Many people seek counselling or therapy for:

• stress
• depression
• anxiety
• personal growth
• stressful or unfulfilling relationships
• separation and divorce
• better communication
• low self esteem
• approval seeking
• social anxiety
• implementing healthy boundaries and taking care of themselves (and their relationships)
• anger and irritability
• having a vicious inner critic
• wondering “Is this all there is?”
• mid-life crisis
• poor body image/too much time focused on appearance
• feeling overwhelmed
• feeling disillusioned with the world and what seems to be valued (or ignored)
• processing loss and new awareness arising from the last three years
• grief or loss (and the complicated feelings that go with it)
• poor sleep
• chronic pain or illness
• end of life fears and unfinished business
• spiritual seeking (or questioning)
• utilizing momentum and the law of attraction to get more of what they want (and less of what they don’t)

My education, training and experience has taught me how to work with people to help them get beyond the above issues and become more peaceful, empowered versions of themselves in the process. There are many others, however, who go to counselling because they simply want more out of life.

My Counselling Philosophy:

I believe that instead of choosing how we want to be and what kind of lives we want to have, most of us react to our (often past-based) interpretations and assumptions. My work with clients is centred on making peace with the moment, and ultimately creating a future, rather than simply reacting in patterned ways to circumstances. Clients are exposed to new ways of seeing themselves, others, their relationships and life. At the same time, they learn and practice the tools and structures to create the future they want.

Goals:

• Well Being – to function at your optimum level — both mentally and physically.
• Freedom – to be yourself and to be happy even when those around you are not. Freedom to value yourself and not feel guilty. Freedom from approval seeking.
•  Improved self confidence – more ease in decision-making and more willingness to take authentic action. Less significance attached to (transient) emotion and more commitment to desired outcomes.
•  Empowerment – discovering that you are never powerless, and although you cannot control what happens to you, you are completely responsible for how you respond to it. You will discover that you, alone, are entirely responsible for your choice of focus, the thoughts you choose to invest energy in, and the actions you take. Empowerment means realizing that you are responsible for the stories you make up (and gather evidence for) about yourself, others and life. It’s not what happened; it’s your thoughts about what happened that took you down.
•  Connection – more fulfilling relationships and seeing others as an impetus to growth, as opposed to feeling victimized by them, or superior to them (Byron Katie says “It’s not happening to me. It’s happening for me”). It is the realization that what we see in someone else is a reflection of what we can’t see in ourselves. It’s understanding we are all doing the best we can with what we have.  This can lead to greater openness and compassion for others and oneself.
• Joy – spending more time in this moment, as opposed to focusing on your (often stressful) thoughts. It means cultivating a habit of looking for, and finding, the good stuff.  It is the knowing that what I look for out there, I put in here.