Counselling and psychotherapy can be of great help to people who are willing to look at themselves, who consider the possibility that they are partly responsible for the problems in their lives and who are motivated to put into practice insights they receive about the need for change.
Counselling is not about giving advice, but about listening non-judgmentally and helping people to find a better way of dealing with their problems. Counselling is usually short-term with a specific goal. Psychotherapy explores issues in greater depth and requires a commitment to longer-term work. I work with both short-term counselling and longer term psychotherapy.
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at what we think and questions whether our thinking is rational. What is the evidence for our negative thoughts? How can we test them out, correct the distortions they contain and so move toward a more balanced way of thinking ? In time, awareness of the connections between moods, thoughts and behaviours, not only makes our thinking more flexible, but encourages us to test out alternative thinking in our daily lives.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), rather than looking at what we think, seeks to change our relationship with what troubles us, coming into the present moment - even if that moment is painful - and letting go of the impulse to leapfrog into the future. The goal is not so much getting rid of unwanted thoughts, feelings or sensations, but accepting them as part - but only part - of who we are. Once we step into the 'Now' of the Present Moment, we begin to realise that we are more than our thoughts and we do not have to wait for them to go away before we can live a happier life.
I offer Integrative approaches to Psychotherapy, which seek to understand both the roots of psychological problems in the past, as well as their purpose, in forming the person we are still becoming in the present. The overall goal is a greater tolerance of life’s experiences, personal and spiritual maturity and an increase of creativity and connection with life. I use a range of techniques, including dreamwork, artwork, bodywork, literature and guided meditation.
The typical session is like a conversation, in which you are free to speak about whatever you wish, in complete confidence. I may prompt you to reflect on what you have said. Sometimes the conversation will flow; sometimes it may move into silence. Occasionally I may suggest working in a non-verbal way, with pens and paper, for example, or by focusing attention on what you are feeling in your body.
It is difficult to be more specific than that, because so much depends on the issues you bring, the goals we set for our work together and the ways in which our personalities interact.
