Being qualified and experienced in many forms of counselling, I adopt a variety of approaches to therapy, depending on each client’s emotional needs and experiences.
“We are all different” and “One size does not fit all”.
Some of the methods used in the counselling room, include: –
Solution-focused therapy
Solution-focused therapy helps find solutions to a problem, rather than focusing on the problem itself.
Using the following techniques and questions can help identify potential solutions and clarify the means of achieving them:
- Looking for previous solutions – “Has there been a time when this issue was less of a problem?” If so, “what did you do on that occasion?”
- Looking for exceptions – “What is different about the times when it was less of a problem?”
Questions asked are usually focused on the present and on the future.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy helps separate the client from the issue,
enabling them to externalise their problem instead of internalising it.
Techniques used, include:
- Telling your own Story to find new meaning in old experiences
- Externalising helps clients see their problem on the outside looking in
- Breaking the problem into smaller, more specific issues that are easier to understand and address
- Consider situations from a new, more positive perspective – broaden your view
- Developing your own, unique meaning of life
Sandplay Therapy
Sandplay therapy is a holistic approach helping identify unspoken issues and their possible solutions. Quickly and easily gets to the heart of any issue. This creative form of therapy allows the imagination to craft images and scenes with the use of sand, figurines and water, to:
- Form a relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind to activate the healing process
- Create a world that corresponds to the client’s inner state. This allows the client to open up and understand the issues and concerns that are not immediately recognised in their conscious
- Resolve personal problems and reclaim individuality, including resolution of trauma that has been “pushed down” deep in the unconscious, within a safe and healing environment
Through the freedom of play and expression, unconscious thoughts are made visible in a three-dimensional form. Space is created for discovering who you really are.
Sandplay is for everyone – children love it and adults are amazed by the therapeutic experience.
Psychosomatic Therapy
Psychosomatic therapy brings a holistic view to any problem, teaching new ways of coping with stress and helping develop new patterns of behaviour, including:
- Examining the relationship between the mind (psyche) and the body (soma)
- Exploring the root cause of psychosomatic pain, which can show itself in many ways, e.g. headaches, abdominal, back, arm and other forms of body pain
- Determining if clients’ asthma, ulcers or bowel disorders are being caused by some psychological trauma
Everybody responds in a unique way to stress; emotions can affect the client’s sensitivity to trauma and their susceptibility to the environment, possibly impacting their recovery from the effects of illness.
Using behaviour therapy, relaxation with social and material reinforcement treatment can lessen symptoms, bringing about a healthier outlook on life.