Counselling Overview

My Counselling Style

I am an integrative counsellor working with individuals, couples and family members.

I explore with you issues of self-esteem, identity, life transitions, trauma, anxiety, depression and relationships. I see my role is to help you navigate your free will, choices and responsibility for choices, with a view to operating out of the best of yourself.

I tailor therapy to individual needs drawing from a range of counselling modalities (incorporating person-centred talk therapy, CBT, systems orientation, strengths-based and mentoring). I also work from a trauma-informed framework with the focus on “What has happened to you” not “What is wrong with you”.

Sometimes there is a diagnosis and I focus on ‘living with’ rather than being defined through a diagnosis. I work in a holistic way, focussing on health and well-being and the influence of family and societal systems, also considering the bio-socio-psycho-spiritual dimensions.

I believe a cornerstone of therapy and achieving wellbeing is the concept of differentiation. Differentiation is the ability to be authentically ourselves in close relationships with others. It is balancing our need for autonomy and the need for intimate connection. Differentiation focuses on becoming more uniquely you, while being in relationships that pressure you to conform to other’s expectations, able to face yourself and others with integrity, operating out of the best of yourself.

Holistic Wellbeing

I have a keen interest in the field of epigenetics and its influence on mood and psycho-nutrition, and work with my clients on understanding factors such as the importance of sleep, nutrition, exercise, mindfulness and protective factors such as support systems.

Whilst I explore all the elements that make up who you are, where specialised advice is needed, I have a network of specialists I refer to assist with providing a holistic approach e.g. Integrative GPs, Psycho-nutritionists, Allied Health professionals.

I am conversational in style, warm, authentic, empathetic, open-minded and intuitive. Therapy can be short-term or long-term, and I will work with your needs. I appreciate that finding the right therapist who is a ‘good match’ is very important, so I’m happy for you to have an initial call with me to ask any questions you feel you need to assess if I’m the right person for you.

Related Resources

My take on the biopsychosocial spiritual model

Bio-Social-Psycho-Spiritual

I see people as holistic beings and I also believe we are not separate from our contexts such as our culture or career. Many things affect our emotional states and our wellbeing, and part of our therapy will be to examine the effects of:

Bio

Physical health and genetics including illness, nutrition, sleep, exercise, and habits;

Psycho

Psychological states including experience of conditions such as anxiety and depression, your thought life, patterns of behaviour, coping mechanisms, addictions, past or recent trauma and diagnosed or undiagnosed conditions.

Socio

Lifestyle factors; social life (including social media); family life and dynamics; work; interest groups; cultural contexts; stage of life; social-economic factors; protective factors and support systems.

Spiritual

Worldview or spiritual belief systems; how you make sense of the world and how this influences identity, thoughts and behaviour.