There’s no one way of experiencing depression. Some people feel acutely depressed for a relatively short period; others may be mildly depressed for a long time, sometimes years. Depression can feel like it’s grinding down the very core of you. It can be easy to lose hope that things will ever feel better again.

Depression is almost as common as it is debilitating — we know that one in five people will experience it in their lifetime and it is the leading cause of disability in the world.

Our earliest childhood experiences help shape our sense of self and how we relate to the world around us. The style of relationships and care we receive from our parents form our internal monologue as adults.

You may have been aware of your patterns or transgenerational trauma, showing up in your friendships or romantic relationships or have become acutely aware that something ‘just isn’t right’ for you.

Together, we can process and gain an understanding of your complex family dynamics and childhood difficulties, so you feel empowered to grow as an individual and within your environment.

Stress — of the right kind, at the right time, and in the right amount — can help you achieve your potential by stimulating your thought and creativity, and providing the energy boost you need to improve your performance. But if stress is maintained at a high level for too long, the exact opposite happens.

When you start being negitavely affected by your stress, you may try to plug the holes in the quality of your output by working harder…and becoming even more stressed, which actually leads to poorer performance over time.

Our relationships can be a great source of love, enjoyment and support, at some point in our lives we all experience difficulties in our personal relationships. When we feel misunderstood, disagreements can escalate into persistent feelings of tension and discontentment.

Contemporary relationship therapy doesn’t place blame or problems upon any one person or group. The focus is on identifying the negative cycle particular to your relationship, which is often a two-part pattern of action and reaction.

When considering our relationship with sex and with our sexual partners, it can feel complicated. Whether you’re concerned about a loss of interest in sex, or wanting to work through a painful trauma, therapy and counseling can support you.

What sexual problems have in common is how disruptive and upsetting they can be. Sometimes we may need help to get through these tough times, and therapy combined with specialist techniques, is how many people find support in this situation.

Contemplating Parenthood

Thinking about becoming a parent can be a very exciting, but daunting time in any individual’s life.

Common worries may include having difficulties conceiving or there may be fears about not being a ‘good enough’ parent. Yet others may already be aware of the obstacles to getting and staying pregnant due to a history of perinatal loss, or long-term medical issues.

Pregnancy & Birth

Pregnancy and the birth of a new baby can stir up different feelings for mothers, fathers, and other members of the family.

During pregnancy, parents may be reminded of their own less-than-ideal experiences of being parented or they may have ideas about how being pregnant and giving birth will be and feel confused about how anxious and overwhelmed they are. Other parents-to-be have to deal with unexpected medical challenges eg undergoing IVF and the feelings of helplessness that can arise when facing perinatal loss.

Developing an attachment relationship with the unborn baby may also be confounded by news that there are medical concerns for the baby, or that the couple is expecting more than one baby.

Becoming Parents

For many new parents, there will be mixed emotions upon meeting their new baby (or babies).

For many parents, the birth may not have been what they imagined, or is yet another hard milestone in the ‘reproductive journey’ they have faced in becoming parents. This journey has often been peppered with infertility struggles, perinatal loss and miscarriage, and fearfulness about the baby’s survival. Perhaps they have become parents in ways they hadn’t imagined through adoption or surrogacy.

All of these steps on the reproductive journey will shape how they welcome this baby and develop an attachment relationship with him/her or them, and how they might feel about themselves as new parents.

Fears and concerns about becoming a parent

Thinking about becoming a parent can be a very exciting, but daunting time in any individual’s life.

Commonly people worry about having difficulties conceiving or there may be fears about not being a ‘good enough’ parent. Yet others may already be aware of the obstacles to getting and staying pregnant due to a history of perinatal loss, or long-term medical issues.