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  • Psychotherapy in West London
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Psychotherapy in West London

Psychotherapy & Counselling with Marcus Gottlieb

Psychotherapy in West London with Marcus Gottlieb

One-to-one psychotherapy offers a safe and effective way to work through the many emotional, practical and psychological issues that life can place in your path.

When we first meet (and sometimes before we meet) you’ll generally begin by outlining your concerns and explaining what’s brought you to considering therapy at this particular juncture. I’ll give you my honest feedback, and then we’ll discuss how we can work towards achieving your goals and objectives.

Therapy can help with a great many issues, and I use a range of tried and tested psychotherapeutic methods and approaches, fitting your aims and the issues you bring, and being sensitive to your preferences, needs and personality. Broadly speaking the intention is that, through our work, you’ll build awareness of your patterns, form a clearer sense of yourself, see your situation from new perspectives and start to formulate and articulate your own answers, laying solid foundations for positive change.

Is Psychotherapy what I need? Is it right for me?

There is a large body of evidence that therapy and counselling can be of value to people from any background, in any walk of life and at any stage of life.

Many challenges that people commonly face now are a function specifically of our modern lifestyle. Through therapy you can be helped to engage in a healthier, more positive way, with such features of contemporary society as:

  • The stress and overwhelm caused by the demands of a busy personal and professional life
  • Relationship breakdown or conflict within complex, blended families
  • Long-term treatment for formerly terminal medical conditions
  • Sudden economic or technological shock causing redundancy or similar changes in circumstance
  • Addiction to substances or activities, including nowadays screens, electronic devices, the internet or social media

Sometimes we need to take a closer look at the historic dimension, tracing the roots of your difficulties in your early life experience, often for example where you’re grappling with:

  • Lack of self-belief and low self-confidence
  • Matters of sexuality or sexual identity
  • Phobias or obsessions

 

Can Therapy Help Me With My Issue?

Any issue can be brought to therapy, and some of the more regularly recurring ones that I work with can be seen on the right of this page (or below, if you are viewing this on a small screen).

Therapy isn’t always used to resolve issues as such, so much as to explore areas that people have questions about, such as what gives their life meaning and value, or its use can be to support you through periods of transition, when you’re moving inexorably on into a new life phase.


 

Some Questions I Often Get Asked About Therapy

What’s the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?

The terms are sometimes used interchangeably. A common way to differentiate them is to say that ‘counselling’ is single-issue, short-term work, whereas ‘psychotherapy’ is longer and more in-depth. In this sense, a psychotherapist’s training takes many years because it requires an understanding of organic, developmental processes, and psychotherapy focuses on clients’ long-term relationship with themselves and others, working with the deeper layers of how a person is present and how that relates to the past, present and future.

Is it totally confidential?

Our work is private and confidential, and even the fact that you’re seeing me is confidential. However, I am legally obliged to break confidentiality if I consider you are in danger of causing serious harm to yourself or others, or in cases of terrorism. Also, like all psychotherapists, in order to be transparent about how I work and so as to maintain a healthy perspective, I am regularly ‘supervised’ by another psychotherapist: in that process, clients are not identified. Let me add, my work is covered by the Data Protection Act, and any notes I might keep will not have clients’ names as part of them.

Is it all about the past?

What we talk about depends on what you want to bring to the session.

Is it self-indulgent to have therapy?

When asked on his deathbed what was the most important lesson he’d learned during his life, the writer Aldous Huxley said, ‘To be kinder to myself’.  So I ask anyone, what’s actually wrong with ‘indulging the self’? Especially when going to therapy can also validly be seen as taking charge and taking responsibility for ourselves. Besides, if we find ways to make our life work better, those round us are quite likely to benefit too!

But doesn’t it encourage dependency?

Dependency is a crucial aspect of how we bond, how we relate to other humans. But there’s a balance between the drive for connection and the drive for independence, and that’s an area we often need to explore and where we can develop our own answers.

Will you give me advice?

Mostly, the answer is No. Advice is usually abundantly available from friends, family, media, the Church, the Government etc. When I refrain from advising, it is not because I am deliberately wishing to frustrate you, though you may feel it that way. Actually, it can feel liberating and affirming being encouraged to find your personal truth and forge your own unique path.

How will I know if it’s working?

Therapy is not always a comfortable process, so being unhappy or dissatisfied with one particular session, or a run of sessions, may not be an indicator that the process isn’t working.You may find yourself, at a deeply felt level, evaluating whether you are getting what you want or need. I support that, for example by having periodic review sessions.

Do I need to prepare for sessions?

Some clients give some thought to what they are going to say at their next session. But that’s not a requirement. It’s OK just to come and see what emerges. Some people do like to have ‘homework’, and we can talk about that.

Will I have to lie on a couch during sessions?

No. I don’t avoid eye contact with you.

How long will the therapy last for?

Some people get what they need in just a few sessions, whereas many people find it useful to work over a longer period of time. It is very individual, and is between the two of us to decide. You may stop whenever you want to, but we’ll keep it under review. I would class 6-12 sessions as brief or ‘time limited’ therapy. Anything over 6 months is what I would call ‘longer term’ work.

