Joe Friedman

 

I’m an American and came to England in 1973, after finishing a degree in psychology at the University of Michigan in the United States.  I originally came to study with the Philadelphia Association, and R.D. Laing. I stayed because I loved living in London.

Most of us spend so much of our lives worrying about what others think that we never truly articulate what matters to us.  For me, psychotherapy is a process in which we do this, and discover a different – and more satisfying – way to live our lives.  A way in which we are concerned with our own truth, not with pleasing or placating other people. 

Over the 30 years I have worked as a psychotherapist with individuals and groups, I have moved away from the psychoanalytic cliché of the therapist who sits in silence, only occasionally issuing gnomic utterances.  I believe clients are best served by a therapist who actively engages with them.  I ask questions, clarify, and occasionally challenge clients to help them get to grips with things they are avoiding.

 

I’ve taught on several psychoanalytic trainings and am currently a member of the Philadelphia Association training committee.

I’ve also done in-house trainings in corporate settings on my favourite subjects, creativity and problem solving. 

In my spare time I write. Apart from a number of professional papers, I`ve written a series of children's books and a book for adults on dreams.

 

I am registered with the UKCP, the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapists. UKCP certified therapists are fully qualified and work to a strict code of ethics and practice.