Solving personal problems has always intrigued me, which is why, 26 years ago, I volunteered for a suicide help line. I knew I wanted to help people, but I also wanted to discover for myself if it was safe to voice difficult feelings and talk through past trauma.

I come from a background of ‘least said, soonest mended’. When I found it was safe – in fact, how much it helped – that inspired me in my own therapy, then to train and practise as a psychotherapist.

It’s not much of a secret; mental health workers are what Carl Jung called ‘wounded healers’. If we weren’t, we probably wouldn’t be drawn to this work. Rather than taking a bossy approach, I’m more about looking at your dilemmas from different angles, asking questions that may lead to a way forward. I hope to be able to offer new perspectives and suggest options to help you out of a hole. I really look forward to reading your dilemmas, then applying my experience and knowledge of psychology, psychotherapy, life and occasionally humour to them. I’m here to help – bring it on.

In a dilemma? Stuck in a rut? Or simply need a wise sounding board? Philippa would love to tackle your issue, however thorny (sadly, she can’t answer every question personally). Email her in confidence at [email protected] or write to: Philippa Perry, Red, 72 Broadwick Street, London W1F9EP.
Follow Philippa on twitter at @Philippa_Perry (not for dilemmas).