Sarah

​To those on the outside “Sarah” (not her real name) had it all. She was a successful lawyer and enjoyed a material lifestyle to the envy of many.

However, this exterior masked a truth: despite her seemingly perfect life, Sarah struggled to sustain meaningful relationships, and suffered periods of low mood.

Through a period of one-to-one counselling, we explored the circumstances in Sarah’s upbringing that were continuing to impact on her daily life - adoption at a young age, lack of belonging and a fractured relationship with her adoptive mother.

By examining and rebuilding Sarah’s attitude to attachment and her past, she made a number of changes that positively impacted upon life. Now in a happy and loving relationship, she is a true success story.

Geoffrey

For a man, it is often difficult to admit to feelings of sadness and helplessness. The male archetype portrayed by the media feeds the myth that men should suck it up and get on with it.

After losing his wife to cancer, 71 year-old “Geoff” found himself alone and isolated. His family lived away, and his health issues meant his social circle was not as wide as he would have liked it to be.

Suffering from feelings of low confidence and underdeveloped social skills, he asked for my assistance. Over the course of a year, we discussed the unresolved feelings associated with his late wife, and how he’d like to fill his days to his life as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible.

Through our regular sessions, Geoff re-discovered his passion for steam engines. With his confidence growing, he reached out to a local society, and soon forged a close friendship with a couple of gentlemen who shared his interest.

With his feelings of loneliness subsiding, and his confidence blooming, Geoff decided to take a trip away - travelling to London to visit his sons. This idea would have seemed impossible before our sessions, but a new zest for life is seeing Geoff flourishing.

Rhiannon

At 49, and going through a messy divorce, Rhiannon felt that life was passing her by. Her estranged husband’s issues with alcohol had put the family into debt, and her teenage offspring were taking the family upheaval badly.

She was struggling enormously with stress. Not only was she trying to retain a sense of normality in the family home, she was juggling this with a testing job in the education sector.

Enlisting my help, our initial focus was on managing her stress. Giving her the confidence to feel she could make it through these tough times, and come out stronger than before. We later moved on to what she wanted from this new period of her life - working on goal setting, and giving her the mental ammunition to achieve them.

When an outstanding opportunity arose to teach overseas, Rhiannon had the confidence and foresight to grasp it. Her and her family’s quality of life is now transformed. At the end of her therapy, she said how she had welcomed the space that was just for her to think these issues through without prejudice or agenda.

If you would like me to help you with any of the issues listed in these case studies, do not hesitate to contact me

​Dena Adamson - Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Coach - Huddersfield