About Counselling and Psychotherapy
Talking with a Counsellor or Psychotherapist can help us better understand our feelings and reactions to things in life.
We can then look at how we might make more of those things which are working for us and change the things that are not.
My view is that the reason we have difficulties in life is because we may not be bringing all of ourselves to our situation and have got into fixed patterns of responding. Counselling and therapy can help raise your awareness and increase your options.
What will happen in a therapy session
In the session you will be free to talk about your problems and your situation and you will be listened to carefully. I will seek to find as deep an understanding of you and what is troubling you as is possible. I will ask questions that are designed to therapeutically enhance your thinking, your emotions, your behavior and your way of relating to others. Occasionally you might be puzzled by my questioning. In this case, I would invite you to say so, but also to bear with me- there will be a reason I am pursuing a particular line of inquiry which may not always be immediately obvious. Frequently through sessions we will examine what is happening in the 'here and now' of the session- using your reactions and experiences to generate change and insight, and exploring our relationship and finding opportunities for you to find new ways of relating to others and new ways of being.
I may invite you to perform certain therapeutic 'exercises' or experiments which are chosen to match your problem and provide therapeutic movement and change. I may also introduce you to mindfulness awareness practices if I think it could help increase awareness. Sometimes I may suggest certain courses of action and may invite you to complete 'homework' tasks in between sessions to increase the effectiveness of your therapy. Generally speaking, therapists do not tell people what to do with their lives- but rather they assist clients to make their own decisions and have the courage and conviction to act upon their decisions.
We will regularly review our work together, assess progress and look at how we are relating to each other and experiencing our relationship.
