Paul Melia

I currently have availability for in-person appointments at my practice in the Royal Exchange Building, by St Ann's Square, Manchester M2. 

I work with adults individually, and appointments are in person only. 

My office hours are Monday 9.30am to 5pm, Tuesday to Thursday 9.30am to 7pm, and Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm. 

To arrange a first appointment, send a message through this page or call, and I will reply within 24 hours on weekdays.

Face-to-face Psychotherapy and Counselling in Manchester City Centre (M2)

I established Therapy in Manchester in 2011. I offer confidential, in-person psychotherapy and counselling for adults from my office by St Ann's Square, Manchester M2. I practise psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the tradition of Freud and Lacan.

What drew me to this profession — and keeps me here — is the chance to offer adults a place where they can speak frankly and hear what they actually think and feel, working things through at their own pace without their experience being quickly tidied away with advice, techniques, or a pre-set model of how they are supposed to feel or change.

Training and experience

I am a qualified and experienced therapist. I trained first in Transactional Analysis counselling and psychotherapy, and then in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. My formation has continued through an extended personal analysis, ongoing clinical supervision, and participation in Lacanian study groups.

Therapy in Manchester built on my earlier roles as a counsellor for a private healthcare provider and as a therapist for a North West charity. My clinical experience includes many years of working with people living with anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive difficulties, psychosis, and the effects of trauma, among other presenting issues.

I have served as Events Programmer and then Chair of the North West Regional Psychotherapy Association and on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed Transactional Analysis Journal. I also provide supervision for counsellors and psychotherapists, and deliver talks, reading groups, seminars, and workshops.

Before training as a therapist, I had a 20-year career as an art historian — a discipline organised, like therapy, around interpretation and attention. I held senior academic roles at a UK university, wrote articles and books, and curated exhibitions, including retrospectives of Peter Greenaway's paintings and of David Hockney's drawings.

What brings people to therapy

Some people come with work, family, or relationship difficulties; others with anxiety and low mood, grief and loss, trauma and its after-effects, repetitive thoughts, feelings, or behaviours that disrupt daily life, or challenges following a mental health diagnosis. 

You do not need to have identified a specific concern before making an appointment; it is enough to feel that talking in confidence might be helpful. 

Many begin at a time of difficulty or crisis, and some continue as the process of self-discovery and change becomes important in its own right.

How I listen

What a person says about their life matters, and so does how they find themselves saying it. I pay attention not only to what is said but to the act of speaking itself: the hesitations, asides, quick denials, and slips that break through the more prepared, conscious account. 

Faced with a symptom, there is a choice: to try only to quieten it with structured techniques and tasks, or to give that suffering a voice and hear what it is saying. The work I offer belongs to the second. 

Whether short- or long-term, this work can loosen a fixed picture of oneself and make room for other ways of living and relating.

Your first appointment

It begins with a brief look at the practice handbook — a short document covering confidentiality, contact between sessions, and other practical matters. The remainder of the session is given over to what brings you to therapy.

As we talk, a clearer picture may emerge, and you might uncover other concerns you hadn't previously considered. Towards the end of the session, you will have a better understanding of what therapy involves and how it can support you, and we can consider the direction and frequency of future appointments. There is nothing you need to read, complete, or bring beforehand.

Arranging an appointment

All appointments are in person. The fee is £65 per 45-minute session, and the Royal Exchange Building has step-free access and a lift. If you have questions before booking, I am happy to answer them. To arrange a first appointment, send a message through this page or call, and I will reply within 24 hours on weekdays.