Counselling Methods
Person-Centred Therapy
First and foremost, all counselling sessions are conducted within the Person-Centred Therapy
framework.
The fundamental premise here is that you have all the resources to move your
situation forward;
the role of the therapist is to support you in that process. This means a
movement away from archaic forms of therapy, where
the therapist is the expert on your life,
handing out judgement and advice accordingly.
This framework is about genuine human-to-human connection - the therapist no longer
hiding
behind the role of the 'counsellor'. You will be met with honesty, you will be respected,
you will
be empowered, and you will be supported in realising an ever-deepening connection to yourself
through the difficult stages of your life.
The Body
The mind and its stories are certainly important in therapy, but for lasting change to
occur it has
to happen in the body. Conscious Counselling is about moving beyond the limitations of the mind,
to letting the body become the source of wisdom and guidance. This journey is supported and
deepened by a number of
therapeutic processes (listed below). Please Note: It is always YOUR
decision what processes (if any) are undertaken.
Focusing
"Based on research at the University of Chicago, focusing is a new technique of therapy that teaches
you to
identify and change the way your personal problems concretely exist in your body. Focusing
guides you to the deepest
level of awareness within your body. It is on this level, unfamiliar to most
people, that unresolved problems actually
exist, and only on this level can they change"¹. Focusing is
a very powerful tool for freeing yourself from
old patterns, learning to cope with overwhelming
emotions, safely processing trauma, freeing yourself from self-sabotage
and paralysing fears, and
getting in touch with your innate body-wisdom to aid better decision making.
Gestalt Therapy
Fundamentally, Gestalt Therapy is about actually experiencing inner-conflicts, instead of just talking
about them.
It is particularly useful when working with our inner-critic,
finding inner-peace in
regards to difficult/harmful people in our lives, working with interjected energies (beliefs we
took
on as children about ourselves that no longer reflect who we are), personality splits, working with
disowned parts of ourselves,
getting to know our shadow material, and moving through lack of
self-worth.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is known as third-wave CBT, and at its core is a framework for building a rich and meaningful
life. This is done in ACT by taking action, based on
personal values; defusing from the mind;
accepting what is out of our control; and the development of mindfulness. ACT has been clinical
shown to have long-lasting results for issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic pain,
psychosis, substance abuse, (the list goes on...)