I take a holistic view of the person as a relational being. My integrative approach recognises all aspects of the person, including mind, body, spirit and emotions. I also recognise that we all live and operate within a particular social and cultural context. Below you will find some of the approaches that I incorporate within the therapy space to facilitate understanding and healing.

 

Person Centred Therapy (PCT):

Person Centred Psychotherapy is based on the princple that every person is unique and therefore each therapeutic approach needs to be specific to that person. It also proposes that everyone has the ability to 'self actualise' - to reach their full potential, given the proper conditions. Within the therapy space the three core conditions I hold are, 

Congruence (realness): Offering a genuine presence where I will be authentic, open and honest with all clients.

Empathetic understanding: To see a person's world from their perspective, to understand their pain.

Unconditional positive regard: The ability to be non judgemental, no matter the presenting issue. Everyone has their shadow side and the freedom to expose it can be liberating.

 

Existential Psychotherapy:

Existential psychotherapy is based on the four givens of life, namely, that we all die, that we are ultimately alone (owners of our destiny), that we search for meaning (to make sense of our place in the world) and freedom of choice (we cannot  control what life puts in our path but have the choice of how to respond). When pared down it can be argued that all human struggle stems (and can be worked with) from these four places. 

 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT):

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is generally short-term and focused on helping clients deal with a very specific problem. During the course of treatment, people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior. The underlying concept behind CBT is that our thoughts and feelings play a fundamental role in our behavior. The goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to teach patients that while they cannot control every aspect of the world around them, they can take control of how they interpret and deal with things in their environment.

 

​Mindfulness:

It has been said that mindfulness is the pathway to the emotions. It can be heplful when one's world is moving so fast and you are finding it hard to control to consciously slow down so as to allow your deeper self an opportunity to be heard. 

 

Attachment Theory:

Attachment theory is based on the princple that early relationships with adults (primary care givers) contribute to the formation of "inner resources" for dealing with stress and life long patterns of relating to other people.  

 

Transactional Analysis:

Transactional Analysis is based on the idea that one's behaviour and social relationships reflect an interchange between parental (critical and nurturing), adult (rational), and childlike (intuitive and dependent) aspects of personality established early in life.

 

Process Orientated Psychology:

Process oriented psychology, also known as Process Work is an awarness practice where all signals that are happening in the given moment are followed, unfolding the unconscious aspects or the edges of our awarness that are not readily noticed in the hope of working with the full spectrum of human experience.