Counselling and Psychotherapy
in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Life is a challenging journey and we are not meant to make it alone. Nobody is born equipped with a full set of knowledge and skills for all possible life situations. We learn as we go. We learn through venturing, through making mistakes and correcting them, through sliding down and picking up again.
Sometimes, though, this journey may become too tough. We may feel like we have reached our limits. We may feel overwhelmed by anxiety or feel constantly under the attack of unwanted thoughts. We may say to ourselves ‘Nothing works in my life! I don’t see where to go.’ Sometimes we can also feel that we are alone. That there is nobody out there who cares.
Counselling is about the beautiful discovery of how working through hurdles and challenges together can transform the world. Not only your world but also the world of those around you.
People sometimes come to counselling expecting that a therapist, like a medical doctor would give them a prescription that will ‘fix’ their problems. This is not how it works. Counselling is a process, and the key word to this process is trust. Yet trust cannot be developed overnight. Why would you trust a complete stranger? It takes time and I appreciate that even taking a first step is a big leap of faith. It is a big thing – to share your inner world with somebody and we want to make sure that this person is treating it with sensitivity and respect and doesn’t impose their judgement on our experiences. Usually 2-4 meetings is enough to make an impression of whether this particular therapist is right for you.
Counselling is a talking therapy. Speech and the ability to grasp ourselves in words is an important faculty of human beings. It is instrumental in becoming aware of what is happening to us and in helping us to make sense of our world. When we talk to somebody who listens to and engages with us empathically, non-judgementally and with full attention we begin to better hear ourselves and relate to ourselves differently, more kindly and with acceptance.
In my practice, in addition to talking, I also engage holistic approaches (such as EFT or tapping), which help to bridge the gap between the rational and the emotional mind and facilitate the desired shift.
