SERVICES
Transformative Counselling
Women of all ages face a variety of challenges as they grow and navigate through different stages of their lives. These challenges can vary based on cultural, social, economic, and individual factors.
I offer the following therapy services for women:
Empowerment Through Counselling:
counselling can be a tool for personal growth and empowerment for women, helping them to build self-esteem and assertiveness.
Women and Body Image:
addressing issues related to body image, eating disorders, and the impact of societal standards on women's mental health.
Counselling for Women in Different Life Stages:
focusing on the unique challenges and counselling needs of women at various life stages, such as adolescence, motherhood, and menopause.
Women and Substance Abuse:
exploring the gender-specific aspects of substance abuse and recovery, and supporting women dealing with these issues.
Counselling for Survivors of Domestic Abuse:
helping survivors of domestic violence and abuse rebuild their lives.
Women's Health and Counselling:
exploring the intersection of physical and mental well-being in women, including dealing with chronic illnesses, fertility issues, postpartum depression, anxiety, hormonal changes and menopause.
Self-Care and Mindfulness for Women:
offering advice on self-care practices and mindfulness techniques.
Career and Family Balance:
exploring the psychological impact of balancing career and family life, and how counselling can help manage these pressures.
Women and Relationships:
discussing relationship issues, including communication, intimacy, and navigating complex dynamics.
Grief, Trauma and PTSD in Women:
assessing specific needs of women dealing with trauma and PTSD, including women who have experienced sexual assault or other traumatic events.
Counselling for Women of Diverse Backgrounds:
focusing on the unique counselling needs of women from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The basic purpose of counselling is to provide a client with a confidential, safe, and
supportive environment where they can tell their story, work through their emotions, and
make positive changes to their life.
The role of the counsellor is to facilitate the client’s self-
development by providing the client with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of
who they are, where they want to be, and how to get there.
From a therapeutic perspective no one therapy can be used in isolation due to the complexity of the issue being presented.
As a Counselling Psychologist I combine a variety of professional therapies including (but not limited to): Cognitive/behavioural therapy (CBT), solution focused therapy (SLT), acceptance commitment therapy, person centred therapy, experiential, Humanistic and holistic/integrative therapy.
The therapeutic relationship relies on creating a solid bond between the counsellor and client while attending to the client’s feelings and needs. Building upon this connection involves skillful techniques from the therapist, including:
- Assessing the client readiness for counselling therapy
- Creating a safe environment for the client to share their feelings and thoughts
- Helping the client distinguish between their personal thoughts and those taught to them
- Recognizing the client’s defences and identifying when they are being resistant
- Offering and providing support to the client during the five stages of change
An example might be managing negative self-talk:
As individuals we spend a great deal of time talking to ourselves. Being in control of what we say can be a helpful tool for managing stress and anger and coping with difficult situations. And yet, negative self-talk can damage self-esteem and self-confidence and leave us unable to cope.
Counsellors should and must help clients to reframe their self-talk by:
- Describing and demonstrating negative self-talk (I’m useless, I never do anything right) to positive self-talk (I’ve done this before, I can do it again)
- Walking with the client through a problem situation, while eliciting the client’s negative self-talk
- Coaching the client to replace the negative self-talk with more positive statements
- Practicing positive self-talk in session, then setting homework