Counselling & Psychotherapy My approach My approach is holistic in nature and my intention is to know and accept you as the whole person that you are, not just the part that you are wanting to fix or make better. I believe you are a person who is a fully alive human being with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. I acknowledge the connection between mind, body and spirit and our deep desire and ability to heal on all levels.
During your sessions, you will have as much time as you want to tell me whatever you want to tell me of your story and what you want to gain from your sessions. This may be around a current situation, or it may be some long standing feelings and behaviours that are still influencing your life right now. As well as having the opportunity to tell your story, I also invite you to take into consideration what else is going on for you (read more),  Counselling and Psychotherapy - what's the difference? The terms Counselling and Psychotherapy are often used interchangably, and while they do have considerable overlap, they can also be different things...read more > Different ways of working There are many different ways of working, either with counselling or psychotherapy. Talking is obviously one of the main approahes. It is amazing how much clarity can be gained from simply 'speaking your story' as opposed to having it go around and around inside your head. When someone listens intently and respectfully as you tell your story,much clarity can be gained along with a clear direction in which to progress. Talking openly and honestly and being heard and listended to is the basis of any good relationship, and that is what I offer you. In working with any situation or any level that you choose, there are a range of techniques and approaches that may work for you. Some of the ways I might invite you to work will include ~ Sandplay Sandplay consists of a tray of sand and a range of miniature symbols of people, animals, houses, cars, flowers, objects, etc., all symbols that represent something of the real world. You sit comfortably with the sand tray in front of you. You may first just like to touch the sand and allow your hands to move through it however you would like to. You may then choose some symbols as a means of telling your story or seeing your story unfold.
Sandplay is a creative and nurturing way of working which allows you to express yourself openly and freely and to see your world clearly, including those parts which may be unconscious to you. It allows you the opportunity to visualise the positive changes you woud like in your life and bring about healing and growth. Sandplay can assist you to ~ - See more clearly what is happening in your world.
- Make connections between your inner and outer world.
- Find solutions and resolve issues and blocks.
- Reclaim forgotten qualities of creative expression.
- Regain a sense of beauty, vitality, excitement and possibilities.
- Access and understand your deeper feelings and beliefs.
- Work with your psyches ability to heal on all levels
There is no right or wrong way to do sandplay (Read more) Writing Writing can also be another way of working with issues that are difficult to understand clearly or to speak about. 
The type of writing here is more the process of simply picking up a pen and starting to write without too much thinking, judging, or analyising the meaning is of what is being written. The process of writing can be very freeing, enabling you to start a process of movement around issues. Writing, or keeping a journal, is also a very effective process which can easily be done alone between counselling sessions and then can be bought to your next session. Writing around dreams is also an effective way of learning from the information and wisdom in our dreams. (Read more)  Drawing
For some people, drawing freely is something that may not have been done since childhood. Allowing ourselves the experience of doing this once again, can evoke childhood memories and feelings that may have been forgotten. These may be positive or negative. For instance, as we start to engage with the process of creativity and imagination in our drawing, we may realise how little we are in touch with these qualities in our life now. This then gives us the opportunity to re-connect with these qualities and bring them into our current life. We may also come face to face with the realisation that we don't allow ourselves to draw or that we do not believe that we can. This can sometimes mirror our belief systems around other aspects of our lives and how we might block or sabotage ourselves. Again, this allows us the opportunity to observe, gain insight and understanding into these feelings and memories allowing them to be worked through and bringing about growth and healing. (Read more) Focusing Focusing is a gentle technique that assists you to more fully connect with what is going on in your body. It is a compassionate, loving and non-judgmental way of accessing the wisdom that is always present in your body. When you speak about a fearful situation, you may instantly feel sick or nervous. ( Read More)
Life Coaching Life Coaching is a co-creative and supportive process which can assist you in achieving what you want from your life. This may be quite specific to a certain goal, for instance, changing jobs, developing a health and fitness program, having more fun, handling finances more efficiently. It may be more of a general reappraisal of what you want from your life, the quality of your relationships and your overall satisfaction level with life. Life Coaching may use the 'Wheel of life' exercise, to encourage you to look at your life as a whole, considering aspects such as career, money, health, friends and family, romance, personal growth and fun and recreation. When these areas are marked out in a wheel, it gives you a chance to see how your life is riding. is it a smooth ride or a bumpy ride? (Read more on Life Coaching)  Kinesiology Kinesiology is also another way that you may choose to work. One of the key principles of kinesiology is that the memory of everything that has ever happened to us is stored in our body. That might suggest that this information is readily accessable to us, but this is not necessarily true. It may be held very subconsiously and not consciously accessable. By using a somatic / kinesiology approach information that remains hidden to us consciously can be accessed through muscle testing which bypasses the conscious mind. Kinesiology is based on the belief that all your responses, beliefs and feelings around every event in your life, are held somewhere in your body - it has to because your body was present at the time of the experience. Therefore your body holds vast amounts of wisdom and information. Kinesiology can access that information and wisdom and bring it to consciousness in order for you to learn from it and have the opportunity to move toward more of the things you desire in your life. (Read more on Kinesiology) You may not consciously be aware of feeling stressed about an issue, | 
