Welcome! My name is Elisabeth Auer and I am a psychotherapist based in Teddington. 

Many people come to therapy with a feeling that they are not living their lives to the fullest. They have learned, or have been conditioned, to adapt to the needs and desires of others, often making those needs and desires their own. By doing this, their “true self” can remain hidden.

Therapy is the search for this true self, and the therapeutic relationship supports this process. Together we begin a journey of exploration. This journey can be exciting and joyful, painful and sad, sometimes boring, and at times embarrassing and annoying, but often a lot of fun and deeply rewarding.

Therapy requires your curiosity about your inner world, even when it feels easier to focus on the outside world and other people’s behaviour and feelings rather than your own.

A crucial part of therapy is, as mentioned, the therapeutic relationship. Not every therapist is the right fit for every client. You need to feel comfortable with your therapist to be honest about your thoughts and feelings, even though that can be difficult. Many people need time - sometimes weeks or months - to establish trust in their therapist, before they can talk about more sensitive matters.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is an approach that allows us to explore the unconscious and better understand why we think, feel and behave in certain ways. These patterns are often linked to our earliest relationships with parents or caregivers. Outside of our awareness, we may repeat these patterns in relationships with significant people in our lives and, inadvertently, with our therapist. This can be helpful, because it allows us to recognize these patterns, understand their origins and meanings, and, if they no longer serve us, begin to change them.  

  Before arranging a first session, you may want to ask yourself a few questions:

• Can I commit to weekly therapy sessions over a longer period of time, ranging from several months to several years? If not, what might get in the way? If you are unsure, the initial sessions can help clarify practical questions and give you a better idea of what our work together could look like and how I can accommodate your needs.

•  Am I coming to therapy for my own reasons, or mainly to please my partner, parents, friends, or children? This is not necessarily a problem, especially if you have some awareness of how your own behaviour may contribute to the difficulties you experience in your life and relationships, and if you are motivated to make changes yourself.

• Am I genuinely curious about what motivates my behaviour, thoughts and feelings, or would I prefer a therapy approach that focuses on behaviour change, exercises and homework? If so, you may wish to explore other therapeutic approaches.  

Over the past 15 years, I have worked with a wide range of issues and with people from diverse backgrounds. Some of the areas I commonly work with include:

• Depression, low mood, loneliness, anxiety and suicidality
• Relationship issues, including infidelity, separation, dependency, and enmeshed relationships
• Parenting problems, including separation anxiety
• Self-worth and self-confidence, performance anxiety, impostor syndrome, jealousy, and envy
• Questions around gender and sexuality, including kink
• Feeling stuck in life, or questioning the meaning or purpose of relationships, work or life more broadly
• Fear of death, fear of breakdown

I warmly welcome people from minority backgrounds. When understanding my clients’ difficulties, I take into account their socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic background and incorporate these into our work. I am also well-informed about neurodiversity and enjoy working with people who experience ADHD, autism, dyslexia and related differences.

Interested? I look forward to hearing from you.