Welcome to Relational Psychotherapy
A safe place where you will not be alone with your challenges.
Welcome and thank you for visiting Relational Psychotherapy. My name is Jo, Alexandra Jo, and I am a psychologist and psychotherapist offering short and longer term therapy online.
Most of us have times where we move from one situation to another
Where we lose parts of ourselves, or where we grow new experiences and become more than we were before. Transitions might be developmental milestones like having a baby, or leaving school - or we might experience trauma which disrupts and disorganises us.
I believe we are engineered to find what we need to heal from trauma, or transition to a new role, through being securely attached to another person.
That is what lies behind a relational approach to therapy.
About me
- Registration with Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC).
- Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (CBPS 307620).
- Kite marked practitioner with the British Psychoanalytic Council.
- Accredited Dynamic Interpersonal Therapist.
- AEDP UK: Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy. Level II.
I offer Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) for anxiety, depression and harmful patterns in relationships and AEDP for trauma and healing.
I also work with Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) for mild to moderate trauma, and for changing eating patterns in relation to health.
I have a background as an actor, having trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and worked for 20 years professionally. As a supporter of artists in the industry I will give a 20% discount for members of Equity.
The therapy will be ours
I offer a trauma informed therapy. It is unique, built from the combination of us both in conversation. The therapy aims to include the body and Mindfulness. We will be together with strong feelings by slowing everything down to avoid feeling overwhelmed. We will revisit earlier memories and reconsolidate them in the present moment. We will create new brain growth. Sometimes I will simply sit with you and share a deep sense of grief, so you are not alone with it.
Your relationships
I am an accredited Dynamic Interpersonal Therapist (DIT), a psychodynamic therapy for understanding patterns of coping in relationships, patterns which once worked well, but which are now causing depression or anxiety. I include experiential therapy in this work to help with chronic mental health conditions such as phobias, anxiety, post natal low mood, and low mood which is impacting on wellbeing. Research suggests that our mood is influenced by our relationships. I use DIT, AEDP, EMDR and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT).
For professionals
I have spent 23 years in a therapeutic environment. I invite other professionals who would like to share some reflective practice supervision with me. I have different rates for supervision, and will follow the structure of “In Love With Supervision” by Joan Shohet and Robin Shohet. Reflective practice supervision is a safe space to reflect on your work and the impact it has on you. I also have experience in medical practitioner selfcare and support, including a psychodynamic experience for practitioners needing personal therapy.
How can therapy help you?
Anything that troubles you can be shared in therapy. People can also look for specific help with issues such as these:
Feelings of stress or anxiety
Panic attacks
Relationship problems
Grief, loss or bereavement
Trauma and post-traumatic stress
Depression
Problems with confidence or self-esteem
Anger management
Difficulties at work or in retirement
Problems with family or school life
My location
I work as an online therapist. I see people from all over the UK and Europe. I am an English language speaker.
Contact me to find out more about how online therapy works.
Any referrals for Functional Neurological Disorder will be received and taken care of within Allied Neuro Therapy. (ANT).
Fees & availability
Appointments for individuals last 50 minutes, usually taking place on a weekly or fortnightly basis. I have a flexible approach to frequency. The cost is £75 per session. Contact me to enquire about availability.
Note that if you want to cancel an appointment I require 48 hours’ notice; otherwise you will still need to pay for any sessions missed. I accept payment by bank transfer.
Get in touch
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how therapy works, or to arrange an initial assessment appointment. This enables us to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming to see me, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
I send you some paperwork as part of our first meeting, which is also helpful for me in understanding a little about you before we meet. Please only fill in what you feel comfortable with sharing initially. After our first appointment you may feel more confident in sharing more information.
I provide extra time in our first session to clarify any questions or concerns you may have.
Therapy sessions will be done using Zoom, and I will send you the instructions before hand.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential and uses secure phone and email services.
Some frequently asked questions
There’s no fixed or ideal length of time for therapy; it varies from person to person. Sometimes the deeper work is done with less time, as the person has already done a lot of their own reflection. Other times, the goal of our time together may not include deeper needs, and be a more pragmatic therapy. There are also times when someone comes in to resolve some deeply felt issues. I use a gentle approach which emphasises safety for experiences which are difficult to approach. This may take more time.
Goals are established at the beginning of therapy, and then reviewed frequently. I have your best interests in mind and we openly reflect on any problems in the therapy, and if it is of benefit for you. In psychodynamic therapy this is a core part of the work.
Some people value the ongoing support and relationship with me and will continue to come for weeks, months, or even years. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to therapy.
My aim is to offer you a first appointment, known as an assessment session within 1-2 weeks, this is once we receive your completed client pack back. However, waiting times will vary according to pressure on our resources, your own availability and the service you seek.
Confidentiality is one of the main ways in which therapy differs from many other forms of helping – for example, talking to friends or family can rarely offer the same degree of confidentiality as talking to a therapist. Because of this confidentiality, you will find that – as you get used to coming for therapy – you are freer to talk about whatever you wish to.
No therapist can offer 100% confidentiality: there are some situations where the law requires disclosure of risk (e.g. certain child protection issues) and in common with most other therapists, there are some situations where I may not be able to keep total confidentiality.
In particular, if someone tells me that they are thinking of harming themselves in a way that I believe puts them at serious risk, or if someone tells me that they are doing something that could put others at risk, I may not be able to keep such information confidential.
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