How does therapy end?

Usually by agreement between us, and with one or more finishing sessions to wrap things up.

With so many types of therapy, how do I choose between them?

Research shows that the two most important elements in the effectiveness of a course of therapy are (a) how motivated the client feels, and (b) to what extent the particular therapist and client ‘click’. The type of therapy is rather less important. In addition, most therapists now work across a range of methods and approaches.

What subject matter can I bring?

Anything! Human experience is extraordinarily varied, so the following isn’t an exhaustive list, but it may be helpful if I mention some topics that people have presented to me:-

  • Stress
  • Low self esteem
  • Loss & Mourning following the ending of something significant - relationships, career, your youth
  • Bereavement & Grief following the death of someone
  • Relationship struggles
  • Family conflicts
  • Addictions
  • Compulsive behaviour
  • Trauma
  • Abuse
  • Bullying
  • Professional, work and career issues
  • Excess anger, losing your temper
  • Obsessions
  • Phobias
  • Sexual difficulties
  • Sleep disorders
  • Eating disorders
  • Powerlessness
  • Lack of control
  • Anxiety
  • Panic
  • Lack of confidence
  • Feeling directionless or helpless
  • Depression
  • Frustration, stuckness, lack of satisfaction
  • Burnout
  • Ageing
  • Dealing with racism
  • Psychosomatic symptoms - ME, CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
  • Behaviour change
  • Unresolved issues from the past
  • Boarding school recovery
  • LGBT issues
  • Lack of assertiveness
  • Loneliness, isolation
  • Major life events
  • Lack of optimism
  • Transitions, and managing change
  • Overwhelm, loss of boundary
  • Feeling ill at ease
  • Feeling disconnection, lack of meaning, invisibility or formlessness
Do you work with dreams?

A dream is a fascinating, alive, rich source of information, full of possibilities for change and evolution. It is the body speaking to us. In preference to interpreting the symbolic content of dreams, I tend to work with them in a formative way, with a particular focus on what is growing or trying to take shape.

Do you use CBT (Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy)?

Aaron T. Beck devised CBT in the 1960s, to help us identify irrational, unhealthy thoughts and refute them. Useless or frustrating and unproductive behaviours are addressed through techniques such as modelling, role play and reinforcement strategies. The underlying principle is that, for better or for worse, children learn by observing and imitating, and poor mental health is a function of having observed and imitated poor role models.
I generally find CBT methods work best with anxiety attacks. My style of therapy is quite behaviourist in any event. Thus, in other words, CBT is integrated into the range of tools and modalities I draw on to meet any particular person’s needs.

You can find more answers to your Frequently Asked Questions about Therapy & Counselling on the Fees & Questions page

Contact Marcus

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West London Psychotherapist with Client | Notting Hill Therapy

I Often Work With Issues or Difficulties in the Following Areas

  • Abuse, Trauma & PTSD
  • Addictions, Obsessions & Compulsive Behaviour
  • Anger & Anger Issues
  • Anxiety & Panic Attacks
  • Bereavement, Grief & Loss
  • Boarding School Survivors Therapy
  • Body Image & Body Hatred
  • Bullying & Harassment
  • CBT West London
  • Couples Counselling
  • Depression & Mood Swings
  • Eating Disorders & Intuitive Eating
  • Family Issues & Challenges of Parenting
  • Gay Couples Therapy
  • Groups & Workshops
  • Low Self-Confidence & Lack of Self Esteem
  • LGBTQ, Sexual Identity & Sexual Orientation
  • Midlife Crisis, Ageing & Life Transitions
  • Pesso Boyden Therapy (PBSP)
  • Psychosomatic Symptoms – IBS, ME, Eczema, Migraine
  • Relationship Counselling
  • Sexual Difficulties, Sexual Obsessions & Addictions
  • Sleep Disorders, Insomnia & Relaxation
  • Social Anxiety & Other Phobias or Fears
  • Stress, Overwhelm & Burnout
  • Work, Career & Difficult Professional Relationships

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Psychotherapy & Counselling in West London

  • Psychotherapy in West London
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Pesso Boyden Group with accredited practitioners Deborah Clarke and Marcus Gottlieb

Pesso Boyden Group with accredited PBSP practitioners Deborah Clarke and Marcus Gottlieb

Pesso Boyden Therapy (‘PBSP’) is a philosophical process for becoming whole.

It is a respectful, interactive group process that heals by embedding new memories in the brain and in the body

Most people consciously or unconsciously have memories – explicit or implicit – of 

1. deficits 

2. traumas 

3. having to take care of others when we were too young – e.g. protecting a sibling, providing the joy in the life of an unhappy parent, unconsciously becoming the ‘spouse’ of a widowed parent, or making the world right after hearing stories of injustice. 

When any of these three categories of memory appear in the client’s work, the client and therapist work together to externalise them, in order to illuminate the client’s ways of handling life and to facilitate change. The client is always in charge of this process – people and incidents from the client’s past will be symbolised in the here-and-now either by people in the group or by objects in the room, all chosen and placed by the client. 

