About Counselling
What is counselling & psychotherapy?
When it's too hard to talk to people close to you, or maybe you feel you don't have anyone to talk to at all, life's problems can feel overwhelming, difficult to navigate. Maybe you've soldiered on for too long, ignoring those problems, and now you're really suffering.
Sometimes it helps to talk to someone who isn't connected to your life in any other way, someone with a fresh perspective who can provide a safe, confidential space where you are free to express yourself, accepted for who you are, without judgement, so that you can process your difficult thoughts and feelings about your life situations.
Counselling and psychotherapy allows you time and space to work out what's going on for you, reflect on your past and present experiences which have affected you, and come to understand yourself, your emotional responses and patterns of behaviour, so that you can make small changes for the future.
How can I help you?
I offer a therapeutic relationship, based on trust and realness, through which you can grow and develop new ways of being you. You have control of directing the content and pace of your processing throughout our sessions. I'm curious about you, who you are as an individual, what's happened to you to make you the way you are and do the things you do. I'm interested in your identity, your sense of self, perhaps different selves; your connection to yourself and others.
Counselling and psychotherapy works with the needs of each client on deepening levels, depending on whether or not you've had therapy before, whether or not you have a psychiatric diagnosis, how much your emotional distress is affecting you, and how much time you are able to commit to therapy.
I can help you learn to manage complex emotions that arise in all sorts of areas, including: anxiety, depression, mental health disorders, trauma, stress, bereavement, redundancy, abuse, ill health, divorce, bullying, identity, relationship issues and isolation.
My Approach
My core approach is person-centred counselling, which regards the client as the expert of their own lives. I aim to help you to make sense of your experiences and to empower your authentic self. I'm not here to diagnose you, nor will I shy away from any diagnosis you may have. I work with each client based on their presenting needs and an agreement is made between us to commit to your emotional health.
I may also integrate concepts and methods from other approaches which could benefit your process (with your consent):
Existential - 4 fundamental anxieties
Emotion-Focused - Empty-chair, Two-chair & Focusing
Psychodynamic - Attachment, Defence Mechanisms
Transactional Analysis - PAC model, Drama Triangle