My Work, Passion, Purpose

Psychotherapy, Counselling, Mind-set Facilitation:

Psychotherapy

Therapist is a term used to describe a professionally trained individual who works with clients on relationship, personal and mental health issues.

In particular, Psychotherapists provide 'therapy" - focusing in on analysis of the past, a review of meaning and reason, understanding the "why" of a client's feelings and belief systems. Therapy is about making sense of where you have come from, where you have been, in order to better understand where you are today.

While this means that Psychotherapists are skilled at assisting clients with issues such as depression and anxiety, having a mental health concern is not a prerequisite for seeking help. In fact, counsellors often see clients who are dealing with relationship, marital, personal growth issues, and many other matters that do not fall within the parameters of a diagnosable mental health concern.

Because of this, and a Psychotherapist's understanding of the human condition, therapy can be helpful to anyone looking to make changes in their life, cope with troubling problems, heal old wounds or discover meaning and reason behind what is happening in their life.

Typically, Psychotherapists have a Master's degree or higher and have undergone extensive training and supervision by other trained professionals in order to register as a qualified practitioner. 

In my case, I have a Masters of Counselling, and a Psychology degree along with extensive client experience since 2000.

I am a Clinical Member of PACFA (national governing body for Psychotherapists and Counsellors in Australia) and a Certified Supervisor of Psychotherapists and Counsellors for PACFA.

Counselling

A Counsellor sounds a lot like a Psychotherapist in explanation but there are some key differences worth mentioning. Counselling has a more present-focused, direction-oriented path. It deals with the NOW of a client's experience (rather than the past, reasons, analysis, meaning), helping you to work on issues affecting your life currently, in a positive and empowering way by generating clarity around the issues, exploring options, developing strategies and increasing self-awareness.

Anyone who is struggling with a personal concern can seek counselling. Common personal concerns include relationship difficulties, grief, difficult life circumstances, anxiety and depression, disconnection from the self and loved ones, life transition, loss, confusion, self-esteem and confidence, life direction challenges etc.   Counselling is usually a short-term treatment for a specific problem.

The qualifications are not always clear on this one (and it's always best to ask any prospective Counsellor or Psychotherapist about their registration) but as with my Psychotherapist title, my qualifications reach beyond my Psychology degree and Masters level in Counselling, and include years of experience, further study, professional development and monitoring of ethical standards. 

Mind-Set Facilitation

By understanding our values we are able to more easily navigate life in ways that match what is important to us, and what we feel is right.  With outdated values, or the values that belong more to our parents/school/family/friends, we struggle to gain clarity around what is it that WE want to be doing, striving for, working towards in our own lives. 

Values work impacts life direction, reduces conflicting priorities, increases flow and allows us to move forward in our lives towards greater happiness and contentment. 

People who benefit from this style of work:
- working parents: the issues here are often the balance between career and home life. Many parents find their lives filling with conflicting priorities. They spend their time stressed, running from one thing to another, filled with guilt and resentment as they try to juggle two fulltime callings. 

- mothers and fathers dealing with postnatal depression: depression within the first years of their child's life

- employees: dealing with issues in work environments where they feel ambiguous, lacking motivation and direction, overwhelmed, under-performing and/or seeking forward motion

- men and women: dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, transition or change, shame, vulnerability, lack of life direction, loss and letting go.

This work is about gaining clarity around the present-held values, owning/accepting them, learning to prioritise them, and taking only action that serves those values . 

Living true to our values in this way means we are more likely to be believe, think, behave and perform in ways that lead us forward towards the things we want, and allow us to feel happy - no matter what that valued action looks like!

This is a short-term series of sessions.