What guides me?
I am guided by Narrative Practice ethics, which resonate deeply with me as they are guiding ideas of meeting the other in a respectful and curious manner and encourages a deep appreciation for the lived experience of the person I am engaging with. However, I am constantly growing and changing which means I am always open to learning and looking at problems differently. One of my guiding principles is to be curious. Each person is unique, and brings to therapy, a very unique set of circumstances, memories and beliefs. This then becomes the very essence of the therapeutic conversation, of collaboration with another person and being able to learn from each other. I am passionate about people and finding alternate stories. All of us are multi-storied people and very often we live our lives by the single track story we have of our lives, or by the story society tells us to live by. In this way we forget or perhaps don’t even know the other untold stories, the forgotten stories about ourselves. I believe in possibilities. The aim of therapy is to journey and explore stories of survival, struggle, resilience or stories not yet even named.
In the words of Tom Anderson, he captures the value of language: ” we do not know what we think until we speak”. Most people who consult me are people who seek an alternate way of understanding themselves, the world around them or the challenges they face. I work with couples, individuals and families. At times therapeutic conversations are required and at times other more creative explorations may be needed. The key is individually suited therapy that evolves organically to best serve each individual on a journey to healing.
The body also holds ‘stories’ within it and imprinted on it and words cannot reach these stored hurts and beliefs and at these junctures I am also guided by body-oriented psychotherapy and based very much on the work done and explored by Peter Levine. This is beautiful, gentle work that is particularly helpful when dealing with Trauma and Anxiety. Sometimes words and talking cannot move us to a place when the body is locked into fear or shut-down from feeling anything and at these times a gentler approach can be helpful. Each person that engages with any form of therapy is so unique and it is through a collaborative process that we work through and decide on the best way forward in therapy to create ease, harmony, balance and more comfort.
What is my role and what can I offer?
I hope to be able to offer a small gap in a busy day, to allow a large exhale and to have a conversation that may assist a person to access skills, ideas and alternate view to enable a sense of competency or ease within their life.
