Relationship Counselling
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What approach do you use?
Whatever fits you! One nice thing about therapy is there’s lots of evidence-based ways to do it well, so I can match my approach to your goals and comfort. While I have an eclectic style, meaning I use techniques from lots of different disciplines, there are certain approaches to which I gravitate most often. Here’s a sampling of what I offer:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an innovative model that sees the mind as a series of interconnected but distinct parts. Growing up, almost all of us have parts who take extreme roles in our system, often making us depressed, anxious, numb or addicted, to protect against experiencing some past pain again. The aim of IFS therapy is to bring compassion and curiosity to the parts of you who have worked so long in these roles and let them know it’s okay to relax their grip on you. IFS is my main framework as I’ve found it to be a powerful tool for bringing deep healing to the counselling process. It is a recognised, evidence-based treatment that has been around since the 1980s. If you’re curious, you can read more about IFS here.
What does the therapy process look like?
I take pride in tailoring my approach to fit you. There is no one-size-fits-all therapy, and so what’s most important is that we share a picture of where we’re going. However, I’ve written a little outline below that can give you an idea of how I like to start things off.
First Session. The first session is for me to get to know you and why you’re seeking help. This gives me a chance to start thinking of directions we could go, and you a chance to ‘try me out’ and see if I’m someone you can trust with your care.
Second Session. I’ll need to nail down some details about your current life and history to get a fuller picture of how your concerns fit in with the context of the rest of your life. We’ll start discussing paths forward, and collaboratively defining what you’d like to work on.
Third Session. Everybody’s different. Some people need more time to debrief, and some are ready to get moving towards change. No matter where you find yourself at this stage in the journey, I will meet you where you’re at. Sometimes going slower is going faster.
Fourth session and beyond. We will continue to work in the way you find resonates with you, periodically return to your goals for therapy, and make adjustments to the process collaboratively, until you feel our settled with your progress.
Curious?