My counselling approach

 

In my practice I seek to establish a relationship with my clients, which is private, respectful & 

non-judgemental, so that each person is able to feel that their experience is understood and

valued. I use an integrated approach in my counselling to enable exploration of conscious and

unconscious behaviours, emotional experiences, and beliefs. I value working with the whole

person - feelings, mind, body and spirit.

I draw on a range of counselling approaches to facilitate processes of change and personal growth. These include evidence based psycho-therapies including Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), as well as client centred and spiritual counselling approaches. My approach to counselling enables a client to deeply explore the repetitive painful interactions, thoughts and feelings that underlie psychological problems.

 

Psychological problems I specialize in:

 

Persistent unwanted thoughts 

Difficulties managing one's emotions 

Depression                     

Anxiety             

Anger management          

Low self-esteem                                    

Men's issues                   

Sexuality issues                          

Grief and loss

Addictions

Effects of trauma

Weight loss

 What to expect from an individual counselling session:

I will begin by giving you the opportunity to explore your story in great depth, and will support you by reflecting back your feelings and their meaning. This process commonly helps to understand what can and what can't be changed about a situation. 

While I help people to explore childhood issues and past traumas in order to understand current behaviour and thinking, I believe that we can only change in the here and now. Therefore the focus of the sessions is to identify unhelpful behaviour, emotions and thinking. Once the problem is fully understood we might jointly decide on a value driven goal. As part of an action plan strategies to change the problematic situation may be explored. Alternatively, you may decide to change the way you think and feel about the problem. The therapeutic process may include some homework between sessions, such as journal writing, observing and / or changing behaviour, or challenging your own thoughts. Counselling can be quite challenging at times, but you will be in control of the process at any stage of the counselling session. Most clients require a number of sessions to reach their goals or deal with their presenting problem.

Counselling versus Psychotherapy

Counselling usually involves a few sessions to find a ways to deal with a specific problem. Psychotherapy requires a deeper exploration of the reasons lying behind the presenting issues, often but not always stemming from one's childhood. It aims at a change of long held unhelpful patterns and can bring up uncomfortable emotionns which require a lot of courage to face. Psychotherapy usually involves working together for a longer period of time and a deeper committment to psychotherapy.