Our Approach to Therapy | The Pickle Jar, Canterbury

Therapy is not one thing

You do not need to understand any of the terms below to start, and you will never be asked to choose between them.

Different people need different things, and the same person needs different things at different times. Rather than putting everyone through the same method, we work integratively, which is a long word for shaping the work around the person, not the other way round.

What that looks like week to week is a conversation. Not a course, not a programme, and not a set of exercises to complete.

The ways we work

These are the approaches our practitioners are trained in. Most sessions draw on more than one.

Integrative

The umbrella for how we work. Rather than applying one method to everyone, we draw on several and shape them around the person in front of us.

Person-centred

You are the expert on your own life. The work is led by what matters to you, at the pace you set, without being steered toward a conclusion we picked in advance.

Psychodynamic

Looking at how earlier experience still shapes the present: the patterns that repeat, and why they made sense at the time they formed.

Gestalt

Paying attention to what is happening now, in the room, rather than only recounting the week. Often where something shifts.

Humanistic and transpersonal

Starting from the assumption that you are whole and capable, and making room for meaning, values and the parts of life that are hard to measure.

Relational and inner child work

Using the relationship between us as part of the work itself, and meeting the younger parts of you that still carry something heavy.

What a session is like

Fifty minutes, the same time each week, in a room where nothing you say has to be tidied up first.

There is no correct way to use the time. Some people arrive knowing exactly what they want to talk about; others sit down and find they have no idea where to start. Both are entirely normal, and neither wastes the session.

You are not required to talk about your childhood, or to cry, or to reach a conclusion. The work goes at the pace you set.

You lead. We follow, and sometimes ask.
Nothing you bring is too small to be worth the time
You can say you do not want to talk about something
We review how it is going, openly, as we go
You decide when to stop

Questions about how we work

Plain answers about methods, length of therapy and what happens between sessions.

What does integrative counselling actually mean?

It means we are not committed to a single method. We draw on several ways of working and adapt them to you, rather than fitting you to one model. In practice that means the shape of the work changes as we understand more about what is helping.

What is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?

The terms overlap a great deal and are often used interchangeably. Broadly, counselling tends to focus on a present difficulty, while psychotherapy explores longer-standing patterns. Both are offered here, and the distinction matters far less than whether the relationship works for you.

Will you give me exercises or homework between sessions?

Not as a rule. This is relational, conversational work rather than a structured programme with worksheets. If something practical would genuinely help between sessions we will suggest it, but it will be an offer rather than an assignment you can fail.

How long will I need to be in therapy?

That varies. Some people come for a few months around a specific difficulty; others work over a longer period on something more long-standing. We review how it is going together, and you are free to end therapy whenever you choose. There is no minimum.

The fit matters more than the method

The best way to find out whether this suits you is to talk to someone and see how it feels.

Schedule an initial assessment

£35 · 45 minutes · No obligation to continue

Our approach