Julian Cerreto

A conversation with Julian Cerreto

• What led you to choose psychotherapy or counselling as a profession?

  My own period of struggle and suffering lead me into psychotherapy, first as a reader of theory and then as a patient. I have a lot to thank my own therapists for. I got into mental health work around the same time as I got into my own therapy and found both to be very sustaining. Becoming a psychotherapist was a natural process of growth and deepening into my career. From the start, I was oriented towards one on one depth work. Personal therapy, study and training provided the scaffolding.
  
  In short: I was not very good at anything else.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional development?

  My starting point is that life is worth living, and that, while we can be helped and inspired by others, ultimately we all need to work things out in our own way. Any good psychotherapy has to respect the personal, individual nature of this journey.

• Which particular aspects of health or the human journey are you interested in?

  Anything can be interesting when it is approached with interest.
  
  There are times when people say "I don't know where to start". I think we can start anywhere. Simply following the trail is sure to lead us to the right place. The most important thing is to keep going. In this practice, you can trust yourself.

• What methods do you use?

  There are many different forms of therapy and many different techniques that go along with them. I like to take a very basic approach to therapy, based on a strong relationship, deep listening, respect for individuality, and openness to creativity and possibility. Beyond some simple breathing exercises when anxiety or panic are too much, I don't use a lot of technique. I don't do meditations, visualisations, strategies, or homework. All I ask in sessions is that we speak as honestly as possible, and between sessions I expect nothing except what naturally comes to you. You are always in control of what you do.
  
  The work is like a game of chess. The starting positions are the same every time - a quiet and comfortable place, a therapist, and someone who is seeking help. The methods are simple. One person mainly speaks, and the other mainly listens. The beauty of this is that, just like in chess, the simplicity allows for great complexity, depth, and creativity to open up. Every therapy is unique.
  
  In couples work I am more active to ensure each person is heard and the work is purposeful and collaborative. Similarly, individual relationship counselling can be more practical and immediate - we are working at a different level. But the basic principle is the same. It's about speaking and listening, hearing, understanding, sometimes not understanding.
  
  Depth comes from simplicity. Creativity comes from openness. Change can come suddenly or gradually. It is a very beautiful practice.

• When do you think the client will start to feel that progress is being made?

  This depends.
  
  In individual psychotherapy the work is very personal. It can take time before we unlock deep conflicts. Individual psychotherapy rewards time and persistence. Many people who choose this have suffered from something for years - sometimes most of their lives. It doesn't make sense to rush or to give up quickly - working deliberately is what gets profound results. However, it should feel creative from the start, never stagnant, and very often people experience change sooner than they might think.
  
  In relationship counselling and couples therapy we are working more practically. We are aiming less for deep change in the individual, and more for change in the relationship. This can be driven by advice, guidance, or experimentation as much as deeper realisations. I will often be able to give an opinion within 1 to 3 sessions and, if it seems right, we can start working on change from there.

• How has therapy made a difference in your life?

  Before I started psychotherapy I would wake up and feel okay for about three seconds. Then I would remember who I felt I was and I would feel crushing depression. This had been the case for most of my life.
  
  I did therapy for roughly eight years and now I am happy most of the time, and when I am unhappy, it is because of specific things and it passes.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

  I love the stuff of life and I love speaking with people about it. I also love seeing the physical changes that happen in people as therapy progresses and they open up, or seeing couples who come in fighting and alienated eventually come in affectionate and warm towards each other. I think that therapy is profoundly beautiful.

• Do you ever have 'bad hair' days?

  I have challenging times and my life is not perfect.

• What do you think is the most significant problem we face, in the world today?

  I don't think I could possibly know the most significant. However, from a therapeutic perspective, one thing that comes to mind is that we seem to have an epidemic of superficiality. One good reason a person might seek out psychotherapy is simply to have a place to deal seriously with serious things. The fact is that whether or not we have mental health issues, life is challenging, and questions about what to do with life, what to make of symptoms, how to live well, and how to love deserve to be dealt with with care and attention.
  
  

• Can you share the name of a book, film, song, event or work of art that inspires you?

  People love to laugh, mock or get outraged at his ideas, but I have found that actually reading and trying to deal honestly with Sigmund Freud is like looking up at a mountain. I am also in awe of the thought of a man who I think is perhaps his most interesting interpreter - not Jacques Lacan, but the sociologist Phillip Rieff.
  
  I have been a musician and love music, art, and literature of many kinds.
  
  Miles Davis - Kind of Blue will be a lifelong favourite. I'm currently listening to Gigi - self titled.