Some of the ways in which counselling can be beneficial
are through bringing deeper personal insight, helping find better ways of coping with problems and it also can help you improve
your relationships.
That said, counselling requires you to be a full participant and be willing
to examine difficult topics or memories. It may cause you to feel stronger than normal emotions. I believe that you are the
best ‘expert’ of your own life and that in joining you we become partners in your healing. Should you experience
anything troubling at any time during counselling please speak with me about it.
At The Healing
Place you will always find a client centered approach, which means that the client knows best and the counsellor simply employs
all of their knowledge and skill to assist the client in obtaining emotional and psychological health.
Theoretical
Approaches
Existentialism
Existentialism sees each individual as unique and self empowering. Moreover each encounter is
unique to that person. Existentialism considers that humans exist first and then that individual spends their life changing
their nature or the essence of who they are.
In simple terms it is about finding oneself and the meaning of one's
life through free will, choice and personal responsibility. People are searching to find out who and what they are as they
move through life making choices based on their beliefs, perspectives and experiences.
In counselling, problems
are not seen as something that needs to be overcome. Rather, problems are seen as something that is holding one back
from becoming what they were meant to be. It is using life to create one's unique existence.
Underlying concepts
of existentialism include human free will, the realization that decisions are not without stress and consequences and the
human essence is created through life choices.
Logotherapy
Logotherapy is closely associated with Existentialism and was developed
by Victor Frankl. It is a type of existentialist analysis that focuses on a will to meaning as opposed to Adler's
doctrine of will to power or Freud's will to pleasure. Rather than power or pleasure, logotherapy is founded
upon the belief that it is the striving to find a meaning in one's life that is the primary, most powerful motivating and
driving force in humans.
Observed Experiential Integration (OEI)
Observed Experiential Integration is a neurologically based series of trauma integrative techniques to reduce and resolve the impact of trauma. OEI can be
used on its own or in conjunction with other techniques and treatment modalities.
Three basic techniques are
used in OEI:
- Covering and uncovering one eye at a time, while the client is experiencing a disturbing
thought, feeling or memory.
- Tracking stimuli across the visual field while the client is experiencing thoughts, feelings
or memories that are disturbing.
- A tracking process that helps to resolve painful or distressing signals
from the body.
The ultimate goal of OEI is to integrate thoughts, feelings, sensations or traumatic memory
bringing a strong connectedness between the two hemispheres of the brain.
OEI has found to be very effective in treating such
disorders as PTSD, Dissociative Disorders, Addictions, and Panic Attacks.
