Benoit Existential Psychotherapist. Codependence, shame, addiction.

You may come to therapy with a specific concern in mind. Some issues brought by my clients include:

• The trauma of growing up and/or living in an unwelcoming or hostile environment 
• Shame, feeling of worthlessness or the endless pursuit of achievements to overcompensate
• Work and career stress
• Problematic use of alcohol or substances, sex addiction or compulsion, chemsex
• Codependency and love addiction 
• Not feeling at home in the communities and/or the wider society 
• Sex and sexuality
• Gender identity
• LGBTQIA+ families and parenting

I also support people going through 12-steps programmes of recovery.

Existential psychotherapy asks the fundamental question: “Who am I, and how am I to live?” These questions are not problems to be solved but quests to live and distress arises when we forget to ask them ourselves. Moreover, the Existential approach doesn’t hold any pre-conception of what it means to be human and how one should carry out one’s life and rather focuses on your lived experience.

No two therapeutic journeys are the same. We tend to share the questions of life but our personal responses distinguish us. Psychotherapy with me is akin to setting off for a life-changing adventure. I act as a fellow traveller: I provide a safe holding environment, I encourage, I pace and assist you in the exploration. I tailor the therapy to the needs of each client. For some that may be focusing on understanding themselves, for others on effecting change in their life, and often a combination of the two.

Typically sessions are explorative, non-directive; we follow what comes up for you and work towards understanding rather than explanation. There will be no pre-determined plan or agenda, homework or questionnaires, but rather a freedom to discover what unfolds in your life. While fundamentally Existential in my ethos and practice, I may also draw on other therapeutic approaches depending on what you want and would benefit from.