Rob van Tol BA(Hons), PG Dip Ed, PG Dip Psychotherapy
Experience
Rob is experienced in giving individual and couples therapy. He has also worked with counselling some under represented groups of client, such as men and teenagers.
Before entering private practive, Rob previously counselled at two inner-city domestic violence prevention projects, seeing domestic violence perpetrators and addressing their behaviour and wider consequences of violence. He was also been a counsellor at a Further Education College, offering therapy to students (both younger people and mature students) and staff.
Special Interests
Though working as a general counsellor open to any presented problems, Rob's experience has led him to take particular interest in:
- Working with couples
- Men's psychological issues, such as limited emotional expression, sexual issues, domestic violence (as either perpetrator or victim), anger, stress, parenting, and relationships (with women and other men)
- Issues of cultural diversity (having being born in England of Polish and Dutch parents)
Working Style
Rob finds out want you what you would like to work on, and offers options as to how you'd like to work on it. Counselling can seem a little strange at first, so Rob tries to give you a sense of what is happening and why, and give you a sense of control, so that you work at a pace that is comfortable for you.
This could mean working on the cognitive aspects of your issue: how do you think about yourself and who do those thoughts lead you feel distress, or act in ways that are unhelpful. Usually, if working cognitively, Rob would also explore the behavioural aspects of your issue: how does what you do feed into how you feel and reinforce what you think about yourself.
Working cognitively and behaviourally uses the mainstream techniques of Transactional Analysis, and borrows from other styles of psychotherapy, notably Gestalt and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Typically working like this will quickly reduce the symptoms you are feeling, and allow you to "get back to normal".
However, you might be seeking boarder personal change and personal development, if you want to be more than just who you "normally" are. In this case, Rob would work Relationally using ideas from the Psychodyamic tradition within Transactional Analysis and Existential Psychotherapy.
In practice, these fine theoretical distinctions tend to blur, as you control the course of the therapy, according to what is most pressing for you to address, and where your energy is for change.
Qualifications and Continued Learning
Rob has a post graduate diploma in Psychotherapy using Transactional Analysis, and another one in Adult Education, and a first degree in History and Politics.
For his continuing professional development, he currently working on his disseration case study of his Master's degree in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy.
Rob actively puts energy into writing articles for psychotherapy journals, and leading workshops at psychotherapy conferences. Rob also manages the TA Student website, a personal project to help those studying Transactional Analysis psychotherapy.