Dr Aimee Maxwell, Clinical Psychologist

24/02/2026

Controversial opinion: therapy edition.

Dependency and the therapists projections around dependency are vital to the therapeutic frame. We have been taught to fear it, reject it and eliminate it in a western medical model. When we tune into our own projections around what we fear dependency asks of us, it is a rich space where we have the ability to rescript this narrative from negative past attachment expressions to a more positive experience: you can be needed by your clients AND this is not always a detrimental thing. How can we help clients achieve an earned secure attachment if we resist the “co” part of co-regulation?

Please get in touch if you would like to supervision to discuss your own experiences with dependence and how we can work through this without the panic.

17/02/2026

Those that know me, know that I am a lyrics person.
Music and lyrics have always been a coping skill for me, a way to connect, validate, understand and process my experiences in life.

I’ve put together a list of some of my favourite Taylor Swift lyrics that feel like therapy. I may be known to use some in session if the timing is right 💅🏻

Comment yours below 👇

09/02/2026

05/02/2026

Sugar-powered in the Blue Tea Room 💅🏻

04/02/2026

We need to talk about the Epstein Files. Folks, it’s a lot. I’m someone with years of therapy under her belt and still have found it overwhelming- because this content is absolutely the worst humanity has to offer. It can be particularly difficult for trauma survivors. Please protect your mental health first. Staying aware is not the same as knowing absolutely everything. You don’t have to show you care by consuming everything. One of the ways i navigate this is to donate to Legal Aid for survivors, or specific Go Fund Me’s to help those who need at the moment. This obviously comes from a level of privilege, but if you can afford to give something and want to show you care, this can be a good way to do it without overconsumption of highly triggering content.

It’s a dark time, all. It’s heavy. When I’m struggling, I like to come back to this quote from Lord Of The Rings (yes I’m a nerd- are you surprised?)

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - J.R.R. Tolkien.

We can’t control much, but we can control what we do with the information we see and the cards that we’re dealt.

Go gently, folks ✨

13/01/2026

My thoughts and reflections on the times we are living in. It’s okay that the world feels scary- it is. We as humans need to remember the power we have to enact change.

07/01/2026

Clocking in for the first day with 💅🏻💃

22/12/2025

✨ The holiday season isn’t one-size-fits-all ✨

For some, the holidays are filled with joy and connection.
For others, they bring grief, exhaustion, loneliness, or overwhelm.
And for many, it’s a mix of all of the above. This time of year is often a time of reflection, where there is lots of temptation to compare yourself to others’ highlight reels. Remember, we’re all running our own race in this crazy little thing called life.

There is no right way to experience this time of year.
Whatever you’re feeling- excitement, heaviness, numbness, gratitude, stress, it’s all valid.

Whatever you’re hoping for this year- whether it’s time for yourself, time to connect with others, or whether you’re hoping to be skip this next week, please take care of yourselves.

Be gentle with yourself.
Go at your own pace.
You don’t owe anyone a version of the holidays that doesn’t fit you. 🤍

EmotionalWellbeing

09/12/2025

Therapy memes 🤝 50 cent

(Low-key obsessed with the Diddy documentary. 10/10 recommend).

06/12/2025

THE 6 CORE CONCEPTS WITHIN PSYCHODYNAMIC THERAPY

If you’ve ever wondered what sits at the heart of psychodynamic therapies, these six concepts form the backbone of how we understand people, symptoms, and change:

1. The Unconscious Mental Life
So much of what shapes our feelings, reactions, and patterns operates outside our awareness. Psychodynamic therapy helps make the unseen seen.

2. Unconscious Psychological Conflicts
We all carry inner tensions between opposing needs, fears, and desires. These conflicts can show up as anxiety, avoidance, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and therapy gently brings them into clarity.

3. Transference at the Core
Old relational patterns don’t stay in the past, they show up in the therapy room and are a central agent for a corrective attachment experience. Not as a problem, but as the greatest source of insight and healing.

4. Defence Mechanisms
Defences aren’t “bad.” They’re creative, protective adaptations. Therapy helps honour their purpose while expanding what’s possible beyond them.

5. Symptoms Have Meaning
Emotional and physical symptoms aren’t random, they hold psychological and phenomenological significance. They’re signals, not failures.

6. Developmental, Genetic & Social Interplay
Mental health doesn’t come from one source. Our early attachments, biology, and environment intertwine to shape how we cope, relate, and thrive.

✨ Together, these concepts illuminate why psychodynamic approaches go beyond symptom reduction-they aim for deep, durable, relational change.

05/12/2025

That, and Bitter Sweet Symphony.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. But also, go to therapy 💅🏻

27/11/2025

🧠✨ Psychodynamic Therapy Isn’t Just One Thing - It’s a Family of Approaches

When people hear psychodynamic therapy, they might imagine the stereotype: a leather couch, a quiet therapist, and endless talk about childhood.

Here’s a quick tour of some key branches above ⬆️

The field of psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapy is vast and historically deep; over more than a century, many theorists have proposed modifications, integrations, and entirely new offshoots. Some models sit at the border of “psychodynamic” and other modalities (e.g. integrative, humanistic, interpersonal). Many therapies are hybrids or draw on psychodynamic roots- so what counts as a “variant” depends partly on how strictly you define psychodynamic therapy.

But psychodynamic work has evolved, a lot.
Today, it includes a diverse range of theories and clinical approaches, each with its own lens on how we become who we are and how change happens. Other notable variants include Self-Psychology, Object Relations/ Ego Psychology, Transference-Focused Psychotherapy. I, myself, completed my intensive 3-year Core Training in Affect State Therapy, an attachment-focussed variant of ISTDP under the tutelage of Dr Steve Arthey, who himself trained under classical psychoanalysis and ISTDP. I am also receiving supervision currently within a Relational framework. Each person will put their own “spin” on their brand of psychodynamic therapy, meaning no two therapists or supervisors will practice or teach exactly the same. Psychodynamic approaches are truly a living organism for this reason.

💬 *Which approach resonates most with your training or clinical identity? Or which one challenged you the most along the way?*👇 (I am definitely NOT an expert in the many variants, so please comment any additional ideas or corrections below!)

(Also this song still slaps and was always a favourite, long before opening my first psych textbook).