Moving forward

There are many reasons to seek counselling, from relationship challenges to questions of meaning and purpose. What it’s not is a sign of weakness that you can’t cope!!

“Counselling is not about giving advice or opinions, nor is it a friendly chat with a friend. The therapist helps the client to understand themselves better and find their own solutions to resolve or cope with their situation” (BACP).

In my time as the owner of the international Turning Point Counselling centre, I gained a unique insight into the challenges and the joys of working and living abroad.  Cross cultural challenges can pop up everywhere; at work, in your relationship, in the way you raise your children. In my experience you can truly optimise the process of meeting these challenges in a trusting, intelligent and accepting relationship with an experienced counsellor.

At a deeper level, I have seen how a new environment can trigger old wounds, unfinished business, or self-aspects that ‘knew their place’ in your own culture but seem to jump to the fore as your new working and living environment mirrors back a different version of your ‘self’. This can be confusing and confounding but also offers fertile soil for integrating more aspects of yourself and letting go of outdated modes of being.

Then there are the normal ups and downs of life that are experienced in a uniquely different context. Putting on a brave face to the homefront comes up again and again.

So how does it work?

You book a first half hour introductory session for free. That’s a good start! Together we will explore the ways in which I can support your inner journey and where YOU feel you need the support.

Or maybe you just have one single decision that you need to crack on with. In that case I can offer a 2-hour ‘nutcracker’ session where we work in a very focused, practical and direct way on this one issue to help you gain clarity.

If you choose to enter an ongoing counselling relationship then we would normally begin by meeting on a weekly basis, preferably at a fixed time, so this becomes your ‘special time’ for exploring the issues that will ultimately enrich your life experience.

We will explore where you are getting stuck. Sometimes this is about learning to accept the limitations of life, while at other times it is the art of breaking free from self imposed limitations.  Slowly but surely you will develop an insight into the cause of the things that hold you back, while building new skills to help give your life new meaning.

Some clients like to take the option of really leaving the world and all its demands behind  for a few days to focus fully on the issues at hand. You do this in the idyllic atmosphere of the Riverside Studio. The standard package of 2 nights with 3 counselling sessions can be tailormade to suit your needs. Booking is done directly with me but the bookahouseboat site shows you what you can expect and what others have said about the location itself.

My approach to therapy

One of my trainers used to say; “we are wounded in relationship, and so too are we healed in relationship”. I believe that counselling, quite simply, is a process whereby one person offers their respectful presence and attention to the other, acting both as a mirror and as a translator of possible unconscious messages and demands. I don’t have the answers, but I am skilled in helping you find your own answers, by rediscovering your inner compass.

At the heart of every meeting is my active and attentive listening. You tell your story, I listen, I mirror, summarise, draw together some threads into a bigger picture, and may sometimes give you a gentle challenge. I’m not the kind of therapist who just nods and says hmm all the time.

Your story is the one that takes centre stage, and you don’t have to take responsibility for me, my feelings, or my thoughts. For some people this is almost the most challenging part, to be given such a starring role in their own life narrative, with no one trying to steal the limelight.

I am genuinely interested in the things that give your life meaning. And a lot of my professional development in the later years centred around existential issues. I believe that every life crisis, every sense of discomfort, or even pain, is an opportunity for healing and greater self love.

And no, I don’t see therapy as a self indulgent process of navel gazing, mud slinging, or ego tripping. In fact, I truly believe that only an emotionally balanced and healthy human being can be of service to the world around them.

I look forward to hearing your story!