ABOUT 

Michael Leibowitz PhD is a Registered Psychotherapist and Certified Hypnotherapist in Ireland; Michael is also registered with the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (UK).

Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Michael has over thirty years experience in psychotherapy practice, much of which has been psychodynamic and psychoanalytic work with adults. In addition to working in South Africa, Michael has practised in South East England and latterly Ireland.

      Online Psychodynamic Psychotherapy                                       

The online psychotherapy component of Michael's clinical practice, would be based on a psychodynamic understanding of the drives and influences contributing to one's present difficulties. Briefly, this type of psychotherapy work, with adults, would focus on how the past has strongly influenced the present. Where possible and indicated, bringing insight and greater understanding to poorly understood negative, repetitive patterns of behaviour, would form part of the objectives of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Addressing states of anxiety and unhelpful styles of coping with distress, would be further examples of the scope of this type of 'talking therapy'.

      (Office-based) Hypnotherapy                              

 Michael's application of office based Clinical Hypnosis would be predicated on the founder of Psychoanalysis, Prof. Sigmund Freud's first topography (metaphorical mental map) of the human mind; this being conscious, preconscious and unconscious 'provinces' of everyday thinking and relating.  

Although Freud went on to develop what became his Structural Model Of The Mind, it is of note that he incorporated many of his earliest observations and insights into his later work. In this regard, he specifically acknowledges Clinical Hypnosis paving the way for Psychoanalysis to develop (Freud, Standard Works: Volume 12, 1914/1958, p.148) and later wrote: “... we do not forget how much encouragement and theoretical classification we owe to it [hypnosis].” (Freud, Standard Works: Volume 16, 1917/1963, p.462).  It is of further note that Freud continued to use a therapy treatment couch - which he used for Clinical Hypnosis - in his subsequent practice of Psychoanalysis.