Counselling and Psychotherapy

Finding a therapist you trust is important. We offer experienced, confidential counselling in a safe space.

At Sea Change Therapies we practice Pluralistic Therapy, which can be described

as a philosophy of therapy, rather than a technique.

Pluralistic therapy takes a view that, as the client, you are the expert in your own life, even if you don't feel you are. This uniqueness means you will need different things at different points in the therapy to effect positive change. The pluralistic approach sees counselling as a two-person activity, where one person seeking the help of another is supported and included in the process.

it is an ethical commitment to valuing diversity; and a wariness towards monolithic, all-consuming ‘truths’, because of the way that they can suppress individuality and difference. In respect to counselling and psychotherapy, this pluralistic standpoint implies that there are a variety of views that can be taken on a wide range of therapeutic issues, and that there is no inherent right or wrong way. This forms the grounds for three pillars that underpin a pluralistic approach to counselling and psychotherapy.

The first pillar is pluralism across orientations. This means that a pluralistic practitioner is open to considering a variety of different ways in which clients get distressed and, correspondingly, a variety of different ways of helping them. Taking this stance poses a direct challenge to the schoolism that has been endemic in the field of counselling and psychotherapy.

The second pillar is pluralism across clients. This is marked by the emphasis that is placed on recognising and celebrating diversity across clients. What follows from this is that pluralistic practitioners are keen to offer each client a bespoke approach to counselling and psychotherapy rather than one that is ‘off the peg’.

This relates to closely to the third pillar of a pluralistic approach: pluralism across perspectives. A pluralistic therapeutic approach advocates that both participants in the therapeutic relationship — clients as well as practitioners — have much to offer when it comes to making decisions concerning therapeutic goals and the selection of therapy tasks and methods. This means that a pluralistic approach emphasises shared decision-making and feedback across clients and therapists.

These three pillars of the pluralistic approach can be summarised in the following principles:

There is no one right way of conceptualising clients’ problems — different understandings are useful for different clients at different points in time
There is no one right way of practising therapy — different clients need different things at different points in time
Many disputes and disagreements in the therapeutic field can be resolved by taking a ‘both/and’ perspective, rather than an ‘either/or’ one
It is important that counsellors and psychotherapists respect each others’ work and recognise the value that it can have
Counsellors and psychotherapists should acknowledge and celebrate clients’ diversity and uniqueness
Clients should be involved fully at every stage of the therapeutic process
Clients should be understood in terms of their strengths and resources, as well as areas of difficulty
Counsellors and psychotherapists should have an openness to multiple sources of knowledge on how to practice therapy: including research, personal experience, and theory
It is important that counsellors and psychotherapists take a critical perspective on their own theory and practice: being willing to look at their own investment in a particular position and having the ability to stand back from it.