Ms Vanessa Bryden-Jones

A conversation with Vanessa Bryden-Jones

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

  My path to psychotherapy grew from a longstanding curiosity about people, their experiences and the ways our relationships and life circumstances shape who we become. My early work in community services, including supporting women and young people experiencing homelessness and family violence, showed me both the complexity of people’s lives and the importance of having a space where someone can feel genuinely heard and understood.
  
  Over time, I became increasingly drawn to the depth and possibility of therapeutic work. Psychotherapy allows me to look beyond the immediate difficulty and understand the patterns, experiences and meanings that may sit beneath it. I value the opportunity to work alongside people as they make sense of their lives, develop greater self-understanding and consider new possibilities for change.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional development?

  My professional development has been most deeply influenced by psychodynamic and existential approaches. Psychodynamic thinking has shaped my understanding of how early relationships, attachment experiences and patterns outside conscious awareness can influence how we understand ourselves, relate to others and respond to the world.
  
  Existential philosophy has influenced my interest in meaning, choice, freedom, responsibility and the realities of being human. I am drawn to the idea that therapy is not simply about reducing symptoms, but creating space to honestly explore how we are living, what matters to us and what possibilities may exist for change.
  
  These perspectives are complemented by attachment-based, trauma-informed, relational and person-centred approaches, which bring together depth, compassion and an appreciation of each person’s unique circumstances.

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

  I am particularly interested in the complexity of human relationships and our fundamental need for connection, belonging and a sense of self. I am curious about attachment, intimacy, identity, self-worth and the tension that can exist between wanting closeness and protecting ourselves.
  
  I am also interested in the moments when life asks us to reconsider who we are or is how we are living still working for us - through loss, trauma, addiction, relationship difficulties or significant change. These experiences can be deeply painful, but can also open questions about meaning, possibility and what we want to carry forward.

• What methods do you use?

  I work primarily from a psychodynamic and attachment-based perspective, drawing on existential, trauma-informed, interpersonal and person-centred approaches. I also incorporate Emotionally Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Focusing where these are helpful.
  
  In practice, this means paying close attention to what happens both within and between us in the therapeutic relationship. We may explore emotions, recurring patterns, relationships, memories and the meanings attached to experiences. I work collaboratively and adapt the depth and focus of therapy to the person and the work.

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

  There is no set point at which therapy begins to “work”, and progress does not always mean feeling better straight away. Sometimes it begins with noticing something that previously felt automatic - a familiar pattern, an emotional response or a way of relating and being able to pause rather than simply repeat it.
  
  For some people, progress may be feeling more able to express a need, tolerate difficult emotions, set a boundary or make a different choice. Over time, greater self-understanding can create more freedom and possibility in how we relate to ourselves, others and our lives.

• How has therapy made a difference in your life?

  Therapy has reinforced for me the value of slowing down, becoming curious about what lies beneath our immediate reactions, and allowing ourselves to be seen with honesty and compassion. It has deepened my appreciation that meaningful change is rarely straightforward, and that understanding ourselves can take a great deal of courage.
  
  It has also taught me to be more accepting of uncertainty and complexity. We do not always need to have an immediate answer or know exactly where we are heading. Sometimes creating the space to listen more carefully to ourselves and to others is where something new can begin.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

  What I value most is being invited into another person’s world and having the privilege of understanding their experience alongside them. I never take that trust for granted.
  
  I enjoy the depth, curiosity and unpredictability of the work there is always more to understand, and no two people bring the same story. I find it particularly meaningful when someone begins to see themselves or their relationships differently and discovers they have more choice than they previously thought. I feel fortunate to do work that is both deeply human and continually teaches me something.

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

  Irvin Yalom’s 'Love’s Executioner' has stayed with me. I value Yalom’s writing for its honesty about the complexity of being human and the ways we search for meaning, connection and understanding. His work captures something I also value in psychotherapy: that the therapeutic relationship is not simply a place to find answers, but a space where we can become more curious about ourselves and how we are living.
  
  I am particularly drawn to the possibility that, within a therapeutic relationship, we can experience ourselves in new ways, perhaps feeling heard, understood, trusted or able to express something that has previously felt difficult. Over time, these experiences can become part of how we understand ourselves and relate to others beyond the therapy room.
  
  I am drawn to work that reminds us that, despite our differences, there are experiences of vulnerability, loss, connection and longing that are deeply human and shared.