I believe that each of us are unique and each of us have our own path through life.
Counselling is not a one size fits all process. I aim to develop a unique counselling relationship in collaboration with each client, depending on their needs.
I am an integrative counsellor. This means I draw from a few different psychotherapeutic theories.
Below is a brief summary of the three main aspects of how I work. Perhaps one or more resonates with you.
Aspects of the Work
Humanistic
It could be said that there is a tension within us between who we are and what we believe the world wants us to be. We all so often believe that who we should be is how other people see us and yet; how we feel isn’t that.
The humanistic approach believes, as I do, that only we can know our own self and the path we are to follow. This is why I am not an expert of you. Instead I wish to meet you with empathy and a non-judgemental acceptance.
Unarguably the most important element of counselling’s effectiveness is the relationship. By building this together it provides the conditions for you to discover a felt and experiential sense of who you are.
As we become more ‘embodied’, what we think about our self becomes more aligned with how we feel in our self. Not only does this reveal more self reliance and a higher self value but we begin to develop a more harmonious relationship with the world.
“Counselling seems to mean a getting back to a basic sensory and visceral experience.”
Carl Rogers
Existential
To face the aloneness and anxiety of our existence is a challenging task. For some this is a chosen task and others it is seemingly thrust upon them.
It is generally accepted that our past influences who we are. The existential approach adds the belief that our future and inevitable death calls on us to define who we are.
We are forced to ask ourselves the meaning of life and the purpose of our existence. These can be overwhelming and intimidating questions to contend with.
The existential work I offer is to support you in discovering your own meaning and crafting your own moral compass. These become the scaffolding which bears the weight of existence, giving the space needed to meet your potential and bring your own meaning to your life.
“Life comes from physical survival; but the good life comes from what we care about.”
Rollo May
Transpersonal
I believe that there is a transpersonal aspect to the human experience, meaning that there is a quality of experience that is beyond personal identity, beyond the sense of ‘I’.
Some access this aspect of life via religion, spirituality, meditation or other practices and belief systems. Others may have a sense that they are part of a bigger whole or have experienced feelings of interconnectedness.
As the transpersonal approach is holistic and considers experience to be more than just a sense of ‘I’ it is difficult to be explored by intellect and rationality alone. It believes that the world within and the world without are more inter-related than it appears.
By focusing on the phenomenon that we are aware, rather than what we are aware of can reveal where there is dis-harmony in our self and therefore our lives. It points to where the work is and can develop an intuition for living in accordance with a way of being.
“Intuition does not denote something contrary to reason but something outside of the province of reason.”
Carl Jung