Areas of Expertise
Counselling
You may be seeking counselling about a specific issue or it could be that you have several aspects of your life that you are looking to explore.
I have experience of working with:
· Anxiety and depression
· Low self-esteem
· Self harm
· Lacking a sense of self and invidividuality
· Difficulties in personal relationships
· Difficulties in professional relationships
· Sense of loss and unfulfillment
· Grief and bereavement
· Lacking purpose
· Feeling stuck and unable to move forward
· Coming out of alcohol/substance abuse
· Sexuality and issues related to identifying as LGBTQ+
Men and Mental Health - Let's talk about it
If you are a man who is experiencing difficulties due to mental health issues and would like to talk to another man about what you are going through, please get in touch. For more information look at the Men and Mental Health section on this website.
My Approach
Counselling comes in different shapes and forms, often referred to as modalities. I trained in the Gestalt approach and hope that this brief explanation will help you understand what you might experience when working with me.
Gestalt is a German term that best translates as 'whole'. Gestalt counselling looks at your whole experience and ways in which you may be unsatisfied or having difficulty and therefore not having a whole experience.
Gestalt counselling is a way of exploring your here and now experience in the context of the issue you are bringing to the counselling session. Whilst this may be something to do with a past experience; what I am curious about, as a Gestalt counsellor, is finding-out what it is like for you to explore that issue, with me, in the present moment.
Gestalt is relational, so as a gestalt counsellor, I would play an active role in the counselling sessions. This may be in the form of providing feedback about what I experience as an active listener; it may be to ask you to say more and focus on a particular aspect of what has been shared in order to go into more depth; it could even be to challenge you, so you can be certain about something that has been shared.
This way of working can be quite creative and dynamic and differs from other forms of humanistic therapy where the counsellor can have a more passive involvement/role.
I will also incorporate aspects of mindfulness practice into our counselling sessions. Mindfulness is the practice of bringing attention to the present moment, without judgement. It works well alongside Gestalt counselling and helps to bring awareness to the here and now experience.
What is crucial to Gestalt counselling and all forms of talking therapy is the importance of you - the client and your experience. Nothing is ever imposed on you during the counselling sessions and you will never be made to talk about or do anything you do not agree to.
Working in this way – with a focus in the here and now experience - offers an approach to counselling that can be rewarding and liberating. A short explanation, such as this, does not do it justice – therefore if you would like to know more and arrange an initial consultation to see if we could work together, please contact me
I will be delighted to hear from you.
