Simon Wilson
Areas of Practice
& Specialism
Psychotherapy
My psychotherapy practice is grounded in an integrative framework developed through training in four years training in Gestalt therapy, and in-depth training in structured approaches including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). I have undertaken specialist training in trauma-focused interventions, including cognitive processing therapy for PTSD, alongside additional work informed by internal family systems and group analytic thinking.  Clinically, I have worked extensively within inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services, including senior roles within a 50-bed hospital setting, where I was responsible for the delivery and management of therapy programmes across acute wards, day patient services, and outpatient provision. This has involved working with individuals presenting with complex trauma, personality disorder, addiction, and co-occurring psychological difficulties, often within contexts of significant risk and relational instability. I was part of an out patient psychiatric DBT programme for two years supporting high risk patients with a full DBT programme.  My work is formulation-led and draws on multiple models to understand how patterns of thinking, emotional regulation, and behaviour develop and persist over time. In practice, this may involve combining exploratory, relational work with more structured interventions where appropriate, particularly in areas such as emotional regulation, trauma processing, and behavioural change. The aim is not to apply a single model, but to work with the complexity of each presentation in a way that is both clinically grounded and responsive to the individual.
Relationship Therapy
Relationship therapy in my practice focuses on the dynamics that emerge between people over time, particularly where patterns of conflict, disconnection, or difficulty in intimacy become established and difficult to shift. This includes work with persistent relational tensions, breakdowns in communication, and the impact of trauma and attachment patterns within intimate relationships. In practice, this often involves working with difficulties such as affairs and betrayal, ongoing conflict, differences around intimacy and sexuality, financial stress, parenting pressures, and periods of relational breakdown or transition. These experiences are understood not only in terms of the presenting issue, but in the context of wider relational patterns, histories, and expectations of relationship. My approach draws on a range of models, including object relations, emotionally focused therapy (EFT), transactional analysis, and CBT relationship therapy, allowing for both depth-oriented exploration and more structured approaches to relational change. This work is underpinned by extensive specialist training, including a three-year training in relationship therapy and ongoing advanced training in couple psychoanalytic psychotherapy, alongside COSRT registration as a psychosexual and relationship therapist. 
Clinical Sexology
Clinical sexology, often referred to as psychosexual psychotherapy, focuses on the assessment and treatment of sexual difficulties within a biopsychosocial framework. This includes presentations such as difficulties with desire, arousal, erection, ejaculation, orgasm, and pain, including vaginismus, dyspareunia, and other forms of pelvic pain or pain associated with penetration. It also includes work relating to sexual confidence, identity, and intimacy within relational contexts. Work in this area may be undertaken with individuals or with intimate partners, and spans a wide range of sexual identities, relationship structures, and stages of the lifespan. Sexual concerns are understood not only in terms of dysfunction, but in relation to broader questions of meaning, identity, relational experience, and the development of a satisfying and sustainable sexual life. Practice in this area involves working at the interface of medical and psychological understanding. Sexual difficulties are considered in relation to physiological processes, including hormonal, neurological, and medication-related factors, alongside psychological experiences such as anxiety, trauma, shame, and avoidance, and the relational dynamics in which these difficulties are expressed and maintained. My approach draws on established psychosexual models, including behavioural and sensate focus-based interventions, alongside psychodynamic and attachment-informed perspectives. This allows for work that can move between structured, task-based interventions and more exploratory approaches, depending on the nature of the difficulty and the context in which it occurs. Alongside addressing specific difficulties, the work may also focus on enhancing sexual wellbeing, pleasure, and overall quality of life. I have been involved in the teaching and development of psychosexual therapy for over a decade, contributing to professional training within this field. This reflects a specialist interest in the complexity of sexual functioning and the need for integrated, clinically informed approaches to assessment and treatment.
Group Therapy
Group psychotherapy forms a substantial part of my clinical practice and training. My work in this area is grounded in formal training in Gestalt psychotherapy, including specialist training in Gestalt group therapy, alongside a further two-year training in group analytic approaches. This represents over five years of focused training in group-based work. Clinical experience includes over 2000 hours of facilitating psychotherapy groups within inpatient and day patient psychiatric settings, working with individuals presenting with complex psychological, relational, and behavioural difficulties. This has included both process-oriented psychotherapy groups and structured treatment groups within multidisciplinary clinical programmes.  Further training in group analysis has informed my understanding of group dynamics, including unconscious processes, relational patterns, and the ways in which individual difficulties are expressed and worked with within a shared therapeutic environment. My approach integrates Gestalt and group analytic perspectives, allowing attention to both present-moment experience and the wider interpersonal field. In addition to process groups, I have delivered structured group interventions, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-informed groups and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) skills-based programmes. These groups focus on areas such as emotional regulation, relational awareness, and behavioural change, offering a more structured approach alongside exploratory group work.
Sexual Compulsivity
Work in this area focuses on patterns of sexual behaviour that feel difficult to control, are experienced as compulsive, or give rise to personal, relational, or psychological consequences. This may include repetitive or escalating sexual behaviours, use of pornography, infidelity, or patterns that sit outside an individual’s values or sense of agency. The work also extends to partners and relationships affected by these patterns, where issues of trust, impact, and relational stability often emerge. My clinical interest in this area spans over fifteen years and includes specialist training and research in compulsive sexual behaviour. This includes completion of a Level 5 Diploma in Sex Addiction and Compulsive Sexuality, alongside earlier academic work exploring this subject at Masters level. My development in this area has been informed by clinical work within psychiatric settings, including experience working alongside David Veale, whose work contributed to the classification of compulsive sexual behaviour disorder within the ICD-11, as well as further specialist training with Silva Neves and Paula Hall.  Clinical experience includes individual psychotherapy, group-based treatment programmes, and residential settings, including work with men’s groups and structured treatment environments. This provides a broad perspective on how these patterns develop, are maintained, and can be worked with across different levels of intensity and containment. My approach is formulation-led and aims to understand the function and meaning of behaviour, rather than reducing it to a single explanatory model. This includes consideration of underlying emotional regulation, attachment, trauma, shame, and relational context, alongside behavioural patterns and reinforcement cycles. The work may involve both exploratory and structured elements, supporting individuals to develop greater awareness, agency, and choice in relation to their behaviour, while also addressing the relational impact where relevant.
Clinical Supervision
Clinical supervision forms a core part of my professional practice, supporting trainee, qualified, and experienced therapists working with complex and often sensitive clinical material. Supervision is offered on an individual and group basis, providing a space to reflect on clinical work, develop formulation, and strengthen therapeutic decision-making within a structured and ethically grounded framework. My approach to supervision is integrative and informed by formal training, including a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Supervision and a BPS-approved training in supervision for applied psychologists aligned with British Psychological Society standards.  Supervision draws on psychodynamic, relational, and process-oriented perspectives, alongside structured approaches to case formulation and clinical reasoning. Particular attention is given to working with complexity, including risk, boundary issues, and emotionally demanding material, as well as supporting the ongoing professional development of the supervisee. I am qualified and experience to supervise complex work such as addiction, compulsive sexual behaviour, forensic, psychosexual and relationship clinical cases. In addition to clinical supervision, I contribute to the training of supervisors within the field, including delivering specialist teaching on Gestalt two-chair work within supervision contexts as part of COSRT professional training. This reflects a broader interest in how supervision supports both clinical practice and the development of the profession.