About Dr Melanie Silove:
A Psychotherapist’s Journey
With over 30 years experience in mental health services, my journey as a psychotherapist has been driven by a deep commitment to healing and transformation. My passion for psychotherapy first took shape in my late twenties when I trained at the University of Oxford, earning a Masters degree in Social Work. This marked the beginning of a lifelong dedication to helping others through the art and practice of psychotherapy.
After returning to South Africa, I gained extensive clinical experience supporting individuals and groups challenged by addiction, bereavement, divorce, severe mental illness, depression and social isolation. As Senior Social Worker in a community psychiatric team, I worked closely with clients and families affected by schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder. Later, as Counselling Coordinator at a Women’s Support Centre, I worked with and supervised professionals and volunteers providing support to traumatised survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
I believe that no therapist can fully support their clients without undergoing their own journey of self-exploration and healing. This realisation led me to full-time private practice, personal analysis and the pursuit of a PhD in Psychotherapy. My doctoral research at Rhodes University focused on the ethical dilemmas faced by clinical psychologists in psychoanalytically informed therapeutic work. These formative experiences consolidated my identity as a dedicated mental health professional, deepening my understanding of how our past can positively but also negatively influence our present relationship with ourselves and others.
Dr Melanie Silove
Psychotherapist and Jungian Analyst
UK Society for Analytical Psychology
UK British Psychoanalytic Council Reg No 45426
My specialisation in depth psychotherapy led me to explore Jungian psychology and its innovative approach to individual growth and psychological development. Jungian therapy embraces verbal exploration but also encourages creative expression including drawing, painting, writing or playing music. I completed my training as a Jungian Analyst with the South African Association of Jungian Analysts (SAAJA) and received full accreditation with the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP).
I continue to work as a psychotherapist in Sussex, United Kingdom, and offer remote or online therapy sessions to clients from across the world and regardless of location.
I am registered as a psychodynamic psychotherapist with the Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP) and with the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC). My therapeutic work is informed by both Jungian and psychoanalytic thinking and uses words, dreams, creative expression and awareness of the body to explore the client’s concerns and challenges.
I am passionate about creating a safe ethical space where a client can receive emotional support and nonjudgmental understanding on their journey from woundedness to becoming a more spontaneous, whole and integrated individual. If you are reading this and seeking support on your path to healing, I am here to listen, to witness and to accompany you.