Psychotherapists and Counsellors Answer your Questions

Person-centric philosophies are up there; I think there is often an expectation for therapists to be experts, but in my experience the best outcomes usually occur in the therapy space when we're...

Person-centric philosophies are up there; I think there is often an expectation for therapists to be experts, but in my experience the best outcomes usually occur in the therapy space when we're equals and my role is in setting up the space, supporting intentionality and bringing curiousity.

Expressive Therapies - such as drawing therapy and Clay Field Therapy. I have both been a client and and practitioner of these therapies. Expressive therapies provide the opportunity to express...

Expressive Therapies - such as drawing therapy and Clay Field Therapy. I have both been a client and and practitioner of these therapies. Expressive therapies provide the opportunity to express ourselves without words and separate our problems/issues from ourselves - recognising them as a part of ourselves, but not all of ourselves. Sometimes we do not have the words, we can express and explore the issue, and possible resolutions. Internal Family Systems has the philosphy that we have many parts, all of the good, all of them serving a purpose. At our core we are whole, but due to our upbringing, life's challenges and traumatic experiences we develop ways to survive such as addiction, anxiety etc. When these survival parts no longer help us, we can explore how to 'help' these parts. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a scientific, evidence based therapy that can be helpful to explore our thoughts, emotions and behaviour. This approach is more cognitive and logic based, and I like to use it in conjunction with other therapies. Positive Psychology brings my approaches into balance where the focus is on adding positive things to our lives, instead of focusing only on the presenting issues.

I think it is always important to look at all angles and walks of life. It is easy to get lost in our own lives and forget that others experiences are often different from our own. If we make...

I think it is always important to look at all angles and walks of life. It is easy to get lost in our own lives and forget that others experiences are often different from our own. If we make assumptions about others lives without first understanding we will often be wrong.

I was very much influenced by a Jungian psychologist I studied under, so Analytical Psychology affected my early career. Then I was affected by Systems theory and Narrative Theory in a big way, so I...

I was very much influenced by a Jungian psychologist I studied under, so Analytical Psychology affected my early career. Then I was affected by Systems theory and Narrative Theory in a big way, so I took a much bigger wider perspective on what affects us, as well as my early study of the intra-psychic. Lastly, Buddhist studies of meditation and Mindfulness and the interconnectedness of us all has profoundly opened up my work and compassion. Add the gentle view of humour in all situations to top it off.