Jake Freedman, BACP

Jake Freedman is a counsellor and psychotherapist registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). He holds an MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy - a Master of Science degree focused on psychodynamic approaches - and a PGDip in the Philosophy of Mental Disorder - a postgraduate diploma that examined theoretical and clinical questions about mental health.

Before completing his clinical training, he spent seven years working in community-based mental health and addiction services. Following qualification, he delivered long-term psychotherapy for five years to people with histories of addiction and childhood trauma, work that deepened his understanding of how adverse early experiences shape adult behaviour and inner life.

Since that time he has undertaken extensive post-qualification training in developmental trauma and dissociation, and maintains a particular clinical interest in depersonalisation and derealisation. He keeps current with relevant research and evolving practice in these areas to inform his clinical approach.

His psychodynamic work focuses on identifying recurring themes and both conscious and unconscious patterns that influence how people relate to themselves and to others. Treatment involves exploring relational styles across personal, familial and workplace contexts, including how these patterns can become entwined with addictive processes. While certain ways of relating may have supported survival at earlier stages, therapy aims to attend to the emotional experiences that sustain those patterns so they can be brought into awareness and become more open to change.