"It's dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply…"
What Will We Do?
Atunement means to bring into harmony.
‘I am attuned to myself, so I can be attuned to what you have to say’.
A qualified counselor has received training in self-awareness and attunement, hence brings the opportunity to channel empathy, deep listening, reflecting meaning, and prizing you as a unique person with your own set of experiences.
We can begin by a short-phone conversation or email dialogue to discuss whether working together would be feasible; it will give you the opportunity to see if my way of working and the therapy room environment is one that is for you. I recommend fixing an initial session so we can communicate and assess how we can work together.
All sessions are timed at 50 minutes. Cancellation charges apply within 48 hours of an appointment. I will endeavor to adjust sessions missed with information to the best of my capacity. I am prepared to offer brief therapy of up to 6 sessions, or long-term work that will give us a chance to explore deeper patterns.
I work using the Gestalt modality but with an Integrative perspective when needed. I draw on my learnings from Zen, Social Psychology, and Body Physiology to provide a holistic, person-centered experience.
Gestalt is about the ‘here and now’, watching your awareness shift, bringing your body in the room, embodying your feelings – there will be guided meditation, imagery, and dialogue work when needed. Above all, I will work in a way that honours who you are as a person, with the capacity to tailor each session to your unique needs, working together towards a feeling of lightness and an enhanced feeling of efficacy in the areas of your life that feel challenging.
Where can you go with it?
The end goal of therapy is that you don’t need it anymore. That instead, you reach a place where you have a “personal tool-box”, made up of your own qualities, replete with a deeper understanding of yourself and your triggers, with the freedom of choice.
Choice is the change I am advocating, it is what gives freedom from poor mental health patterns of co-dependency, negative relationships, automatic thinking patterns, and self- deprecating habits.
In the interim, the expectation is consistency of sessions and the desire to work together to solve problems, and a small amount of courage to take the first steps to go deeper into areas that may be difficult to access.
We would be working at moving from environmental support to self- support. It is encouraged to share openly that you are going to begin counseling, and the for those with demanding life situations, it may be beneficial to seek social, familial, and work support at times to make the commitment to the weekly therapy.
It is also advocated that you come into therapy with the idea of being kind to yourself, while acknowledging your courage in seeking support.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Therapy Room, be it in-person or virtual, is a safe and confidential zone for us to work together. It involves allocating an agreed upon time, usually weekly, lasting 50 minutes where the focus will be to engage with your feelings, provide a comfortable place where you feel heard and start to access deeper parts of yourself.
Confidentiality is key, and this will be treated with the utmost respect while adhering to the professional standards of the associations I am a member of. This is a space for you to be yourself entirely, leaving behind the worries and concerns of daily life for a short period and giving an opportunity to the process between us to bring some relief. Work will be ongoing, depending on how many sessions we have, hence sessions are unlikely to be the same.
Gestalt, is the primary modality of my training and the one I will work from, while using other Humanistic, Integrative and Person-centered methods; this simply refers to different branches of psychotherapy and counseling, and reflect in the working style and the environment you can then receive in the therapy room.
The objective is to be wholly and solely focused on ‘you’ as the individual, your feelings and emotions, in conjunction with your environment and the choices you make therein. Gestalt therapy treats every part of you as vital in the healing process, hence the focus on the body would be there, integrating your external resources with internal ones, and exploring stuck patterns and unfinished business.
Being a therapy of the ‘here and now’, active engagement with you while you are in the therapy space will allow us to tap into your feelings more directly. Your feelings remain at the heart of any methods and training I will use, hence be assured that your unique experience as a person will be honoured over and above all else.
A Counseling Contract is an agreed upon set of instructions and advice that will set the tone for our work together. All sessions will be for 50 minutes, at a fixed weekly time, and payment would be expected the same day. Cancellation charges do apply if sessions are missed at the last minute, but full contingency will be provided for emergencies or circumstances out of one’s control. Details of the same will be shared once we have had our initial meeting over the phone or via the first Zoom/Skype video call and decided to work together. The minimum number of sessions is six, and while the duration is upto you, I recommend giving working together a fair chance before deciding whether it is for you or not. Long-term work is committed to in much the same way, in that once you commit to a weekly time slot, I would appreciate a fortnight’s notice before any changes.
The British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and the British Psychological Society (BPS) are professional bodies that are responsible for the verification and accreditation process of trained professionals in the psychological and therapeutic space in the UK.
Having this certification reflects that the counselor has received the optimal academic and vocational training required to work with you, and that they adhere to the professional ethics and standards set by these reputed organisations.
