About Counselling
The Beginning....
While it can be helpful to talk to someone who knows you well, some things are difficult to share with family and friends. Meeting with an experienced counsellor gives you the opportunity explore your difficulty with someone who is not personally involved in your situation.
when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful than
the risk it took to blossom"
Anais Nin
Starting counselling for the first time could be seen as an act of courage. You will be taking the decision to apply a new approach to difficulties that might have been around for a long time. It's always challenging to look more closely at things that are painful. It's therefore important to choose a counsellor you feel comfortable to work with. With this in mind, I offer a one-off, initial session, where we can both get a sense of what it would be like for us to work together.
Finding Your Way Through...
Throughout the counselling process you can expect to be:
enabled to tell your story
listened to and understood
asked the right questions
accepted for who you are
challenged for who you could be
and, offered a different perspective.
I view the relationship between a client and therapist as key to any healing process. So I pay attention to what happens between us as a means of exploring past and present relationship patterns, and so enabling us to imagine where your growth lies. Your healing process may involve the grieving old wounds whilst being supported to engage and release stuck and painful emotions. In this, you may find that new energy becomes available for your next steps. Equally, the aim of the integrative approach is to foster new, empathic relationship to those aspects you would normally want to disown.
in the shadowy parts of the psyche
that we deny, dis-own and marginalize."
Paul Levy
Ending...
By the end of the counselling process you may find that you have:
developed a deeper level of self awareness
discovered fresh insights into your life and circumstances
greater access to internal resources and skills
developed greater capacity to deal with life's challenges,
and that a wider range of choice becomes available to you.
when I accept myself just as I am,
then I can change."
Carl Rogers
We may have agreed an end date from the start of the work. If not, the time to end will become clearer as we go on. Whichever way the ending comes around, I consider it an important period where we can review your journey - look back on what has been learned and achieved, and take stock as to what you will carry forward, or indeed, what you will leave behind.
The Power Of Taking Your Space
Simply having a space where you can be witnessed in the telling of your story - perhaps for the first time - can be profoundly healing and transformative.
than bearing an untold story inside you"
Maya Angelou
What happens in each session will vary depending on your need. We may simply explore your concerns, allowing hidden feelings and awareness to emerge. Or where appropriate, you may be invited to engage in a therapeutic process such as mindful body awareness; creative visualisation; or an energetic healing processes.
I offer both open-ended and short-term counselling. Your needs can be discussed in our first meeting.
Integrative Counselling and Therapy
Oxford Circus, W1
&
Queens Park, NW6
