“I’m a warm, compassionate and practical counsellor working in a gentle and supportive way using a combination of counselling approaches and tools to help you find relief, clarity and balance so you can move forward. It’s not a linear process more of an ebb and flow.”

ebb and flow…..

I use an integrated counselling approach combining person centred, emotionally focused talking therapy, cognitive behavioural techniques, problem solving, creative interventions, mind and body connections and psychological educational tools within a psychodynamic frame. This holistic approach allows me to create a personalised therapy that’s unique and right for you.

What is an integrated approach?

An integrated approach combines different therapeutic approaches and tools to fit the needs of the individual client. By combining elements drawn from different schools of thought, integrative therapy becomes a more flexible and inclusive approach than more traditional, singular forms of psychotherapy.

By working this way, I can offer clients the full presence, listening and acceptance they need coupled with practical tools and psychological education, while at the same time be more engaged and participative than other types of counselling allows.

Some of the creative interventions I use are; drawing, guided imagery, photo therapy, chair work, breathing and body awareness, worksheets, homework exercises, journalling, positive self-talk, mantras, questionnaires and other online resources,  I use these approaches and tools separately or together, whatever works best for your well being, sense of self, growth and progress.

Much of my work is rooted in Attachment Theory which is based on how as a baby, infant and child the client’s emotional needs were met or not, in turn determining their attachment style and how they behave in their adult relationships. Understanding how you communicate your needs, respond to conflict, intimacy, express yourself and view the emotional and physical connections within your relationships can help self-awareness and understanding of the struggles you face and ultimately what needs to be modified.

If you want to know a little more about the different counselling approaches I use and what to expect, please read on..

What is Person Centred Counselling (PCT)?

Person Centred Counselling, pioneered by Carl Rogers uses a non-directive approach that allows clients to take more of a lead in discussions so that, in the process, they will discover their own solutions. The therapist acts as a compassionate facilitator, listening without judgment and acknowledging the client’s experience without moving the conversation in another direction. The therapist is there to encourage and support the client and to guide the therapeutic process without interrupting or interfering with the client’s process of self-discovery.

Empathy, unconditional positive regard and a genuine desire to understand the client are the central characteristics of Person Centred Therapy (PCT) and form the core part of my counselling approach.

What is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)?

EFT is an approach based on the premise that emotions are key to to identity. According to EFT emotions are a guide for individual choice and decision making. This type of therapy assumes that lacking emotional awareness or avoiding unpleasant emotions can cause hard. Much of my work in this area is based on the book by Karla McLaren Emotions. I encourage clients to focus on the body sensations that come with the felt emotion and in doing so allow themselves to connect and identify with the emotions.

What is the Problem Solving Approach?

This counselling approach founded by Gerard Egan, helps people solve problems and develop opportunities for a better future by using a flexible, easy and practical three stage model. The model addresses three main questions. 1)what’s going on? 2) what do I want instead? 3) how might I get what I want? The emphasis is on empowering the person, with their own agenda at the centre of the process, moving them towards choices and actions for meaningful and realistic solutions.

I have found this approach works hand in hand with person centred therapy and works particularly well with people who are feeling stuck or have lost meaning and purpose in their lives.

What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at how we think about a situation and how this affects the way we act. In turn, our actions can affect how we think and feel. The way our body feels is linked to our emotions and our thoughts.

The therapist and client work together in noticing whether any thoughts or behaviours are unhelpful for the client, and thinking about whether these could be changed. CBT focuses on solutions, encouraging clients to challenge distorted cognitions and change unhelpful patterns of behavior.

What Is Psychodynamic Therapy?

In psychodynamic therapy, therapists help people look at emotions, thoughts, early-life experiences, and beliefs to gain insight into their lives and their present-day problems and to evaluate the patterns they have developed over time. Recognizing recurring patterns helps people see the ways in which they avoid distress or develop defense mechanisms as a method of coping so that they can take steps to change those patterns.

The therapeutic relationship is central to psychodynamic therapy as it can show how the the client interacts with his or her friends and loved ones. In addition, transference in therapy—the transferring of one’s feelings for a parent, for example, onto the therapist—can also help illuminate the ways that early-life relationships affect a person today. This intimate look at interpersonal relationships can help a person to see his or her part in relationship patterns and empower him or her to transform that dynamic.