Counselling
Approach

What kind of counselling
do I use?
My
approach is very much led by listening closely to the person or family
and working with them towards what they want whether this is to decide
what to do in the face of a difficult situation, overcome a traumatic
experience, or any other issue.
The main theoretical frameworks behind my technique are psychodynamic
and attachment theories, along with social and systemic
theories within these I use techniques drawn from an even
wider range of approaches. This means understanding the person in
the context of their life, background and current and former relationships
and experiences. Everyone’s emotional reactions, relationships,
and so on, are naturally rooted in previous experiences and their
perspective built on this informs their feelings and actions. Other
people and situations have an enormous impact on us (and vice versa)
but with the neutral space and insight provided by counseling it is
possible to understand what is happening and make lasting changes
in your life.
As
well as looking at the whole situation and its causes, there are methods
to help with particular difficulties. For example, to help people
who have had a traumatic experience to cope with symptoms like flashbacks
or to uncover new solutions where everything seems hopeless..
Current
research suggests that it is the quality of the relationship
between client and counselor that makes the most difference
to counselling outcomes (except for factors within the client, such
as motivation). So I encourage people to be as open as possible about
how they feel things are going. Counselling is not a treatment that
can be applied the same way to everyone so it's very important to
me to be constantly responding and adapting to discover what is the
best and most effective way to understand your particular experience.
Art
and Play Methods
I also use art and play therapy
techniques which can particularly help children and teenagers engage
with therapy, but many adults also find this a good way to unwind
and see their issues in a new light. Methods might include painting
and drawing, using materials as starting points for talking about
and symbolising difficulties and solutions, using stories, puppets,
or acting out, and using a sand tray and toys to work through imaginative
play. This is an extremely powerful way to allow a child (or adult)
to talk about issues in their life creatively, without too much pressure
and intrusion.
Click
here fore more information and photos on Therapeutic
Play
Specialisms
•
recovery from traumatic experiences
• emotional, physical or sexual abuse
• children, teenagers and parenting issues
click here for more information about
children and young people
• relationships (including violent relationships)
• migration and cultural issues
• gender and sexuality issues
• self-harm
• anxiety
• work problems and bullying
• depression and general counseling

Anti-bullying
roleplay*
Counselling
is absolutely confidential so you are free to talk about things you
cannot tell anyone else. Please see
FAQs for details of my confidentiality policy.
*All pictures
of clients are shown with permission from both client and family.
Pictures of therapeutic play are staged.