Areas of Counselling
I have experience working with clients who have a wide range of individual situations, areas of difficulty and issues. I will never assume I know exactly what is going on for you, but together we can collaborate to gain a shared understanding of where you are and where you want to be. I am an evidence-based practitioner drawing on research when relevant, but I also realise the benefit of cultural resources and that sometimes a task or method may just work for you, for no obvious reason. I am not an expert in all these areas and it may be necessary to refer you on to a specialist if you and I feel it is needed. We can look at areas including (but not exclusively):
- Abuse
- Abortion
- Addiction
- ADHD
- Anger management
-Anxiety
-Aspberger's Syndrome and Autism
- Attachment Difficulties
- Avoidance
- Bereavement
-Bipolar Disorder
- Borderline and other personality disorders
- Bullying
- Cancer
- Chronic Fatigue/ ME
- Dementia
- Depression
- Disabilities
-Discrimination
-Domestic Abuse
- Emotional Abuse
- Family issues
- Gender related issues
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder
- Health Anxiety
- HIV/ AIDs
- Infertility
- LGBTQ+
- Loneliness
-Low self-confidence
- Low self-esteem
- Miscarriage
- Neurodiversity
- Panic Attacks
- Personality Disorders
- Phobias
- Physical Abuse
- PTSD
- Post-natal Depression
- Pregnancy and Birth
- Racism
- Redundancy
- Relationship problems
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Separation and Divorce
- Social Anxiety
-Spirituality
-Stress
- Suicidal thoughts
- Work related stress
Therapies Offered
As a Pluralistic Counsellor and Psychotherapist, I have trained in CPD in several different therapies, but not all. Pluralistic Practitioners will always be guided by the individual client as to what feels natural for them. I may suggest therapeutic tasks and methods from different therapies and modalities, but you can always say no, if this does not work for you.
Behavioural Therapies
Behavioural therapies look at unwanted or maladptive behaviours and seek to eradicate or alter them. The theory is that behaviours can be learned and therefore can be unlearned.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapies
CBT, similar to behavioural therapies, seek to examine and alter or eradicate unwanted behaviours and ways of thinking (cognitions). We can all fall into unhelpful thinking patterns and sometimes it is difficult for us to realise we are doing it, as our thoughts can often seem believable. CBT tends to deal with client issues in the here and now and is influenced by the belief that thoughts lead to feelings lead to behaviours. I find CBT useful with clients who have a secure attachment.
Psychoanalysis
Although not a Psychoanalytic expert, I do draw on some of the concepts from Psychoanalysts such as Freud, for example, the ID, ego and superego. I think everyone has multiple ego states and our emotions and thoughts can be influenced from different ego states. This is why clients come to me and are sometimes distressed that their behaviour does not match their values. we can use psychanalysis to make sense of why this happened. Although psychoanalysis talks about the "unconscious mind", we can work together to work out what is influencing your thoughts and behaviour, either from the past or present.
Psychodynamics
Similar to Psychoanalysis, I use Psychodynamic theory to understand your attachment patterns. Our attachment styles influence how we relate and interact with other people. Having our attachment needs met is a basic need for us humans, like eating and drinking. Our significant relationships and enjoyment of life can be influenced by our attachment patterns and styles. Again, this is often unconscious. It is likely we will discuss your attachment experiences (with parental figures and/ or romantic relationships) if you wish.
Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
I have used ACT with clients successfully. ACT teaches us principles of acceptance of our situation, through a mindfulness-based practice, that helps us to accept what is, reframed without negative associations to our thoughts and feelings. By bringing self-compassion to ourselves, we can alter how psychologically flexible we are, using concepts such as the "workability" of our thinking styles, and being open to unpleasant feelings we can all experience, but not overreacting to them.
Creative Therapies
I am open to your creativity, and you do not have to be an artistic genius to benefit from expressing yourself outwardly either through guided art projects. Or perhaps you may prefer Narrative therapy where we externalise the problem and perhaps alter the meaning we give it in our lives.
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
DBT is the therapy associated with personality disorders and similar to CBT, works to alter our ways of thinking, and alleviate the intense pain associated with personality disorders. I have also utilised elements of DBT with clients seeking to communicate more effectively with significant people in their lives.
Emotion Focussed Therapy (EFT)
For individuals, EFT can help us identify our emotions, including our felt bodily sense, to explore and understand and eventually mnanage them. I find EFT useful for clients who do not respond well to CBT, perhaps because of difficult attachment patterns.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I utilise IFS as I believe in multiple ego states within each individual client that interact and influence our moods and behaviours. I believe we have protective ego states that can be divided into two sub-groups. Our "managers" (carry on holding everything together, even when our internal world is falling apart); and our "firefighters" (who seek to minimise our pain at any cost, even if not in keeping with our values, potentially leading to addictive or maladaptive behaviours). These protectors are in place to support our "exiles", the parts of us that hold on to difficult emotions such as shame, vulnerability, and are often buried deep so that the "Self" is not always aware of them,