At times life can feel overwhelming, uncertain and confusing. Often this can feel like too much to deal with on our own. Therapy will give you the opportunity to explore the reasons why you feel as you do and help you to begin the process of change.
It sometimes feels difficult to seek help, but my own experience has showed me how important it is to take a step back and reflect on how we are living our lives. It enables us to examine what is working and what is not, what we are afraid of letting go and the fears that prevent us trying something different.
If you are suffering from stress or anxiety, have relationship issues or just a sense that something does not feel right, we can explore these issues in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space.
Whatever issues you bring we will not only explore the reasons for feeling as you do but also look at ways to transition your life.
Therapy with Phil Bergman
Working with me will enable you to begin to make the changes that will help you lead a more fulfilling life, understand yourself better, create better relationships and begin to examine the fears that are holding you back.
Being a trained integrative therapist means that my approach to our work together will be bespoke, utilising a number of therapeutic models and techniques, to ensure that we can address your individual needs.
I integrate therapeutic approaches such as the Internal Family Systems model (read more about this below) as well as my coaching skills, which bring in problem solving and goal focused approaches, to your therapy session if appropriate.
As a father of 3 and someone who has moved from a career in the City, to working with others to support their mental wellbeing, I bring my own unique life experience to the therapy sessions.
Who I Work With
Some of the reasons that clients have sought my help are:
- Addictive behaviour: exploring how this behaviour started and its impact on them emotionally and physically, and the impact it has on the relationships with those around them.
- The challenges of parenting and/or work/life balance: how becoming a parent has been ‘life changing’, how clients struggle with their new roles and responsibilities.
- Self-esteem: never feeling good enough, always hearing their critical inner voice. We have explored what drives their low self-worth and why they don’t see their own value.
- Relationship Issues: from complications within their intimate relationships to the challenges of family dynamics and the dynamics of workplace and social friendships.
- Major life changes: changes in career direction, becoming a parent, sudden changes in health or a life changing diagnosis and retirement, life is full of transition and sometimes we need to discuss how we are feeling with the changes that we sometimes choose or often that are imposed on us.
- Imposter syndrome: clients often find themselves taking on new roles but feeling undeserving or worse, believe they are less than competent to cope and yet others see them as capable of the role. During our sessions we have explored why they don’t ‘believe’ in themselves and why they ‘think’ they will be ‘found out’ or seen as a ‘fraud’.
- Finding meaning and purpose: some clients simply want to explore where they are at this moment in time, where they ‘fit in’ to the world, what they might want to achieve in the future. Clients come with a view to ‘reflect’ openly on themselves.
- Stress/Anxiety/Depression/Low Mood: sometimes clients come because they simply have a ‘sense’ that something is not right, there is nothing tangible, no obvious ‘trigger’ and yet they aren’t ‘happy’, ‘content’, ‘settled’, ‘comfortable in their skin’.
Therapy is an opportunity to be completely honest and open about what is going on in your life. It is a unique space where the focus is always on you. You can verbalise the thoughts and feelings that you carry around with you and together we can explore how you want to move forward and what you want the next chapter of your life to look like.
I often work with clients who have reached a stage where they feel stuck in either their personal or professional life. Often, the reasons that we behave as we do are based in childhood experience, so we can explore the patterns that may have served you in some way in the past but are no longer helpful. Awareness is the first step towards creating the changes that you are looking for. Then together we can think about how you can begin to live a more meaningful and purposeful life.
You may be facing a major life transition, becoming a parent, changing work roles, considering doing something completely different or just feel that your work/life balance is out of sync. Working with me will give the support and space you need to help you decide how to move forward.
IFS Therapy with Phil Bergman
I am a Level 1 trained IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapist. IFS looks at our internal ecosystem and how our various parts impact us. Whether that be our inner critic, our fear of vulnerability or an anxious part, they all have a reason for doing what they do and together we can explore their roots and begin to lessen the impact that they have on our lives.
I also have experience working with trauma, addictions and suicidal thoughts.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to therapy and so we can work together short term, perhaps to think about one particular issue, or long term to embark on a deeper process of discovery.
Our First Session
Our first session will be 50 minutes and we will use the time to explore the issues that you are bringing. We will also think about why now? What was the catalyst for the decision and ultimately what do you hope to change during our time together.
Subsequent sessions will also be 50 minutes at the same time every week.
Executive/Life Coaching with Phil Bergman
Working towards future goals
In addition to being a trained therapist I am also a qualified executive and personal coach. This means that our sessions can also focus on future goals as well as exploring the issues which may be more suited to therapy. I believe that working with a combination of both can not only help us explain the reasons for feeling as we do but also examine practical options for how we move forward. We can work on career change, new challenges at work, strategies for improving performance or just explore why you feel stuck and what your options are for moving forward.
Coaching can be a challenging experience, but it helps you face, and be proactive with, the difficult decisions in your life. You will have someone in your corner, a thinking partner and someone who can help you build the resilience to deal with your anxieties and create a more satisfying way of living your life.
Coaching sessions tend to be less frequent but are usually 90 minutes in length.
About Me
I am married with 3 children aged 17-24. For 25 years I worked as a senior executive in the City, so I really understand the realities of working in a high pressure environment and the impact that it can have on our lives.
When one of my children became severely ill in 2015, I re-examined how I was living my life and decided to make changes. I now passionately believe that both therapy and coaching can be positive vehicles for change.
You can read more about my story here:- From trader to therapist coach, my journey
Areas I work with:
I am happy to work with whatever you bring but these are some of the areas that I have experience with:
- Addictions
- Anger and Conflict
- Anxiety and Panic
- Attachment issues
- Depression / Low Mood
- Imposter Syndrome
- Life Changes/Transition
- Parenting
- Personal Growth
- Relationship Issues
- Self-esteem and Self-confidence
- Stress
- Trauma
- Work Related Issues
Psychotherapy Qualifications and Training:
I am a BACP registered therapist and trained as an integrative counsellor at the Minster Centre. I am a Level 1 trained Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist. I am also a qualified business and personal coach having completed my training with Barefoot Coaching.
I am a Supervising Volunteer at The Listening Place which is an amazing charity working face to face with people who have suicidal thoughts or have tried to take their own life. I have volunteered there since July 2018.
I have regular supervision.
Contact:
Rates:
Individual therapy sessions
Face to Face £100 per 50-minute session
Zoom £90 per 50-minute session
Individual Coaching Sessions
Please contact me to discuss rates and sessions
Sessions:
Sessions at City Therapy Space:
Monday
