Dr Clive Sherlock
Clive Sherlock studied and trained in medicine at the University of London, Charing Cross Hospital Medical School – now part of Imperial College, London.
After three years working as a hospital doctor, he studied philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, and then returned to the National Health Service to specialise in psychiatry and clinical psychology, first at the University of London and then at Oxford.
Training in psychoanalysis (Freudian and then Jungian), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), neuroscience of the brain and drugs left him unconvinced because it is all theoretical, not insightful and does not lead to safe and effective understanding or therapy for psychiatric conditions.
He became a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych) and an associate member of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
It was clear that everyone coming for help or therapy wanted to change how they felt and how their moods and feelings affected them. These are all effects of the underlying emotion, which he had been made aware of before specialising in psychiatry.
Ever since, he has been teaching people how to cope with the emotion that underlies their suffering. This has been possible both face to face locally and online (Skype, FaceTime and Zoom) globally.
The way he works is unusual because it is based on an understanding of emotion that is radically different from both conventional and alternative ways found in Western society.
This understanding is based on insights derived from years of study and training in far eastern philosophy and psychology – specifically in Zen Buddhist practice, with its emphasis on practical measures for coping with emotion.
Sherlock was first introduced to far eastern philosophy and psychology while studying philosophy in Heidelberg, following which he started a life-long study and training in traditional Zen Buddhism under Zen Master Daiyu Myokyo Zenji (Ven. Myokyo-ni).