Counselling and Psychotherapy
“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then rekindled by an encounter with another human being.”
Qualified, Experienced a registered with BACP and COSCA. BACP Accredited
Through counselling I offer you the opportunity to talk about and explore issues, experiences, life’s challenges, and hopes pertinent to you, in a safe and welcoming environment.
WELCOME TO
You are very welcome to my website. I hope you find at least something helpful here. I am aware that counselling and therapy can feel like quite a daunting undertaking. With this in mind I offer you information on my professional background and personal approach to therapy as well as information on therapy generally and on various personal issues that often come up. Feel free to contact me if you have any further queries or if you would like an introductory consultation where we can explore what your particular needs are and whether we might work together.
My BACKGROUND
My involvement with psychotherapy and counselling goes back over ten years including studying for a master’s degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy at The Metanoia Institute (Middlesex University). I adhere to the strict professional code of practice of the Irish Association of Humanist and Integrative Psychotherapy IAHIP.
I worked for a number of years in London where I had a busy private practice in Hampstead while also working at The Priory Hospital as a Therapist and Mindfulness Group leader. Since returning to Ireland I have a private practice in Monkstown. I also work with the Law Society of Ireland and The College of Surgeons as a psychotherapist
dealing with a very broad range of issues including, exam stress, bullying, eating disorders, addiction, bereavement, serious illness, post-traumatic stress, depression, relationship difficulties, and stress in the workplace,
For over two years I have been co-facilitating groups working with depression and stress using Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. This technique uses traditional meditation techniques and fuses them with modern psychological ideas particularly cognitive behavioural therapy which methodically investigates and challenges unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours. In July 2008 I participated in a BBC documentary The Pain of Emotion which investigated the uses of mindfulness in dealing with our emotions.
In addition, I have worked at One in Four and Towards Healing– organisations run for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse – working in both one-to-one therapy as well as in group therapy dealing with issues such as shame, sexual identity, eating disorders, anger, depression, fear, relationships and addictions. I founded and facilitate a regular therapy group for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
MY APPROACH
My approach to counselling and psychotherapy is born out of my own therapeutic journey. Respect for the integrity of the person is paramount. I firmly believe that you have within you all that you require for a life that is authentic and fulfilling. I have no agenda or judgements on how that might look for you, but I know it will be uniquely yours. This may be a time when it is difficult to see a way through the challenges you are facing right now. It is at such a time that you may need a supporting presence, someone to explore the obstacles in your path and examine the deep-seated patterns of the past.
Most of our difficulties revolve around how we relate to ourselves, to others and to life: to how we connect.
Most of our difficulties revolve around how we relate to ourselves, to others and to life: to how we connect.
Only connect!
That was the whole of her sermon.
Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted,
And human love will be seen at its height
Live in fragments no longer Only Connect.
E.M. Forster
Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted,
And human love will be seen at its height
Live in fragments no longer Only Connect.
E.M. Forster
Research shows that it is the quality of the relationship that is most important to a person’s experience of therapy. I believe this is so because you are born of relationship and are meant for relationship. You cannot but relate. It is therefore crucial to your well being that you relate in a manner that nourishes you. It is particularly important that you relate well to yourself since this is the basis of all other relating. Therapy allows you the space and time to slow down in order to better appreciate how you relate at all levels. In this slowing down you may get in touch with many feelings and insights. Losses may have to be mourned and old attitudes and behaviours gradually let go. This can also be a space for celebrating gains along the way.
We are infinitely complex and creative beings and for this reason I work in a flexible creative manner which addresses your physical, cognitive, emotional and spiritual needs. There may be times when we might use music, art, mindfulness, movement, dreams etc. as a way of gaining fresh insights. How we work will be a matter of agreement, and it is vital that we work in a manner and at a pace that respects your needs and sensitivities at all times.
How does counselling and psychotherapy help?
The human heart yearns for contact – above all it yearns for genuine dialogue… Each of us secretly and desperately yearns to be “met” – and to be recognized in our uniqueness, our fullness and our vulnerability.
Reaching out
You may at present be feeling vulnerable, isolated, angry, frustrated or fearful. You may have been feeling like this for some time or it may have been prompted by a sudden crisis. Whatever your particular circumstances might be, I appreciate that the decision to reach out for help is not an easy one. I am also aware that your individual circumstances are unique to you and require a response that is above all attuned to how you are right now at this time in your life.
Self-empowerment
I believe that you yourself have the ability to deal with the difficulties in your life. However like all of us you may have reached a place where you are feeling stuck and need some assistance. Difficulties may arise due to old patterns which you may not be even fully aware of. I see my role as working with you to discover how those old patterns may be still operating, and seeing how you might develop new and creative ways of being in the world. There may be other times when you simply need someone to walk alongside you as you come to terms with the inevitable changes and challenges that confront us in life.
Relationship - You Are Not Alone
Our deepest, most profound stirrings of self-appreciation, self-love and self-knowledge surface in the presence of the person whom we experience as totally accepting.
Central to my therapeutic work is how we relate as one human being to another. I am continually amazed at the profound healing that can happen when one person is truly accepted by another. It is in this context of developing a trusting, open respectful dialogue that a truly “healing relationship” can develop. I am keenly aware that this can take time and it is of the utmost importance that it is you who decide the pace at which we work. There may be periods when holding and support is what you need most and others when you may feel ready to explore new ways of being in the world.