Psychotherapy Suffolk - Counselling Suffolk

Having now opened the Psychotherapy Suffolk practice in the heart of Ipswich, Harley Street Psychotherapy can now provide the very best of its services across the South Eastern region. Having been born and grown up in Suffolk, and having since lived in London for 16 years, it gives Pete Kerridge particular pleasure to be able to return to his home county and bring his particular set of skills and experience back to Ipswich and make them available to those living in the area. At Counselling Suffolk Pete works with people with a wide range of problems, and when working with those with more severe mental health difficulties, he is very accustomed to working collaboratively with the client’s GP or psychiatrist in order to offer the most supportive and beneficial package of care.

We often get asked at Counselling Suffolk what the difference is between a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has completed their initial medical training and has gone on to specialise to consultant level in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health (psychiatric) conditions and the treatment of their symptoms using medication. On the other hand, a psychotherapist such as at Suffolk Psychotherapy for example, is not trained to diagnose and treat mental health conditions from a medical perspective, but is trained to assess, diagnose and look for what lies beneath the person’s problem from a psychological/emotional and developmental perspcetive and looks at what needs to happen in order to resolve the situation so that the person can be relieved of their symptoms and go on to live their life the most fulfilling way possible. When treating severe psychological and emotional difficulties, the joined-up approach between the GP/psychiatrist and psychotherapist can be essential in enabling improvement for the client.

The majority of people who come for psychotherapy and counselling, do not fall in to the category of having a mental health or psychiatric condition. However if you do have a mental health diagnosis and you feel that you would like psychotherapeutic help to work along side your medical support, then please do contact us at Psychotherapy Suffolk and we will be glad to discuss your specific needs. If you should then decide to come for psychotherapy, in the spirit of working collaboratively with the primary health care services to provide the highest level of care, you will be asked to give permission to the therapist to be able to communicate with either your GP, psychiatrist, or both.