Techniques…

Variety

There are a wide variety of techniques employed in Holistic Counselling to meet the diversity of needs presented by different people and their unique circumstances. I will aspire to select methods which best suit your personality type, specific goals, developmental aims and overall situation. Some of the more commonly used methods include mindfulness, life-mapping, guided imagery, focusing, goal-setting, symbolic play, logical analysis, journal-keeping and present moment awareness.

Focusing

Focusing is a body-oriented process of self-awareness and emotional healing that teaches you to identify and change the way your personal problems concretely exist in your body. It is an awareness process of listening to your body in a gentle, accepting way and hearing the messages that your inner self is sending you. The results of focusing are insight, physical release and positive life change. You know how you feel, you feel better and you can then act in more life enhancing ways.

Life Mapping

Life Mapping is an empowering process of undertaking a journey of self-exploration. The aim is to enhance your understanding of yourself as an individual and the unique path that you have travelled. It is a process which enables you to review formative periods and experiences in your life as well as a tool which will potentially reveal to you, some deeper life patterns. The conscious process of developing a Life Map will assist you in reimagining your past to assist you in creating the future you want.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the cultivation of clear, stable and non-judgmental awareness and can be highly effective in helping bring calm clarity to daily life pressures. Mindfulness practices can be applied to the Body, Mind and Emotions. Practicing mindfulness of the body increases our familiarity with our bodies and with how the body responds to our inner/outer lives, to our thoughts/emotions, and to events around us. Likewise mindfulness can help us apply accepting attention to our emotions and thought patterns.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) [Russ Harris]

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages the practice of mindfulness, and committing to action that improves and enriches your life. The aim of ACT is to maximise your potential to live a rich, full and meaningful life. In ACT this is done by teaching you psychological flexibility and by helping you to clarify what is truly important and meaningful to you to then use that knowledge to guide, inspire and motivate you to change your life for the better. Six basic principles form the foundation of ACT.

Creative Expression

We each possess an inner knowing about what we need to heal on our path to happiness, and self-expression through creativity can help connect us to our inner healing voice. Creativity can be explored through artistic disciplines such as creative writing and visual arts, or as well through patterned practices and habits unique to our personal lives. Creative expression can be very useful for revealing deeper truths about our experiences or conveying thoughts and feelings that are too big or too difficult to put into words.