My Approach and Philosophy
In my work as an Integrative Psychotherapist I hold a core belief in the basic holistic principle of the self-healing or self-regulatory capacity of each individual. Where we may become halted in our pain and distortion, where the world appears hostile, unsatisfying or stuck, from behind a filter of jumbled negativity, with the right atmosphere of attention, care and awareness the system can melt into healing and change. I believe the therapeutic relationship holds an important key to this spontaneous process of transformation.
It is a simple fact of life that in the complex process of development, from the experience of the merged state in the womb, through into our first steps into childhood, adolescence and onward into the increasing individuation process of adulthood, we will encounter a mixture of positive and negative experience. Sometimes we will go through periods of not getting enough, getting too much, feelings of lack, low confidence, vulnerability, or specific key events that will all leave a mark or memory within the matrix of our psyche. We will be moulded by both the family patterns and ancestral belief systems as well as the wider social and cultural systems. It is inevitable that along the way, we falter and fall, often gathering our pain inward to survive. In the gentle unfolding process of psychotherapy these layers of 'frozen' pain can be revisited and bought forward and integrated into the whole alongside the more seeing and compassionate layer of the adult.
It is a simple fact of life that in the complex process of development, from the experience of the merged state in the womb, through into our first steps into childhood, adolescence and onward into the increasing individuation process of adulthood, we will encounter a mixture of positive and negative experience. Sometimes we will go through periods of not getting enough, getting too much, feelings of lack, low confidence, vulnerability, or specific key events that will all leave a mark or memory within the matrix of our psyche. We will be moulded by both the family patterns and ancestral belief systems as well as the wider social and cultural systems. It is inevitable that along the way, we falter and fall, often gathering our pain inward to survive. In the gentle unfolding process of psychotherapy these layers of 'frozen' pain can be revisited and bought forward and integrated into the whole alongside the more seeing and compassionate layer of the adult.
With the propensity of the mind to manage, mask and defend against the internal potentially disruptive level of pain, often the traces of woundedness are relegated to the body level. It is for this reason my work emanates from a place of embodied presence. Not only am I receptive to the details of the story of the client but also the nuances of the body, the energetic shifts in breath, posture and expression - the language of body. It is also for this reason I use a body-centred approach in my work, using breathwork, biodynamic massage, bioenergetics and gestalt techniques.The session is usually conducted with client and therapist sitting, face to face, but it can also be appropriate that the client lies down to allow a more inward focus on the internal world of body sensations and feelings.
My intention as a psychotherapist is to provide a safe and supportive atmosphere in which an ongoing and continuously evolving therapeutic relationship can unfold. A key element in the process of psychotherapy for the client is the experience of really being seen - sometimes for the first time. As the current reality of the client is met and understood, the layerings of the past reveal themselves and enter more and more into the present field of the relationship. Not only can there be a processing and resolution at this level, with increased insight and understanding, but there can be an opening into that place of encapsulated or 'split off' woundedness, an opening for 'the other' to enter - in opening to the compassionate witness, the defended walls of that private and lonely world may dissolve and a new integration and healing may occur.
My intention as a psychotherapist is to provide a safe and supportive atmosphere in which an ongoing and continuously evolving therapeutic relationship can unfold. A key element in the process of psychotherapy for the client is the experience of really being seen - sometimes for the first time. As the current reality of the client is met and understood, the layerings of the past reveal themselves and enter more and more into the present field of the relationship. Not only can there be a processing and resolution at this level, with increased insight and understanding, but there can be an opening into that place of encapsulated or 'split off' woundedness, an opening for 'the other' to enter - in opening to the compassionate witness, the defended walls of that private and lonely world may dissolve and a new integration and healing may occur.
