PSYCHOTHERAPY IN SYDNEY

You might be wondering if psychotherapy is for you. Something doesn’t feel right. You feel as if life should be more beautiful than this. You wish you had a different relationship with yourself. You’re tired of trying so hard all the time. There is so much you don’t understand about how you feel. It all seems unexplainable and unacceptable. It’s hard to imagine feeling differently about yourself and the world. You so wish you could.

What can I do?

I understand, and I want to help you connect to the innermost parts of you. Hi there, my name is Sasha Landis and I am a psychotherapist in Sydney. I walk beside people as they challenge long-held beliefs, embrace feelings and forge a new and different relationship to self. If you’re ready to take this step together, I’d love to hear from you.

MY APPROACH to psychotherapy

My approach to psychotherapy is collaborative and client-led. It is my role to create and hold the space for you to bring and share all parts of you. In psychotherapy, we work from a developmental perspective. This means that we will be curious about your formation of self that originated in childhood. We will work together like detectives, looking for clues throughout your life that shed light on where you are today. Everything about you is important. Rather than addressing or managing symptoms directly, we look to find the route of what is happening for you and how you are feeling. We heal from the inside out.

The work itself is often described as the ‘talking cure’. During our sessions, I will ask you to share with me what is on your mind and I will offer feedback and questions where appropriate. As we come to know each other more, experiences from the outside world and relational dynamics you encounter in your life will likely begin to show up in the therapy. We will use these moments in the therapy room as opportunities to explore your feelings outside the room. In this way, therapy can become like a dress rehearsal, a safe space to explore doing things differently. I believe that as humans, we are inherently wired to self-actualise. In therapy, we work to identify and remove the obstacles in your way, so you can continue to grow uninhibited by what is holding you back.

In psychotherapy, the primary healing component is the therapeutic relationship. Neuroscience tells us that new neural pathways are always forming in the brain, which means, the capacity to do something differently and to feel differently is a possibility all throughout our lives. As social creatures, we grow and change in relationship with others. It is the connection with a mind that knows itself that gives the brain the best chance of also coming to know itself. In psychotherapy, we offer a different experience of a relationship. It is vitally important that the therapeutic relationship feels safe and comfortable for us to work well together. For this reason, we use the first four sessions to ascertain whether the relationship is a good fit, before continuing our work together.

In psychotherapy, we work together weekly. This regularity and consistency is important to establish the relationship and to give our work together the best chance of making a sustainable impact on your world.

If this sounds like the therapy you are after, do get in contact. I’d love to hear from you.

Frequently Asked Questions FOR A PSYCHOTHERAPIST

Will Psychotherapy Help Me?

There is a large body of research that proves we grow and change neurologically in connection with others. Through the safety of a strong therapeutic relationship our brains can change. Our thoughts, feelings, responses and the way we see ourselves can all change. Many of us were never given the chance to reach the full potential of our emotional selves and we have built walls and defences against knowing ourselves fully. Having an opportunity to be witnessed in all of our contradiction has the power to shift the course of our lives. Psychotherapy attends to all parts of the self. The work prioritises feeling and emotion, which neurologically precedes cognitive thought. The long term effects of psychotherapy have been proven to exceed that of shorter term cognitive therapies.

Every person is different, and psychotherapy does not use a one-size-fits all approach. It is important to have the opportunity to meet and experience a few initial sessions, before determining whether psychotherapy is the right fit for you.

Who uses psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is client-led and generally experienced as gentle. Because of this, psychotherapy is helpful for vast array of individuals and experiences. Whether you come with a mental health diagnosis, or a sense of something not feeling right, psychotherapy will assist you in making sense of your own experience and supporting you through your life. Psychotherapy is known to be particularly helpful for understanding early life experiences and relationship difficulties, as well as sense of self, identity and intense emotional experiences. Psychotherapy can help anyone seeking to better understand their internal experiences and develop a more satisfying relationship with self.

How Often Do I Need To Attend Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is most effective when utilised consistently and often. In my practice, this means we have sessions once per week, or more often in high need times. There are some exceptions to this, which must be discussed individually.

For further questions, do not hesitate to get in touch or visit my general FAQs here.

ready to begin?

Think working with a psychotherapist might be for you? I look forward to walking this courageous path beside you. You can reach me via email: sashalandistherapy@gmail.com to schedule an initial intake conversation. Psychotherapy sessions are held in the Inner West of Sydney, or online.