Your counselling is about you – the work we do will depend on what you’re comfortable with, what you might like to try, and what you need at different stages of your support.
It can be really hard to know where to start, and scary to open up about the things that are going through your mind, but as a client, you can’t get it wrong. You don’t need to plan what you’re going to say (though you can if that helps) or worry about how it will make me, the therapist, feel. Just showing up is a brilliant start. You might have a clear idea of what you want to get out of our sessions, or you might want a bit of guidance to work that out – both are fine! We’ll start there, and see where we go. I hope you’ll feel you’re safe, supported, and valued along the way.
Some examples of the kind of work I do with clients:
- Listen to your stories and help you explore your understanding of them
- Ask questions, explore deeper, help make connections, challenge assumptions
- Tune into your feelings, help work out what’s going on for you and how it is affecting you, mentally and physically
- Think about how attachment, trauma, or things that have happened to you in the past might be impacting your sense of self, relationships, and wellbeing today
- Explore the patterns and dynamics in your relationships (whether with people or things) that are leading to a feeling of stuckness
- Consider the here and now of how we work together to strengthen our therapeutic relationship
- Creative activities – if it’s hard finding the words we can use creative interventions to help find a way in, or to help us see things differently
- Mindfulness and grounding techniques, help you manage panic and worry
- Help you understand what you are feeling, and how you can manage those feelings outside the therapeutic space
- Sharing psychotherapy frameworks, resources, and theory if you’re interested.
Counselling can feel difficult at times. There can be surprises along the way, as you come up against blocks and difficult feelings. I’ll support you through that, and help to make sense of why you feel like you do, and how to manage outside the therapy room. We all experience life differently, and I work hard to really understand how the world looks from your perspective – being seen and understood can be powerful and healing. Together we’ll work out what you need to start feeling more at ease. We’ll share ideas, maybe get creative, paying attention to the pace, as we start travelling together on your personal therapy journey.