Alexithymia-aware Therapists / Psychologists in London

[Chris]

Hi All,

I'm looking for some help identifying some private psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, or therapists based in London (UK) who know their stuff about Alexithymia? My friend is struggling at the moment with his mental health and he recently confided in me that he believes that alexithymic traits have been holding him back throughout his life.

As his current (and past) treatment providers don't seem to have understood this aspect of his personality and how it affects his treatment for depression/anxiety, I have been seeking support and advice on how we can help him manage this - but have so far drawn a blank. 

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. 

P.S. Also, any ideas for professionals who may be able to consult via Skype would be useful too!

Many thanks!

[Nick Glover]

Hello Chris

I understand your looking for a therapy resource for a 'friend with Alexithymia' a certain level of). I take it the sense is that this person your describing has figured out Alexithymia is or may be a (complicating) factor in their mental health issues.  You also mentioned running into barriers or dead ends re finding treaters who know about Alexithymia (and how to work with therapeutically). 

You said past and current treaters were / are not able to work with Alexithymia, something like that ? 

First I get this, secondly I know a reasonable amount about Alexithymia (Was / still am a Psychotherapist, worked in NHS for long time). 

I have a few questions:

1. How has person described come to think / feel has Alexithymia (not doubting it, but did that awareness come about ?

2. Could you tell me what treatment (therapies) has tried, were any talking therapies,  duration, what sort of therapy and context for .. treaters ? 

Are you a professional  / what is your involvement with person described, your role in situation. 

Don't give me name, etc, just more details.  Will try to assist, offer appropriate advise *in UK context  

I will then come back to you when hear.

Nicholas Glover 

email me at  -  Eugen...@gmx.com 

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[Chris]

Hi Nicholas,

Many thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

I’ve known this friend for about 3 years now - we have become very close and have been speaking very candidly about mental health.

That being said, he has always struggled to articulate how he is feeling. He says that it is only in the last few years that he has attributed his low feelings to depression and anxiety, having learned a lot more about mental health issues recently. However, even now, if I ask him what is wrong, he isn’t able to express what it is (either physically sensations of his low mood/stress or his mental state) - all he can often say is that it “isn’t right”.

We had a long sit-down a few weeks ago and, whilst he had never spoken about it before for fear of being labeled psychotic, he explained that he had never understood emotions like other people seemed to, struggled to understand other people’s emotions, and struggled to be empathetic.

I have been doing a lot of research into the area since then and came across the term ‘Alexithymia’. Sharing some of the resources I have found with him, he has been saying things like, “that’s exactly like me” and “I do things like that”. He has since said how happy he is to find other people with similar experiences to him.

He is anxious to find some professional help (he is currently signed off work because his depression) but is pessimistic about finding a professional who he could work with, due to his past experiences of therapy.

In the past, he has had counseling for Anxiety when he was younger (4 weeks of sessions) and CBT for Anxiety and Depression last year (another 4 weeks). He said that neither helped and that it felt like he was just telling the therapists what they wanted to hear. Last year, the therapist commented (after the third week) that he tended to railroad her with his answers to avoid discussing emotions. Similarly, he also had couples therapy about 10 years ago because of what he says was his inability to discuss emotional parts of his relationship. After several sessions, he describes telling his partner what he felt they wanted to hear. His partner considered the process to be a success but it didn’t really have any effect on my friend’s own wellbeing. 

He’s keen to connect with someone who might understand how this aspect of his personality impacts on his depression/anxiety and we both hope that finding the right person might lead to more successful outcomes this time around. As such, I’ve offered to help him gather more information about potential next steps as indeed I am doing now.

Hope that all makes sense. Any advice or information would be very much appreciated.

All the best,

Chris

[Chris Blois-Brooke]

Hi Nicholas,

I thought it good to add that, whilst I asked in the original post about what private options were available, at the moment he's keen to look at any options - private or NHS.

So far the only experience he's had with the NHS is being referred to generic CBT / counselling where there hasn't been much awareness of Alexithymia. However, if we knew who it would be good to ask his GP for a referral to, perhaps we might have more luck.

Look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

Chris

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[Nick Glover]

Hi Chris.

Think you said is in London yes ?

if so contact the Tavistock Clinic  - look up / just call (seeking therapy, they will then assess)

think needs GP referral by the Tavi will guide him.

Start there.  I think they can offer up to 2 years free or low cost.

Cheers. Nick Glover 

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[Chris]

Many thanks Nicholas for your advice. Will investigate this possibility and let you know how we get on.

On Tuesday, 5 February 2019 09:25:51 UTC, Chris wrote: