposure and with the painting, the mistake became an opportunity to change my usual pattern of behaviour and respond differently.

What Happens In Psychodynamic Therapy? You're thinking about booking your first therapy session and may be hovering over the "get in touch" button wondering what might be on the other side if you click. It is totally normal to have a swirl of questions such as "Will I have to lie on a couch?", "Do I need to have experienced trauma to qualify?" or "What if I cry?". You're not the first person to have thought this.