What I Do
I help you develop key skills and awarenesses in your thinking, feeling and sensing that powerfully support you to heal and grow.
With integrated counselling and somatic therapy I combine multiple modalities from both cognitive (talk) and somatic (body-centred) therapies that help you obtain a greater sense of safety, clarity and resilience. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we all experience thoughts, feelings and impulses on a physical level: a muscle relaxes or tightens; our breathing deepens or gets shallower; we might feel pleasant or unpleasant sensations such as tingling or numbness. These physical events inside us (the result of certain life experiences or interactions with other human beings) influence how we navigate our lives moment to moment. I help you understand and utilize both your psychology and your physiology.
For you to experience authentic, positive healing, we bring your mind and physical being both into the process. Together we develop the resources you need (many of which you’ll discover are already built into your physiology) to support you to move safely through your struggle and take your life in a desired direction.
Areas of Practice:
TRAUMA THERAPY
DEPRESSION
ANXIETY AND PANIC ATTACKS
PTSD
MANAGING STRESS AND OVERWHELM
EXHAUSTION, CHRONIC FATIGUE & BURNOUT
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
GRIEF AND LOSS COUNSELLING
SUBSTANCE USE AND ADDICTION
SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES
RELATIONSHIP AND COUPLES COUNSELLING
INSOMNIA
MAJOR LIFE CHANGES
FAMILY COUNSELLING
Counselling
I counsel from of combination of different perspectives that include Bowen Family Systems Theory, Internal Family Systems, Person-Centred, Gestalt, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Buddhist & Zen philosophy and Transpersonal orientations. Family Systems theory is based on who you became in the family you grew up in. Therefore, during counselling, I may ask you questions about your family history and look at how it might relate to your current situation. We will examine patterns in your life that you feel are not effective, look at the beliefs that drive them, and explore new options.
Somatic Therapy
One of the most unique aspects of somatic psychotherapy is its ability to process and heal both shock and developmental trauma using the body as the vehicle for change.
As we live our lives, in every moment, we have thoughts and feelings. These have a physical reality in our body which we experience, often unconsciously. I help you learn how to become aware of (and understand) your physical and emotional responses to what happens to you in your life.
YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM
Everything we think, feel and do has a direct connection to what is going on in our nervous system.
It’s accurate to say that our nervous system drives our whole way of being, experiencing and making choices. Somatic therapy literally rewires your nervous system and helps you heal on a cellular level. It facilitates positive change in how you see, think, feel and act.
After a traumatic event, the nervous system can get stuck in survival mode. Stress hormones, such as cortisol, are continually released, leading to an increase in blood sugar and blood pressure, which can weaken the immune system.
When the body is under this level of constant stress, physical symptoms can begin to emerge.
In addition, some of our bad experiences can produce deeply rooted beliefs that our conscious minds can’t even access. These might include negative or unhelpful thoughts, like “I’m a bad person” or “I’ll never be successful.”
These negative feelings don’t just hide in the body, they emerge quite often. People who’ve experienced trauma have their symptoms reactivated during new stressful experiences. This can cause them to feel traumatized again and again.
Somatic Coaching
In our performance oriented society, it's easy to lose sight of the value of real connection, intimacy, self-awareness, listening deeply to and nurturing ourselves and others - the very qualities that inform and inspire what we do, restore us and give our lives fulfilling meaning.
Somatic coaching is a holistic approach which supports deep connection with the body’s intelligence and capacity to heal and transform. We will turn our attention to and work with the energy and psychophysiology of the body to help build a greater capacity to act from centre, moving towards what is important to you in life. Working somatically supports accessing a wider range of emotions and being able to move differently in the world.
The techniques we practice together will help you create a transformative awareness which facilitates change in the way you experience, relate to and work with yourself, with others and with challenges. These techniques help inspire you to feel more engaged and passionate, see the good, get curious, create interactions unlike any other, become visionary, feel more alive, connect deeply to others, give more meaning to your life, think much bigger, become better leaders and make a difference. Action that arises from real self presence has a power and intention that can help you move through stuck areas and really aid you in manifesting your goals.
Times are changing as the world becomes more and more complex and yet smaller. Relationship intelligence is essential to personal and professional growth and success. Transformational change is what somatic coaching offers . It explores the narrative between 'being' and the 'doing' and it can catapult clients into both higher achievement and deeper connection and fulfilment as we foster the awareness that who we are is as important as what we do.