How I work
Counselling or Psychotherapy
You may be wondering what the difference is between counselling and psychotherapy. Often the terms are used interchangeably. An easy way to think about it is that counselling is often thought of taking place over a shorter length of time and usually focuses on one problem affecting you. Psychotherapy is considered to be a longer engagement and can look at a variety of issues. They may be they new or connected to past events in your life.
I work with individuals and how they are in the world. What I find most important is building a trusting therapeutic relationship and then exploring together at a pace that is comfortable for you. Be it counselling or psychotherapy, I practice in a manner that integrates a number of theoretical schools of thought which form the basis of my approach:
- Phenomenology
- Psychodynamic
- Psychoanalytical
- Post-Modern
- Existential
- Person-Centred
Though I have a strong grasp of these approaches I am very aware of the importance of working with people individually. I respect how you think about the world and yourself in it. I have assisted people who have had varying amounts of experience and exposure to this process, and who have come to counselling for a variety of reasons.
Some of the issues I work with:
- Individuals
- Couples
- Relationships issues
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Depression
- Work related issues
- Suicidal feelings
- Drug use
- Bereavement
- Heath issues
- Chronic illness
- HIV/AIDS
- Sexual and/or cultural identity
- Low self esteem
- Isolation
- Issues with panic
- Feelings of being lost or stuck
- I have also worked with the America expatriate community for the past 10 years.
Our meetings
I work both short-term and long-term, usually meeting once a week for 50 minute sessions. Our work begins with an initial consultation to establish if we will both be comfortable working together. We will also discuss the best timeframe for our work.