Discover your inner balance & empower your mind

What is counselling?

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Counselling is a type of talking therapy set in a safe, calm, confidential, non-judgemental environment.  Providing you with have the opportunity to talk to a professionally, trained counsellor to share any triggers, views, worries, challenges or concerns you may be experiencing.  Where you would feel heard, feel valued and understood.  As you and your counsellor work together exploring your challenges, your counsellor would provide you with some tools and techniques that would encourage you to explore and become aware of your life struggles, challenges and learn to connect with your emotions regarding these.  This would allow you to learn of self -reflection, your self-worth and become self-aware as you begin move forward upon your life journey positively.  Using healthier coping strategies would encourage you to set yourself future goals, provide hope and allow you to work towards your fulfilment.  

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What is Pluralistic counselling?

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Pluralistic counselling involves acknowledging one approach may not suit all as we learn and work differently to one another.  When working with a client  and exploring there challenges, I may use a Person Centred approach, Psychodynamic approach and even CBT Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.  Briefly, I would discuss these with client during our 15 minute Telephone Consultation.

Here are some things I would discuss with the unique client.

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• Their reasons for therapy.

• What they would like from the therapy. 

• Their goals and how they believe they could achieve these positively using self-awareness and self-reflection.

 

Using and exploring with various approaches, modalities and techniques throughout our sessions would allow to learn of healthier coping strategies encouraging you to be your true self, which would guide you to reaching your full potential along your journey to self-actualisation. 

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What is a Person Centred approach?

 

A person centred approach encourages you to explore your challenges, triggers and who you are as a person in a non-judgemental, compassionate environment.  Where you would have the opportunity to explore your values, beliefs, behaviours and views.  Involving your true self, your self-worth and the world around you.  This would be encouraged by the therapist using the three core conditions below:

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Unconditional Positive Regard: - This would include the therapist providing a non-judgemental and empathetic space for the client.  Where they feel listened to, valued, respected and have their feelings and emotions validated in a supportive way.  That would encourage the client to make healthier, positive choices and decisions confidently.

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Empathy: - This involves the therapist being able to accepts and have an understanding of their client, their needs, feelings, emotions and thoughts.  (This may be known as 'putting yourself in someone else's shoes.') Which allows the client to explore and gain an understanding of their challenges and experiences.

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Congruence: - This involves the therapist being honest, open, and their authentic self.  That encourages the client to build a therapeutic, trusting relationship with their counsellor.  Where they feel valued from the genuine, compassionate approach and begin to trust their own judgements as they notice their self-esteem and self-confidence growing.​

 

What is a Psychodynamic approach?

 

The psychodynamic approach helps to encourage the unconscious mind to become conscious.  This would encourage the client to become aware of their triggers, beliefs and thoughts regarding their past and present experiences and behaviours.  Working together with the client, I would encourage them to connect with their childhood and past experiences, both positive and negative.  This would be achieved by carrying out a timeline, which gives them an opportunity to release their experiences healthily.  Supporting and guiding the client would encourage them to recognise memories, triggers, issues, assumptions, difficulties and help find the root cause relating to their life challenges.  Gaining an understating of these would encourage the client to become self-aware and self-reflect upon their journey.  Working together and exploring the timeline with different techniques would allow the client to assess their emotions, feelings, beliefs, values, thoughts and behaviours.  Then if needed together we would learn how to adapt any beliefs that are no longer relevant to them, any behaviours, thoughts and feelings in healthier, positive way.

 

What is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approach?

 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an approach that encourages you to focus on how you think (your cognition), how you feel (your emotions) and how you act (your behaviour).  Along with how these are interconnected.  Hence our thoughts relate to our thinking and our actions of behaviour.  CBT helps you to look at your maladaptive core beliefs.  Encouraging you to identify Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs) and patterns, involving your negative feelings, emotions, beliefs, assumptions and behaviours. Which would help you to identify how and why they’re connected to your triggers and behaviours.  Enabling you to feel more in control as you use healthier coping strategies, begin to self-assess, self-reflect and continue your journey in healthier ways reaching your full potential and achieving your goals.

 

CBT is short, focuses on the here and now, the therapeutic relationship, client’s commitment, goals, and continuity of tasks/homework between sessions. 

 

This approach has scientific evidence which proves it’s beneficial with not curing but treating a variety of mental health issues and can be just as effective as medication.  Including depression, anxiety, anger, chronic pain.