JULIA PIKAL
I was born and brought up in Wiltshire and moved to London in my early twenties. I have always had a strong interest in psychology and in how people work and studied Psychology at ‘A’ level before going into the world of advertising, where I was a Producer for many years. Although an invaluable experience and a window into how people behave and react when placed in a very competitive, driven, pressurised and creative environment, there was a human and spiritual aspect missing from this world, which led me to embark on a training to be a Transpersonal Psychotherapist at The Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education in Little Venice, London.
Most of us have experienced difficulties either in childhood or in adult life and I understand how this feels. The reason that I am a psychotherapist is because I feel sympathetic towards other people and I want to help them overcome their problems, become who they really are, and fulfil the potential that lies within them. I believe that Psychotherapy can achieve this.
We are all the products of our conditioning i.e. we have internalised the moral views, ideas of how we should behave and ‘be’ in the world from our parents, teachers and other key figures. We have been further affected by how they judged us if we did not conform to their vision. Many people find themselves unacceptable and suffer from low self-esteem because they are still influenced by how their family and significant others viewed them and, are also caught up in the role they were given in the family e.g. the pretty one, the stupid one, the sensitive one, the victim etc. Others have been seriously damaged by emotional or sexual abuse, bullying or cruelty. Some have suffered early loss of a parent or been emotionally neglected and left to fend for themselves.
As a result of the past or something that is happening in the present, you maybe feeling anxious or suffering from depression and feel you can’t cope anymore. Or you may feel angry and cannot control your aggressive feelings. Or perhaps you are finding you lack motivation or direction and don’t know what you want from your life. Perhaps you are experiencing problems in your relationships with friends, at home or with colleagues at work or maybe you are in a difficult or abusive relationship and don’t know how to get out of it. Perhaps you are unsure about your sexuality or are overweight, taking drugs or drinking too much and can’t stop. Whatever the issue, there is a sacred and safe space to explore these issues and express how you feel about them in psychotherapy.
All of these issues are manifestations of how we have been affected by our childhood and early life experiences, and when we look at the past and see how this is being acted out in the present, all becomes clear. Having gained that understanding of why we behave the way we do, pick the people we do to be our friends and lovers, we are enabled to see how we repeat negative patterns of behaviour and, when we have also re-experienced and honoured our hurt or angry feelings from the past, we can move on. “If obstacles are removed, the individual will develop into a mature, fully realised adult, just as an acorn will develop into an oak tree” (Neurosis and Human Growth by Karen Horney)
As a Transpersonal Psychotherapist, I work holistically and treat mind, body and soul. I am an integrative therapist which means as well as the Transpersonal, I incorporate several different approaches into my work. These are the Psychodynamic (see link for more), the Existential (See link for more) the Humanistic (See link for more) and some Gestalt (see link for more) techniques. The main theme in my work is based on the fundamental principle of building and expanding people’s strengths or ‘qualities’. I believe we all have a purpose in life and that therapy helps us to discover that purpose and to be who we really are, free of the constriction of our parent’s views and ideals, free of what binds us to our entrenched and possibly unhappy position, free of our fears, anxieties and insecurities and free to make choices and move forward to have the life we deserve. I treat my clients with empathy, respect and care. I believe in a genuine and authentic human interaction between therapist and client and I respect and honour the place in which my clients find themselves. I also pay attention to balancing the person’s energies and life-style e.g. the balance between being active and receptive or being grounded and driven. I also work with dreams, visualisations and creative imagination to assist the process of ‘individuation’ i.e. becoming a whole person.
As well as offering Counselling and more in-depth Psychotherapy, I also offer a more directive approach to resolving problems concerning careers, life direction and motivation which incorporates life coaching techniques. I work in West Berkshire (Hungerford) and
in central London (Harley Street and Warwick Avenue).
Please call me on 07711 039 705
or email me at Julia@blass.f9.co.uk
to make an initial appointment or assessment.
Areas of Work
General Counselling and Psychotherapy
Self-Esteem and Confidence Building
Depression and Anxiety
Addictive Disorders – alcohol abuse, drug abuse and eating disorders
Sexual Abuse
Confusion over Sexuality, dysfunction and difficulties
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders
Anger Management
Personal Growth and Development
Relationship Problems
Family Problems