The therapist then works with the client to facilitate an antidote to what happened in the past – a new memory which provides what the client needed at that particular time in their past, from a specific kinship figure. This new memory may be developed over several sessions in a number of steps. In the Pesso approach we don’t change our history; however, we do change our response to our history, leading to a new perspective. 

The way is opened to possibilities of greater pleasure, satisfaction, meaning, integration and connectedness.

 



Deborah has worked as a Performance Coach for over 16 years having trained with Coach U. Her background is in the arts as an actor, theatre director and artistic director. She has worked with a wide range of people from all walks of life. Having first encountered Pesso Boyden as a client, she felt inspired to do the training herself. Since graduating in 2013 she has been running Personal Development workshops using the Pesso Boyden system and is now accredited by the official PBSP U.K. organisation.

Notting Hill Therapist | Marcus Gottlieb Psychotherapist & Counsellor
Marcus Gottlieb is a highly experienced London-based psychotherapist with a particular interest in boarding school survivor syndrome. Having trained alongside Deborah directly under Al Pesso and his closest collaborator Lowijs van Perquin, he is steeped in the work of PBSP and a strong believer in the client’s genetic impulse towards health and expression of their unique potential and individual destiny. He became an accredited Pesso Boyden therapist in 2021.
An Introduction to the Pesso Boyden Method

 

An opportunity to learn about and observe the distinctive techniques of this respectful body-based psychotherapy.

Suitable for both psychologically interested professionals, people seeking personal development/CPD and for people not in the therapeutic professions seeking to address entrenched issues. For all those who are interested in living a larger life. A special price of £35 for the day includes lunch and refreshments. CPD certificates will be available.

PBSP (Pesso-Boyden System Psychomotor) is a powerful, deeply respectful, psychotherapeutic process that uses feedback, ritual, objects and role players in a unique manner to heal the traumas, wounds and losses that affect our personal map of the world.

Its central goal is the imaginative creation of an ‘ideal’ healthy past that a person’s brain processes so that they emerge feeling differently about themselves. As Albert Pesso said, ‘Humanity is responsible for the meaning that surrounds us. The task for each person is to create a meaningful life and then live it with existential courage and passion.’

As well as gaining new perspectives, clients often experience increased pleasure, satisfaction, meaning and connectedness following a PBSP session and find themselves psychologically freer to make the changes they wish for in their lives.
Date: Saturday 7 October 2017
Venue: Notting Hill, London W11
Time: 10.00 am – 4.30 pm
Cost: £35 (inc lunch & refreshments)

 

Register Your Interest


Boarding School Survivor Syndrome Conference

BOARDING SCHOOL: Surviving the Syndrome
Broken Attachment and Childhood Trauma

University of Brighton

Saturday 9 September 2017
9.30 am to 5.00 pm

Conference for psychotherapists, counsellors, mental health workers, boarding school survivors and other interested people.

Conference overall aims are to:
§ Present key aspects of what has been published about the psychological and other effects of boarding.
§ Explore helpful therapeutic approaches for clients who are former boarders.
§ Consider current research and a possible agenda for future research
§ Enable networking amongst those interested in this important topic

Chair: Pam Howard, School of Applied Social Science, University of Brighton.

Speakers: Nick Duffell, Joy Schaverien, Alex Renton, Thurstine Basset, Anni Townend, Olya Khaleelee.

Group Discussion Facilitators: Marcus Gottlieb, Leslie Lund, Nicola Miller, Simon Partridge, Boarding Concern Directors.

For more details, contact Laura Williams:
southcoastevents@brighton.ac.uk

Pesso Boyden Workshop with Ana María Ruiz Sancho and Marcus Gottlieb

 

Pesso Boyden Therapy is a respectful and highly respected, body-based psychotherapy with distinctive techniques aimed at addressing entrenched issues. It is an interactive process that creates new body-based memories to heal emotional deficits of the past.

An exceptionally powerful personal development tool, it uses feedback, systematic procedures, objects and role players in a unique methodology, in order to repair the early traumas, wounds and losses that can powerfully influence the brain’s map of the world.

In shifting underlying perspectives, the way is opened to the possibility of greater pleasure, satisfaction, meaning and connectedness, and an enhanced freedom to effect longed-for changes.

It is expected there will be between 8 and 12 participants, with an absolute maximum of 15. The day will start with an explanation of Pesso Boyden and an experiential introduction, followed by 4 actual client sessions of an hour each.

Venue: Philadelphia Association, 4 Marty’s Yard, London NW3 1QW
Date: Saturday 3 June 2017
Time: 0930 to 1800
Cost: £75

Register Your Interest



Ana María Ruiz Sancho is an experienced psychiatrist and a psychotherapist. She is also a specialist in group dynamics and an Institutional and Team Motivation Consultant.

Ana is the Founder and a Director of VocAcción, as well as being a qualified Pesso Boyden psychotherapist.


Notting Hill Therapist | Marcus Gottlieb Psychotherapist & Counsellor

Marcus Gottlieb works with relationships, sexuality, abuse and trauma, with a particular interest in boarding school survivor syndrome. Qualified in Pesso Boyden as well as other psychotherapies, he is also an Alexander Technique teacher.

Contact Marcus

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