about

I am an independent UKCP registered existential psychotherapist and MBACP Senior Accredited Counsellor offering psychotherapy in Walthamstow and Canary Wharf to individuals, couples and families. My expertise encompasses all aspects of individual, family and couple psychotherapy.

The primary aim of my work is to increase understanding and deepen insight into patterns of experience and behaviour which clients identify as problematic and wish to clarify and resolve. This is the case whether you consult me as an individual, couple or family.

I have over 20 years experience of helping people in this way. I have worked as an Adult Psychotherapist within four NHS departments since 1998 and in private practice since 2002. I have also been a lecturer and supervisor at many reputable training organisations in the UK. I now work full-time in private practice as a psychotherapist. My interest in psychotherapy is part of a life-long search for truth in personal relationships.

approach

The heart of my practice is careful and attentive listening. I speak in ordinary non-technical language and ask many simple questions. The setting is intimate and cooperative and conversations are confidential. You can read a couple of ‘testimonials’ here

The approach I take is rooted in a tradition known as existential phenomenology. This is a method designed to help people whose daily lives have become problematic by clarifying their experience of themselves, their significant others, and the relationships between them and these others. It is investigative and demystifying. The aim is to facilitate reflective self-examination in order to bring about change.

My work is influenced by and indebted to the social phenomenological analysis of R.D Laing and Aaron Esterson, the existential psychoanalysis of Thomas Szasz and by colleagues of theirs who taught me closely.

expertise

My psychotherapy practice in Canary Wharf and Walthamstow is dedicated to individuals, couples and families experiencing a wide range of difficulties. Some people attend psychotherapy with a specific problem, for instance addiction, anorexia, depression, anxiety etc. Other people attend for a deeper analysis which isn’t focused on eliminating a specific symptom, although the symptom will often disappear as a consequence of this exploration.

The following is a broad categorisation of the current scope of the psychotherapy I offer:

I work with the full range of problems in living which psychiatry claims to deal with. People frequently consult me wishing to clarify a problematic life situation which resulted in a diagnosis of ‘mental illness’. This is often experienced as intensifying the original predicament. I work with clients with ‘psychiatric diagnoses’ such as ‘schizophrenia’, ‘borderline personality disorder’, ‘bipolar disorder’ and ‘obsessive compulsive disorder’.

People also consult me who are concerned they are experiencing ‘symptoms of mental illness’ such as ‘hearing voices’, ‘thought disorder’, ‘suicide ideation’, ‘depersonalisation’ etc and wish to demystify these and/or other initially unintelligible experiences. I have never referred anyone to a psychiatrist. If you have visited a psychiatrist or are considering doing so, you are welcome to consult me for a second opinion. You can read about my views on the relationship between psychotherapy and psychiatry below in publications.

contact & location

jan@jansheppard.co.uk
0208 5098014 / 07742 423222

My two psychotherapy practices are located in East London in Walthamstow E17 close to Walthamstow Central tube and Walthamstow Village and Canary Wharf E14 close to West India Quay dlr.

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