Dr Guy Van de Walle, Psychotherapist & Psychologist
Contact me on 07475 520419 or Message me
Who comes to see me?
I work with individuals aged 16+ and couples.
Typically, the individuals and couples who contact me are looking for a form of therapy that goes beyond simply telling their story to an empathetic ear, receiving practical advice and tips, or learning how to cope better rather than live better.
Their aim is to get to the crux of the issues they are facing and to identify their root causes. They want to better understand themselves, their lives, and what may need to change — as well as how such change might be achieved.
Many also say they are looking for highly skilled guidance and accompaniment in their journey of personal development, sometimes with elements of coaching where this may be helpful.
What you get
-
An opportunity to open up and feel heard and understood in ways which you may not have experienced before
-
Accompaniment and support to help you face your life difficulties and challenges
-
An in-depth exploration and analysis of your thoughts and emotions, and your life circumstances
-
An identification and analysis of the root cause(s) of your issues and/ or worries and concerns
-
A treatment and/or self-development plan to help you successfully deal with these
-
An explanation of the roots of anxiety, depression, stress and other troublesome and/or challenging aspects of psychological life
-
An analysis of your personality and psychological life, with an indication of the appropriate vocabulary to talk about it
-
Information and guidance to help you develop self-care attitude and strategies, and an ability to self-coach and self-heal
-
Access to scientific, philosophical and spiritual knowledge which is relevant to you, when you need it
-
An indication of which resources (books, movies, videos, techniques, therapies) are available to you, with guidance
Some of the areas I can help you with
Experiencing
-
Excessive worry, anxiety, depression, unhappiness, psychological distress & suffering
-
Sadness, grief, anger, guilt, frustration, hopelessness, fear
-
Low confidence, feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness, low self-esteem, self-loathing
-
A difficulty to find meaning and purpose
-
Life difficulties and challenges which are difficult to cope with, maybe overwhelming
-
An inability to sustain good and healthy relationships
-
A struggle to express and receive feelings, to make sense of them
-
Difficulties to communicate your thoughts and feelings
Going through
-
Existential questioning
-
Socialisation issues, change or loss of identity
-
Mid-life crisis
-
Loss & bereavement
-
Relationships
-
Abuse, received or perpetuated
-
Addictions such as porn, gaming, gambling
-
Self-harm
-
Sexuality and/or gender issues
-
Suicidal thoughts
-
Social-cultural exclusion or isolation
-
Fear of death
-
Spiritual issues, Near-death experience (NDE)
-
Eco-anxiety
Wanting to know
-
Why you feel and think the way you do and how to change this
-
Yourself, your personality, who you are, your needs, the workings of human psychology
-
Where you are in life and where you are going
-
What you really value, what makes sense in/of your life
-
How to make your life more congruent with who you truly are
-
Your reason for being here, your journey as a human being
-
Physical and psychological suffering, yours and that of others
-
What is going on in your relationships, their dynamics
-
How to communicate thoughts and feelings more effectively
Neurodivergence and ADHD
I am frequently contacted by people who consider themselves as “neurodivergent” (in mild forms, where the client is autonomous and articulate) or present traits of ADHD, as they find my ways of working particularly helpful to them.
Supporting you in a time
of crisis and change
We currently live in a world in crisis, a world which is deeply changing. The situation created by the corona virus COVID-19 and the measures taken by the authorities, the financial and ecological crisis, the cultural, political and international climate of instability and uncertainty frequently generate fear and anxiety. They can raise many questions and doubts concerning the future of our world, as well as our own future. To better cope and function as human beings who try to go about the business of living their lives in the best possible way, it is becoming more and more necessary for us to (re)examine and (re)assess ourselves and our lives, and possibly also the world around us which requires more than ever to be made sense of. I can also help with that.
Read More by going to the page Your Objectives >
What a typical session with me looks like
Therapy is a deeply individual and nuanced process—something that can’t be fully captured in a few sentences. That said, I can offer you a sense of what it’s like to work with me and what you might expect when we begin.
I can also help you understand how my way of working relates to some of the main therapeutic traditions, including person-centred therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Nowadays, many therapists aim to work integratively by drawing on a combination of these approaches.
My attach is reality. Therefore, my work is grounded not in allegiance to a particular therapeutic school, but in empirical observation, research, and the psychological reality encountered in the work itself.
What enables me to support your healing and the development of the art of being and living
My credentials
-
Top academic qualifications in psychology, psychotherapy, social sciences, history, education, and philosophy
-
Over 30 years involvement in multidisciplinary academic research. Several academic publications in peer reviewed journals. Currently writing three books which summarise my life work
-
24 years experience in private practice and various counselling organisations
-
A sustained engagement in my own therapy and personal development and that of others from an early age
-
Professional qualification in sophrology, with an understanding of the energetic dimension, mindfulness, meditation practices and hypnotherapy
My interaction style
-
Non-judgemental, empathetic, supportive and warm
-
Collaborative, involving dialogue to facilitate your self-reflections and the processing of your feelings
-
Gentle and tactful yet engaged and sufficiently direct and challenging to foster change
My professional profile
High-level qualifications and extensive experience matter. But what I would also like to emphasise is the specific character of my profile as a therapist.
In the UKCP/BACP psychotherapist and counsellor landscape, practitioners who explicitly ground their therapeutic work in their own research activity are relatively rare. Rarer still are those whose profile is also rooted in a fully multidisciplinary background and, with it, a holistic approach.
This is important because human beings cannot be fully understood from the perspective of any single discipline. My background informs a broader and more comprehensive understanding of psychological life and supports therapeutic work that is both in-depth and appropriately tailored.
Research
Being a practitioner researcher is not a luxury, but a necessity, as I explain in My Approach.
Holism
One of the key findings of my research is that therapy can only be deep and comprehensive if it addresses the three dimensions that constitute every human being, namely the physical, the social-cultural and the personal. Go to A Session with Me to find out more.
Multidisciplinarity
The most effective way of engaging with the tridimensional nature of human beings is to draw on the full range of the human sciences — psychological, social, historical and spiritual — as reflected in my qualifications. Better still, it is to work beyond disciplinary boundaries, as reflected in my work. See About Me.
“I believe that the style Guy uses - in which he takes a more active part in the sessions -
is the key thing for which I found his counselling helpful and successful.”
Female, mid-thirties, Human Resource Manager
“Guy is a kind, spiritual man whose understanding of people, both the human mind and soul makes him distinctive.”
Female, early fifties, Company Director & HealthCare Professional
“Whenever I talk to someone who is considering counselling, I usually tell them the same thing.
Firstly it is important to find the right therapist for you. For me, it was Guy
and I can honestly say that without his help, I would not be where I am now.”
Female, early sixties, Charity Worker
Some former clients talking about their experience with me
What next?
You can find out more about me by sending me an email or a text, or just giving me a quick call.
From there, we can make arrangements for a non-committal initial assessment session where
we can discuss in more detail whether and how we could work together effectively.
All sessions are payable, including the initial session.