I Provide Counselling & Psychotherapy Services ~ (And Also Reiki):
My intention is to offer a safe, supportive and non-judgemental space so that you can explore and work through any difficulties you may have.
I work in a person-centred way, which means putting your needs in the centre of any work we do together and I work as an Integrative Practitioner, integrating different approaches that are tailored to meet your specific needs.
One form or model of Counselling I use is Gestalt Therapy. Gestalt means, “Whole” or “Complete”. This involves working with all aspects that together make up the whole person – their mind, body, spirit and emotions.
Gestalt Therapy offers a holistic approach and can help people feel able to take responsibility and control within their lives. This facilitates greater freedom and confidence, so that people are able to make choices and positive changes, thereby enabling them to live in a more satisfying way as they work towards achieving their true potential.
If I feel it would be helpful, I may offer interventions or techniques which may be creative, to help you explore your feelings more deeply. This can help increase clarity and develop your self-awareness and so your understanding.
I incorporate Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in my work. This aims to help people to identify unwanted thought patterns, behaviours and ways of being. This can help increase awareness, gain clarity and develop new tools, all of which can help people in maintaining coping strategies and support healthier ways of living.
I also use Transpersonal Counselling, which is another holistic approach that may include helping you to understand your dreams or perhaps profound experiences that are different to the experiences of normal daily life.
I am experienced in working with adults and young people with a wide range of mental health issues. My aim is to help people have more clarity around their issue / problem / difficulty and help them to find ways to face it and ways to positively make changes and move forward. I see everyone as being unique and valuable and having differing responses to things.
Working With Young People
I have seen the benefits that Counselling has had on young peoples’ lives and the transformation achieved as they have been able to explore issues with someone who is independent.
It is extremely helpful for them to have someone listen to their perspective, where they have been able to express their feelings in a safe environment that is confidential and supportive.
This has helped them to gain awareness and clarity around their difficulty, find new tools and ways of coping, so that they can move on and find new ways to live positively.
The Difference Between Counselling & Psychotherapy
Counselling and Psychotherapy do both overlap. Counselling supports people with common-life problems, such as relationship difficulties, anxiety, or mental-health problems, such as depression. Psychotherapy supports people over a longer time period than Counselling, as it works on a deeper level, exploring the roots or foundations of issues.
Counselling:
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- Is usually a shorter term process. It helps people to identify and explore problems, helping them to then take positive steps to resolve their issues.
Psychotherapy:
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- Is usually a longer-term process of treatment that identifies emotional issues and the root causes of problems and difficulties. It helps people with psychological problems that have usually built up over a long period.
I therefore work with people both short and long term. Weeks, months or longer, depending on their individual needs and working at a pace that works for them.
Sessions last for one hour and, initially, are generally weekly.
Reiki:
In addition to my Counselling and Psychotherapy services, I also offer Reiki.
Qi, chi, or ki are different names for the “natural energy”, “life-force”, or “energy flow” of any living thing. Working with qi is the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. The translation of “qi” is “breath”, “air”, or “gas”. This is similar to “spiritus”, which is Latin for spirit or breathing, and also the Spanish word, “animo”.
Reiki means the free-flow of Life-Force Energy. It is a Japanese technique for stress reduction, relaxation and energy balance. The idea is that “life force energy” flows through us and sustains us. If our “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to feel dis-ease and stress and when high, we are more naturally capable of being happy and healthy and enjoying improved wellbeing.
My Holistic Approach:
My approach is holistic. Holism means, “Individual pieces cannot exist apart from the whole”.
The body can separate and store emotions, feelings, reactions, stress and beliefs which can result in energetic blocks. This can happen when difficulties arise due to life experiences and we may struggle to cope.
Physical problems can manifest due to this as the mind and body are interlinked. and we can become aware that our body does not feel comfortable.
The Psychotherapeutic process also supports the link between body, mind and spirit helping us to become aware of stuck patterns and uncomfortable feelings and supports exploration into where these have come from and whether they serve us anymore.
Reiki can seamlessly help to get to the depth of what the body is holding and support and enhance the unfolding inner process.
Linking to the wisdom of the body enables release of unwanted feelings, facilitating self-healing, helping us to rediscover natural balance and enabling us to access the potential for growth and the freedom to make choices and choose to change. It can take courage to explore and become aware of uncomfortable feelings. With support we can become truly comfortable within ourselves and so make choices and take steps to live our life in a way that better suits us.