What I work with

Losing a companion animal is a painful experience, and every person lives it in their own way. Understanding each person's particular circumstances helps in supporting them and in recognising possible complications. The nature of the bond with the animal matters a great deal, as does the quality of that bond. Not having been able to care for them before the death, for instance, can set off feelings of guilt, and the circumstances of the death — sudden or expected — play an important part too. What makes pet loss a distinct form of grief is the social and cultural setting in which it is lived. The absence of rituals such as a funeral or a memorial means the grief is not socially acknowledged, and so the person cannot fully live the loss. Therapy offers a safe space to express those feelings without judgement, however intense or contradictory they may be.

Adolescence is a critical stage in a person's psychosocial development, as it is when individual and social identity take shape. The adolescent looks for answers to the questions "who am I" and "where do I belong in the world". That process often meets difficulty, since it involves exploring and committing to values and choices in order to develop a stable sense of self. These difficulties can bring role confusion, insecurity and trouble adjusting socially and professionally, and they can grow more intense in the first years of adult life. Therapy can offer a safe space to explore these questions and support the adolescent or young adult through this period of their life.

Most of the illnesses people face today, at least in developed countries, are chronic. They are not cured once and for all but are conditions a person tries to manage. People living with a chronic illness have to learn to deal with pain, weakness, changes and limits in daily life, and the side effects of medication. They also face a series of stressful situations — diagnosis, treatment, relapse — which make adjusting to the illness extremely complex. Therapy helps with that adjustment: it helps the person find meaning in their situation, regain a sense of control over their life and restore their self-esteem.

Relationships are a very important part of a person's life; they are a source of joy, safety and meaning. For that reason, difficulties in relationships can have wide and significant consequences and are central to a person's mental health. One might recognise loneliness, conflictual relationships, abusive relationships, the loss of a significant other. Within the therapeutic setting a person can work through these difficulties, with the relationship they build with the therapist as the main aid. By noticing relational patterns that keep repeating, a person can understand their difficulties and rehearse new and more workable ways of relating.

Adoption is a very particular condition that shapes a person in every aspect of their life. The identity of an adopted person differs from that of someone who was not adopted, and often they find it hard to share everything that preoccupies them about it. It matters greatly that an adopted person finds a willing listener, so they can express the strong feelings they may have around it — feelings they are often ashamed to reveal to those close to them. Therapy offers that opportunity, with unconditional acceptance.

Caring for people with chronic illness is one of the greatest challenges facing modern health systems, particularly as populations age. Informal carers, mostly family members, play a decisive part in maintaining patients' quality of life. At the same time, the long-term and demanding nature of care means an increased physical, emotional and financial burden for the carer. That burden is linked to exhaustion, social isolation and mental health problems. Therapy offers carers support and helps them develop resilience and personal adaptability, helping them manage the emotional bond with the person they care for.

A very important dimension in therapy is taking account of the social and cultural setting within which a person experiences their difficulties. The individual and the social world are connected. Beyond the self, a person holds social identities — ones they assign to themselves through belonging to a social context, and ones assigned to them by that context in turn. It matters greatly, then, to take account of a person's particularities as these are shaped by the social environment they are in and the one they come from: migrants, students in a foreign country, questions of origin.

Some stories were never told, and yet they keep exerting their influence. Silences, losses and hardships pass from one generation to the next. We work to have them recognised and given their place, so they no longer weigh on the generation that follows.