Counselling can help:
As a counsellor I have supported individuals and families through a range of situations including:
Trauma
Bereavement and loss
Attachment issues
Sexual abuse
Domestic abuse
Anxiety
Autism (ASC)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Learning Disabilities
Bullying
Anger Management
Self harm
Depression
Suicide
Grief
Gender/Sexual Identity
HOW I WORK
Modalities
I am a qualified humanistic counsellor incorporating 4 modalities:
Person centred
Gestalt therapy
Transactional analysis
Neuroscience
A humanistic approach has been used in the field of therapeutic counselling for over fifty years.
Humanistic counselling
The foundations of the humanistic approach provide the client with a deeper understanding of who they are, what they feel and the opportunity to explore the possibility of creating personal choices. It encourages self-awareness and self-realisation.
Person centred
Person centred counselling was developed in the 1940’s by the American psychologist Dr Carl Rogers. He believed that the therapeutic change takes place when a person is given the opportunity to explore their issues with a therapist who is empathic, non-judgemental (unconditional positive regard) and is open and genuine (congruent). Central to the approach is the belief that each person is able to decide the direction in which they can change and develop.
Gestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy was developed by Fritz Perls 20th century psychiatrist.
Gestalt therapy is a client centred approach to psychotherapy that helps clients focus on the present and understand what is really happening in their lives right now, rather than what they perceive to be happening based on past experience. Through the Gestalt process, clients lean to become more aware of how their own negative thought patterns and behaviours are blocking true self-awareness and making them unhappy.
Transactional Analysis
Eric Berne created the theory of transactional analysis as a way to explain human behaviour.
Transactional Analysis is a theory of personality and systemic psychotherapy for personal growth and personal change. It is a theory of personality which can give you in-depth information of why people behave the way they do.
Parent/Carer -
Child Therapy
The Institute For Arts In Therapy and Education
Attachment styles and patterns of behaviour are formed prenatally and in early informative years. Events in a family can cause attachment ruptures leaving parent/carer – child unable to reconnect. This can lead to families getting stuck in patterns of conflict, aggression and not useful interactions which can lead to emotional distancing and communication breakdown.
Unlike other parenting courses which offer suggestions to challenging behaviour, I work with parent/carer and children using attachment- based interventions to support them in finding their own ways to learn to reconnect and take away the need to blame one another, which often leads to parent/carer – child relationships getting stuck in patterns of aggression, conflict or emotional distancing.
With my support parent/carer - child can be helped to talk about the things that matter, sharing those unspoken resentments, appreciations hopes, fears and hurts.
The Neurobiology of Attachment - Bessel van Der Kolk, MD
Attachment is a biological emotion regulation-based system, guiding cognitive and emotional processes with respect to intimate and significant relationships. Adverse attachment experiences like maltreatment, loss, and separation have long been known to have enduring consequences on human mental health.
Neuroscience
SPECIALISE
Expertise
I specialise in working with children and families including those with learning problems, behavioural issues or disabilities. I have a huge amount of experience in developing the emotional needs of vulnerable children and supporting parents and families. I have been a foster parent providing children with a safe space to process their story and build positive coping strategies.
Autism
Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. Autistic people see, hear and feel the world differently. Autism is not an illness or a disease and cannot be cured. Often people feel that being autistic is a fundamental aspect of their identity.
Autism is a spectrum condition; autistic people can share certain difficulties, but being autistic will affect them in different ways.
Some autistic people have learning difficulties, mental health issues or other conditions, meaning different people need different levels of support. All people with autism spectrum learn and can develop.
There are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK- that’s more than 1 in 100. Source: www.autism.org.uk
It is common for comorbid conditions to exist alongside Autism. These can include any of the following:
Epilepsy/Seizures
Sleep disorders/disturbance
ADHD
Gastrointestinal disorders
Feeding/eating challenges
Obesity
Anxiety
Anorexia
Depression
Learning Disabilities
A learning disability is a neurological disorder, in simple terms, a learning disability results from a difference in how a person’s brain is wired. Children with learning disabilities can be as smart if not smarter than their peers. But they may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling or organising information if left to figure it out for themselves or if taught in a conventional way.
A learning difficulty cannot be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue, however with the right support and intervention, there is nothing to say that each person cannot reach their full potential.
Communication is key, it is important to encourage each individual’s strengths, working with professionals, learning strategies for dealing with specific difficulties.
Over the many years of working in the field of disability, many children and adults have taught me that their assets are their abilities rather than their diagnosis or disability. Getting to know and learning each individual’s personal language is key. I offer counselling support to parents & carers as well as individuals by looking together at issues and finding solutions based on effective communication and positive behaviour support.
FIND OUT MORE
Who else can help?
INFORMATION ABOUT PROFESSIONAL BODIES, counselling AND support GROUPS.
The National Autistic Society
Provide information, support and pioneering services, and campaign for a better world for autistic people.
BACP
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy is the professional association for members of the counselling professions in the UK.