Nobody, as long as he moves about among the chaotic currents of life, is without trouble
Niemand ist ohne Probleme, solange er sich zwischen den chaotischen Strömungen des Lebens bewegt
– Carl Jung, Swiss psychologist
Therapy takes courage. If we don’t fix ourselves we are simply passing the losing baton to our children.
Don’t feel bad or hopeless if you are struggling.
Together, in a safe and confidential space, we can untangle and explore the difficulties you are facing.
My aim as a couples therapist is to assist each of you to figure out how you can do your best in your relationship.
As an attentive couples therapist, Michael will offer you warmth, understanding, honesty and reliability. He brings psychoanalytic approaches into play to help support you in finding solutions and ways of being that bring you greater fulfilment.
Consulting rooms in Parkhurst, Johannesburg
Michael offers brief and long-term work to couples and individuals, helping them work through a wide range of emotional and behavioural difficulties. He has a very real conviction in the usefulness and value of psychotherapy.
In therapy, it’s important to create a safe space for authentic and open discussion, encouraging self-reflection and facilitating change.
During counselling he will bring clarity and sensitivity to the room. This will allow you to hear your story and come to your own conclusions.
“Therapy can really work for men. Blokes are very bad at talking about their problems”
– Alex James, musician and bass player for Blur
Michael is an intelligent and thoughtful observer with a clear thinking approach – he is an astute listener and a natural admirer of the mind. He is curious to understand why people act as they do and his interventions in the consulting room are vibrant and creative. We are not always aware of the whys and wherefores of our actions, of what motivates us to feel or behave a certain way. Shedding light on your unconscious fears and desires may enable you to understand yourself better, and in doing so, take greater responsibility for the changes you want to make.
I immediately felt at ease with you; our work has brought clarity and progress. Thank you for your commitment to us and especially to our relationship. Knowing you were there for us, week after week, really helped. You showed such forthrightness and compassion.
Thank you for seeing us, for asking the hard and pertinent question/s, for giving me a space to be honest, for making me feel heard.
Thank you for your patience, prompting and insights, which I think continue to help us.
We all begin our relationships with love, excitement and fervour in the hope that we’ll have a great life together. But we often don’t anticipate how difficult it can be to navigate the hurdles that become obstacles to a happy and safe relationship.
Michael works across the heterosexual and LGBT spectrum, however emotionally rich or challenging the material might be. He is passionate about helping couples and individuals, and does so in an affirmative, therapeutic way; he believes that when people are listened to with respect, problems and conflicts can be explored in a non-judgmental environment.
Michael has a wide range of relevant experience. He completed an in-depth training, longer than the majority of others, qualifying at the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships in London (now Tavistock Relationships), the world’s leading organisation for couple psychoanalytic psychotherapy. He had consulting rooms both in Harley Street, London and Marlborough, Wiltshire.