COUNSELLING

Counselling can help you see things more clearly, perhaps from a different perspective. It can enable you to make choices and reduce confusion. It does not involve giving advice or directing you to a particular course of action. I strongly believe that everyone has their own answers and that given a safe space to explore your issues you will be able to draw upon your own resources to find your solutions. I aim to offer a caring and non-judgemental space where you will be accepted as you are, and allowed to work at your own pace in discovering more about yourself, and your difficulties.

Person-Centred Counselling is the approach that I work within. The therapeutic relationship that forms the basis of this approach allows you to explore the issues or situations that cause you difficulty. Together we can focus on what prevents you from getting the most out of your life and relationships. This involves looking at all aspects of your experience – your THINKING (or cognition), the MEANING and SENSE that you have of your world (which includes your spiritual aspects), your FEELINGS and EMOTIONS, your BEHAVIOURS and also your NEEDS. Working in this way helps you to integrate these different aspects of your experience to allow your natural healing tendency to emerge.

I believe that the body and mind are linked and that we often fail to use this vital connection in understanding our responses to events in our lives. So in our work together I pay attention to what the body is telling us as well as attending to what you say and think. This can be particularly useful at times when we may get overwhelmed by our emotional response to situations or events, which can leave us feeling unsafe and distressed, or out of control. Feeling safe enough to explore what is going on for you is an important part of therapy, and this is an essential focus of my work with clients. I have a particular interest in Trauma, and how this can be manifested in the body, and so sometimes I combine my counselling approach with a focus on what's happening in your body, if this is appropriate, but only if this is something that seems relevant to you.