Individual Counselling Perth

In all that I do in counselling, I want to promote your wellbeing. I want to communicate hope. That through our conversations a confidence may arise that anticipates change. I will attend to the particular change you looking for and the goals that we mutually agree to work on. Over the course of counselling, your goals may change significantly or become redefined. It is also important to discuss the validity of particular goals being pursued.   During the course of counselling we may explore your personal history, particularly if it is helpful for understanding current relational themes. At times recalling your personal story may provoke uncomfortable emotions. A central reason for going into personal history, is to sensitively encourage honesty and to face all that is there, both inside us and outside, with courage, knowing that pain and shame from the past can motivate us to hide things about ourselves that we and others actually find enjoyable. For example, your partner’s courage and strength, or that tenderness, and care. Her desire for beauty and expression of that desire. His humour and strong creative side. The end point of going into our past, is to release the best of who we are, for our enjoyment and for the enjoyment of others! This is the idea of transformational love.   [expander_maker more=”Read more” less=”Read less”] My basic approach is to explore patterns and themes of behaviour and encourage self-awareness and a felt desire for change. I may encourage deeper self-reflection around personal goals and choices of certain behaviours that may not be helpful for your wellbeing. Alternatively, I may encourage a healthy pursuit of positive patterns and behaviours that are obviously beneficial for your well-being. Part of encouraging growth and change, may involve specific homework assignments outside of counselling sessions. What does change look like? Change can have a mysterious, elusive quality. As I journey with you, you may experience a kind of hopeful sadness that says “yes” to doing things differently. Other times there may be an awareness of gratitude that moves you, or it may appear as simple as you being bored with how you are doing life and you decide to make changes. Sometimes you might feel worse and that change is not occurring at all, as you anticipated. Rather than avoidance or a retreat from counselling, we should have a conversation about how you are going. Themes that often come up in counselling can reflect our troubling human condition, of being in the world. You may not have felt the freedom to explore these questions before. Paradoxically, we tend to come alive, when we begin to ask the difficult questions about life, we know there are no easy answers to. It is in the wrestling with the things that trouble us most deeply, that somehow gives rise to courage and frees us to live with hope and purpose. Many of these questions relate to our purpose, personal desire for meaningful impact and meaning, gaining a love, suffering, death, belonging, trust, faith and identity. Such as, Who am I ? What is my purpose? Why am I here? Can I love? Will I be loved? Will my beauty or strength be valued and honoured? Where do I belong? Will my care and what I have done here, be remembered and have long lasting significance? Most of these question are not explored in our daily living, but can be the source of much conflict when we are not aware of how we are going about fulfilling the deep longings so strongly embedded in us. Hopefully the quality of my care is shaped by my understanding of our shared human experience and commonality, a relationship where fellow travellers are committed to journeying and labouring together in a united purpose. As we talk, we will also be aware of the many differences between our worldviews, impacting on the conversation, such as family values and culture. These personal and academic assumptions will be embedded in my ways of working and in our conversations. Please feel free to ask me about where I have come from and my methods of working.

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