Dr Steven Segal

A conversation with Steven Segal

• What led you to choose psychotherapy or counselling as a profession?

  My passion for psychotherapy emerged out of my own experience of being a client in therapy in my mid 20's. Going to psychotherapy made a big difference to myself. I then began studying psychology and when I was ready, I opened my practice as a psychologist. I do get a lot of pleasure out of seeing people, grow, develop and learn to manage their mental health concerns. I think the importance of psychotherapy is underestimated in our society. Psychotherapy is very important for developing the skills to face the challenges of life in effective ways. Psychological skills should be taught to us as we grow up.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional development?

  I have a PhD in philosophy and have always focused on the contribution that philosophers make towards understanding and responding to mental health concerns. In the Western tradition of thought this goes back to the figure of Socrates who believed that taking care of your mental health is the most important concern in life. From Plato and Aristotle, I learn that deep wisdom emerges out of taking care of your mental health. From Soren Kierkegaard I learnt that dealing with mental health concerns effectively can lead to positive changes in life and relationships. From Fredrich Nietzsche I learnt that personal power and confidence comes through facing the challenges of life. From Martin Heidegger I learnt that developing a resolute attitude towards anxiety and vulnerability is important for dealing with mental health challenges. From Sartre I learnt the importance of taking responsibility for managing and overcoming anxiety. From Martin Buber I learnt that dialogue and effective conversation are essential to well-being.

• Which particular aspects of health or the human journey are you interested in?

  Based on my studies and research I have come to believe that anxiety and depression underpin the journey of overcoming the challenges that life throws at us. This means that I have a wide range of clients which include individual experience of self-confidence, concerns with purpose and meaning in life, stress, and tensions in relationships, men's work, pressure, tension and burnout at work, toxicity, bullying and gaslighting in the workplace.

• What methods do you use?

  The wisdom of experience allows me to draw on a range of methods. I like to choose methods that are appropriate for the concerns of particular clients. The methods range from Acceptance Commitment Therapy, through Psychodynamic, Existential and Behavioral forms of therapy. Where appropriate I bring philosophical frameworks into the therapeutic situation.

• When do you think the client will start to feel that progress is being made?

  I have had clients who have found one session enough to get them on their way. Some of my clients find they receive what they need between about 4 to 10 sessions. And then there are the longer-term clients that engage in therapy over a much longer period of time. So much depends on the relation of trust between client and therapist. The sooner we can build trust, the sooner the sense of progress.

• How has therapy made a difference in your life?

  My own experience as a client in therapy has allowed me to bring out the best in me. It has given me a sense of self confidence and self-worth. I have found meaning and purpose through psychotherapy. It has made interpersonal relationships so much richer and meaningful. It has also enabled me to understand others in a more focused way and to listen before I speak so that I really understand the other persons point of view and then make suggestions based on this understanding. Therapy has also enabled me to be more spontaneous and present.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

  I get so much satisfaction from seeing people grow and develop through psychotherapy. I am very curious about the way in which people deal with the challenges of life and feel privileged to participate in their journey.

• Do you ever have 'bad hair' days?

  Rather than fighting my 'bad hair' days, I have learnt to accept them which allows me to focus on something else, e.g., go for a walk in the park. I find this very helpful in allowing me to tune in again.

• What do you think is the most significant problem we face, in the world today?

  We are living in a world of existential anxiety and existential threats. Many nations fear themselves to be under an existential threat, a threat to their way of life. Many cultures feel under existential threat. Identities also feel under existential threats: what does it mean to be a woman or a man today? What does it mean to be a father or mother? What does it mean to be successful? Climate change places our whole way of life under existential threat. Anxiety and depression on an individual level are forms of an existential threat.
  
  Instead of taking fight or flight in the experience of being existential threats we need to see them as opportunities for building new ways of life. We need to ask and respond to the most ancient of Socratic questions: how we ought to live? In our hyper busy world, we have sight of the importance of the Socratic question for putting our lives as individuals and communities into perspective. We tend to run around, busy, busy, busy. We have little perspective on the point of our busyness. Psychotherapy has a big role to play in addressing the range of existential threats.

• Can you share the name of a book, film, song, event or work of art that inspires you?

  Long walk to freedom: the autobiography of Nelson Mandela.