Meet Andy
Surely getting to know more about your Therapist is a good thing? Well… kind of, like most things in life, there’s no clear answer.
Welcome!
Blogging is debated within the psychotherapy world.
Why?
A space for a Therapist to share resources, insights and opinions with readers sounds like a match made in heaven! yet it's not quite as simple as that.
Freudian (psychodynamic) therapies take the stance that the less a client knows about their Therapist, the easier clients can project onto a Therapist (transference).
This can be helpful as projections can be experiences from previous relationships, anxieties or opinions about yourself/others.
But! anything you learn about a Therapist could influence how you (the client) behave toward them (spoilers; that’s why Therapists answer questions with questions).
Every time a Therapist does…just about anything, it is open to interpretation by the person sitting opposite them. Unless we’re talking about therapy in the early 1900’s then you’ve got that cliché “chaise longue couch.”
The stuff of nightmares for many clients!
The irony of writing that, on a website called ‘Andy Kidd Counselling’ with an ‘about me’ and a massive mugshot is not lost.
So...why blog?
A different view (seen in more humanistic therapies) is that everything we do influences the client. Doing nothing? still influencing.
How I look, talk, and even write could influence the client (yikes!).
As a Therapist, I feel if I left out my human concerns due to fears or rigid boundaries, this could harm clients. I might become so concerned with being over-involved, I become under-involved.
It runs the risk of disconnecting with the client.
Either that or I’d become a cliché Therapist (remember the aforementioned couch?) instead of a natural, responsive person. So in sessions, that looks like me sitting with a notepad repeatedly asking, ‘how does that make you feel?’
So to meet in the middle of the two above points; when writing, I’ll look to build a genuine connection with you, but do this as a Therapist.
Andy Kidd - The Therapist
From Psychology to Existentialism, I enjoy a world full of ideas and was drawn to exploring the big questions.
I love Psychological theory. Translating the theory into how it fits into your life helps make sense of complex issues. And helps steer towards solutions.
Take Scottish Psychiatrist R.D Laing (1960), who wanted to "to make madness and the process of going mad comprehensible". Laing believed the root of schizophrenia to be a disconnection from others. Disconnection to such a degree that we crave connection so much we create a duality in our minds to seek connections. That duality helps ground us to tolerate the disconnection we feel.
There isn’t empirical evidence to back up this theory….but everything we know began from a question, and someone daring to seek an answer.
Accepting an answer without question is worse to me than a question without an answer.
I imagine you feeling similar when beginning therapy - stepping into the unknown hoping for answers.
Can Andy help me?
Am I in the right place?
You can’t argue with the profound impact speech, authentically connecting to someone and the things they do have on you.
Authenticity at work is a privilege. Seeing the beauty, suffering and potential for transcendence is something I do not take for granted.
I’ll make you an offer of a meaningful conversation about life. Being open to listening to what happened to you and how we can heal together, instead of asking ‘what’s wrong with you?’
Getting started
To arrange an appointment, you can email me at andrew.kidd@firstpsychology.co.uk or contact the First Psychology Services Team on 0141 404 5411.
