About Me
For those interested in my history as a therapist; how I worked and with whom, I have reproduced an updated version of some of the contents of my professional web site. Please note that I am now retired from seeing clients.
Personal Relationship and family therapy
Over the years I have worked with all types of emotional issues including: Depression, anxiety, self-esteem problems, all types of family and relationship issues, phobias, sleep problems, issues regarding weight, post-traumatic stress disorder and simple trauma, grief and loss, all types of stress, post-natal depression, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, anger management and sexual dysfunction.
I have seen individuals, couples (straight, lesbian and gay), families of all mixes, children and teenagers. I offered an accepting, safe and professional environment in which to explore my clients concerns and to find effective ways of moving forward. For more information on this topic please see below.
Why do people have therapy?
There are many good reasons to undertake therapy, amongst them are:Insight, emotional expression, resolving relationship issues, help with the stress of life changes and healing and growth.
Insight
Most of us have old patterns of behaviour and old belief systems which hold us back from enjoying life as much as we could and from performing as effectively as we could. We bring a unique, clarifying focus to our issues when we set aside a concrete time to talk them over with a trained professional. We often have insights and wisdom about our circumstances which lie buried by the normal momentum of life. Counselling gives the space for these insights to emerge and a therapist can facilitate this.
Emotional Expression
Many people have suppressed emotions which need a safe place in which to emerge. Anxiety, depression and lack of self-esteem can all be side-effects of unexpressed pain. Processing unexplored pain from the present, or the past, helps to free irrational beliefs and over-reactions, rid us of anxiety, raise our self-esteem and bring a joy and energy to life which is hard to experience otherwise. I see it as opening a window to let out trapped air and allowing fresh air to come in.
Relationships
Relationships can cause us the greatest pain and bring us the greatest joy. Therapy can help simple, and complex, relationship and family problems by help unravelling them and guiding towards clear communication and clear boundaries. Therapy is just as helpful in the analysis of work relationships and performance. It facilitates clarity, renewed confidence and creativity.
Life Changes
Transitions of all kinds put extra pressure on us and sometimes life changes faster than we can adapt. A connection with an empathic therapist is supportive and grounding and provides validation through the stressful periods of life.
Healing and Growth
There are an enormous number of things that therapy can help with, including pain control, the elimination of phobias, the healing of post- traumatic stress disorder, and the reduction or elimination of tinnitus, chronic fatigue and other physical conditions. Every person is a complex interconnection of the emotional, the physical and the spiritual. Healing and growth in one area of our lives has a flow on effect to the rest of us.
How I Worked
The most important aspect of how I worked was the creation of an accepting and safe environment. I believe this is essential in facilitating the self-discovery which accompanies good therapy.
From this base there are a number of facets to how I worked, depending on the presenting issue and on what the client was seeking. Generally, I helped people to live as well as they possibly could in the present, which may include problem solving and self-esteem building, while exploring the history of the issue and the underlying causes. Experience is the architect of the growing brain, so the way we grew up, and the things that happened to us, hold the clues to how we feel, react and behave today. Exploring these things is the liberating work of psychotherapy.
My philosophy was to provide a client based, therapist led therapy. In other words, I was interested in what my clients' theories on their issues were and what they found helpful. Good therapy is a co-operative venture rather than a process imposed by the therapist from a rigid philosophical and theoretical framework.
Where appropriate I used systemic therapy which considers a person in the light of their relationships. So family, social and work dynamics were all seen as vital in influencing how we feel about ourselves and how we behave. My approach was always tailored to the needs of my clients. I was very respectful of reluctance and do not believe in "The Resistant Client", but rather in the possibility of the therapist being out of step with their needs and timing.
While using the usual therapeutic tools of empathic listening and reflective listening, I also used cognitive behavioural therapy, relaxation and focussing techniques such as EMDR (Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing) & EFT(Emotional Freedom Technique) which also facilitate moving through emotional pain and changing negative beliefs. EFT is also a great strategy for people to use at home, or anywhere they are. It’s particularly helpful for managing anxiety and stress.
At times I used visual representations of the issues my clients bring, in the use of a sand tray and also psychodrama. This is particularly helpful with children and adolescents and those for whom English is a second language. It is also an excellent tools for exploring relationships, business problems and in the interpretation of dreams.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Arts (Psych/Phil) USYD 1991
Training in personal counselling and psychotherapy with the Anglican Counsellig Centre 1992
Training in relationship therapy with the Anglican Counselling Centre 1993
Psychodrama individual, relationship and group therapy training 1994
Grad Dip Family Therapy - Relationship Australia (UNSW) 2000