Peter Bishop

Whereas sci fi fans associate my name with one of the main characters on Fringe, in this world I am a talk therapist. For over 25 years as a psychologist, I have addressed problems of living involving anxiety and depression with individual adult clients and couples. Over the past several years, I have specialized in the treatment of trauma using EMDR. More recently I am increasingly incorporating the use of IFS in my clinical work. I have an abiding curiosity about the ways that adaptations to old wounds continue to shape our daily lives.

I want to create a space for exploration of an internal, personal world, to find aspects that may not reveal themselves just anywhere. My objective is about how the client wants change; often it involves more freedom from repetitive patterns that may feel like a trap or a dead end. I believe that the best therapy out there is not made by therapists. It comes from a collaboration that aligns a person with their own power to heal.

The first thing I want is to hear the client describe their experience--recent and not--and get a sense of "the why" for their starting therapy with me at this time. What is convincing them that they need a change? I then complete an EMDR assessment that I have used for years; it looks for prior life experiences that may be continuing to take a toll on the person. Session one usually ends with a discussion of how we want to proceed.