Mr Jan Sheppard

I am an existential-phenomenological individual, couple and family psychotherapist with 25 years of experience in the public and private sector. This has included working in four NHS departments as well as teaching and supervising within many of the country’s most reputable training organisations. I have published papers in the field of existential analysis and psychiatry and now work full time in private practice.

The heart of my practice is careful and attentive listening. I speak in ordinary non-technical language and ask many simple questions. The setting is intimate and cooperative and conversations are confidential.

The primary aim of my work is to increase understanding and deepen insight into patterns of behaviour and experience which people identify as problematic and wish to clarify and resolve, whether you attend as an individual, couple or family. This includes a wide range of interpersonal and emotional difficulties (e.g problems related to communication, sex, intimacy, sleep, food etc) as well as the full range of problems psychiatrists claim to deal with (e.g diagnoses of schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, OCD, ADHD, PTSD etc). My main professional interest is in helping small groups whether couples or families in various configurations disentangle and demystify their relationships with one another.

Some people attend with a specific problem, (eg addiction, anxiety, depression etc.) whereas other people attend for a deeper analysis which isn’t focussed on eliminating a specific symptom, although the symptom will often disappear as a consequence of this exploration.

I also see many people referred from medical settings wishing to investigate the possibility of a psychosomatic component to either the onset or cure of genuine disease.

My two latest publications are:

• De-Meaning Psychotherapy: The New Psychiatric Critic. Published in Mad in the USA in March this year.
• Mystification and Confusion in Recent Critique of Psychiatry. Published in Existential Analysis January 2022.
• I am currently writing a book called ‘Questioning Psychiatry. A Book for Parents and Children About Thomas Szasz’.