Psychotherapy and counselling
The foundation of my practice is the work of Carl Rogers, a pioneer in humanistic psychology. Rogers believed that we each have within us the resources to live a healthy and fulfilling life, but that these can sometimes get blocked or distorted by our personal circumstances and relationships, past and present. He said
‘It is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried.’
This philosophy is at the heart of what I do.
Your life is unique, and I can never know you better than you do. So my intention is less to offer advice or guidance, and more to listen, accompany and gently challenge you, genuinely and without judgement, in your exploration of your experiences. I hope that you may come to find it easier to listen to and accept yourself, and to be able to make more genuinely fulfilling choices for yourself.
Some of the areas I work with include
- trauma
- depression
- anxiety
- sadness
- loss and bereavement
- grief
- stress
- anger
- sexual abuse
- domestic abuse
- sexuality
- gender identity
- relationship issues
- separation and divorce
- family difficulties
- unresolved issues from childhood
- personal illness
- the impact of the illness of another
- living with a disability
- self-harm
- suicidal thoughts
- periods of change
- substance misuse
- challenges of being a young adult
Supervision
I agree with Tony Merry’s (2002) understanding of supervision as a process of ‘collaborative enquiry’ in which we ‘collaborate and cooperate in an effort to understand what is going on within the counselling relationship and within the counsellor. This moves away from “doing things right or wrong” … to “how the counsellor is being, and how is that way of being contributing to the development of a counselling relationship.”’
I hope we can pool our experience in exploring and understanding your way of being as the counsellor/therapist and how you can be most helpful to your clients. As with therapy, I believe that the most effective supervision is supportive, challenging and growthful. I endeavour to offer you openness and respect with the aim of building a relationship with you based on trust and understanding and which is developmental, supportive and deeply satisfying. How we choose to work will I hope be the product of an ongoing collaborative conversation between us.