Testimonials are important to all therapists. I thought it would be useful to deconstruct my most recent and one of my best testimonials. This person came to me in distress and we worked through several processes and ideas. They didn’t feel we had made much progress, but I persisted, until one day, not long afterwards, we made a huge leap forwards.
‘Phil Gowler is one of those rare therapists who is also a real human being. He goes the extra mile for his clients and he is really flexible and individual in his approach to therapy. You feel respected and liked, and that your well being and healing is really important. If one approach doesn’t work, Phil will use another tool from his expansive therapy tool box.. And Phil can see gems in you that you probably cant see in yourself. Phil is friendly and warm and very caring.’
Phil Gowler is one of those rare therapists who is also a real human being.
Of course, all therapists are human beings. But I make an effort to engage with clients. I do not see myself as some kind of high and mighty expert on a pedestal, looking down at the world. You will learn to trust me with things you never thought you would tell anyone, and that trust makes your success much more likely.
He goes the extra mile for his clients and he is really flexible and individual in his approach to therapy…If one approach doesn’t work, Phil will use another tool from his expansive therapy tool box.
Absolutely. I do not ever want to see any client walk away without some kind of progress being made, but preferably good progress, even success. So I can be a bit like a pit bull in that I don’t like to let go until YOU are in a good place.
Regarding the flexibility, it is vital for a therapist to have different approaches available, because we are all different. The same process does not work for everyone. I trust my intuition, it has never failed me yet. Unfortunately, you won’t get that from the NHS, in particular Talking Therapies. They are driven by their process, they cannot step outside of it, and that means that it just doesn’t work for many people.
You feel respected and liked, and that your well being and healing is really important.
I respect your life journey and your problems, this is why I am a therapist, I am here to help.
And Phil can see gems in you that you probably can’t see in yourself. Phil is friendly and warm and very caring.
We all have gems inside us, we are capable of great and wonderful things, in fact we all do great and wonderful things, but when we are low and unhappy we don’t recognise that we do. I have never yet met a client that I did not like, underneath all your problems you are human, which means you are capable of infinitely amazing things.
I like to use humour when it is appropriate, I like to talk to my clients as if we were good friends having a private chat in the corner of a pub, or a cafe, or in your living room. We are all on life’s journey, if I can share yours for a while and help you to get it going in a better direction, I consider that a privilege.