Susan Iacovou

MA Psychology, MSc Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy

Existential Counsellor/Psychotherapist working with individuals, couples and families.

Ring 07702 235936

Existential counselling helps people come to terms with the challenges of being human, including anxiety and sadness, getting on with other people, death and loss, loneliness and isolation, freedom, choice and responsibility, trauma and limitations, and meanings and values.

The existential approach is based on the principle that you are the expert as far as your life is concerned, and that it is possible for you, with support, to make sense of the problems and difficulties you face, and to experience your life to the full, to live in a way that feels meaningful and real.

Existential counsellors don't follow one particular theory, as such, and nor do they come with a set of tools to try out on their clients. Instead, an existential counsellor will encourage you to explore your situation and to:

examine the things that are really important to you, the things that really make your life meaningful;

identify behaviours, and attitudes, and ways of looking at the world that help you achieve the things that are really important in your life, and those that get in the way of you achieving these things;

make your own choices about the way you live, based on what you discover.

Existential counselling is not about:

Diagnosing you with an 'illness' or identifying 'symptoms' - a very wide range of human thought, behaviour and emotion is normal, and labelling you, or your way of being in the world, as 'different' or 'abnormal', is never helpful;

Telling you how to live your life - there is no one 'right way' to live. The existential approach helps you work out how you want to live, in line with your values, and gives you the courage to take steps towards this vision;

Making massive changes - you might decide to make some, or even many, changes in your life, or you might decide not to make any outward changes, finding the inward changes in your emotions, attitudes and ideas are enough to allow you to deal with the challenges you face.

Existential therapy is increasingly popular with individuals and couples who want to address fundamental issues such as how to make the most of life, how to live harmoniously with other people and how to address life's challenges and traumas.

To find out more about existential counselling, or to make an appointment, contact me on the number above, or email me on susan@iacovou.biz