Fear in the Therapy Room Michael Guilding
Event details
What happens in the therapy room between client and therapist? Why do some people find it really helpful and others are disappointed? How does it work and what can prevent it from being effective? Is the rationale behind therapy a lot of aspirational hot air, or is it grounded in a scientific understanding of the human body and mind? Is it just an approach for alleviating distress, or can it be a step towards living a fuller life? What has fear got to do with it?
Michael Guilding, a retired psychotherapist with 30 years of clinical practice lifts the lid on the process of counselling and psychotherapy. Based on his book Fear in the Therapy Room (June 2026), he uses the perspective of our biological fear-system, to examine what goes on in the room between therapist and client, what it feels like for both, and how this rather strange activity can sometimes be derailed and help no-one, but has the potential to heal trauma and enable transformative personal growth.
Presented by the Complex Trauma Institute.
Image credit: Oliver Pitt 2025
About the speaker
Michael Guilding worked as a counsellor and psychotherapist for 30 years including for more than a decade in the NHS, where he was Head of Primary Care Counselling within the York and Selby NHS trust. He has a deep interest in our biological fear-system responses and how these affect the way we relate to others, and for several years he has run workshops which help therapists to become more aware of their fear-system responses and to use this awareness in their work. Having retired from clinical practice in 2023, he has written a book for therapists and other professional caregivers, Fear in the Therapy Room, due to be published this June by Hammersmith Books. His focus is now on writing about the fear-system for the general public. His 2024 York Festival of Ideas talk ‘Reflections on Fear, Anxiety and Depression’ was broadcast nationally in Australia by ABC Radio.
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