Counselling / psychotherapy

This is a summary only - a more detailed article is available here.

What it’s for

Common issues include:

Relationship problems:		break-ups; seeing patterns; clingy/obsessed; running away
Anxiety &/or depression:		flat; sad; isolated; suicidal thoughts; panic attacks
Drug & alcohol problems:		too much; bingeing; not staying stopped; personality changes
Struggling to cope with a drinker or a drug taker/pill popper
Perfectionism & control:		fear of criticism; never good enough; controlling behaviour
Eating disorders:		over-eating; purging; bulimia; anorexia; hiding food
Sexuality problems:		affairs; no partner; impotence; premature ejaculation; no orgasms
Gambling problems:		unable to stop or control; grand dreams; family troubles
Money issues:		lack it; lose it; chronic debting; unopened bills; compulsive spending
Work addiction:		long hours; inefficient; over- or under- achieving; relationships suffer
Obsessions, phobias, compulsions:		picking at body; chronic checking; irrational fears

What it’s not

Work in the area of psychology is not about blaming anyone		some of us may have experienced friends in some sort of therapy whose apparent blaming of sincerely intentioned parents or caregivers did not sit well with us - this is not a desirable or necessary aspect of therapy
Counselling is not done so someone can make things better for us, or solve our problems		it is about getting help with how we block ourselves from living more fully and effectively.

Doing it alone

• Continuing to work through difficulties in the face of problems we’re not solving is unhealthy.
• Often we may be feeling apprehensive about asking for assistance, or even knowing if anyone can help.
• This is where seeking the counsel of trained professionals can be of immense help by learning a little more of what makes us tick.

What it takes

Easy?

• Well the process is simple enough, and can be fully explained to you.
• You have to be prepared to do some serious homework and keep at the process for some months.

How we help

• the psychotherapy currently offered at the Wholistic Medical Centre helps both our heads and our hearts over time
• effective therapy must help us understand our problems as well as help us access our blocked feelings
  

To make sense of how we have turned out, we must connect with how we thought and felt as we grew and were being formed, so family-of-origin therapy is an important part of this process. Many conclusions we made about ourselves as small children must be re-examined.

We become skilled in:

• understanding and feeling shame
• distinguishing between anger and rage in us, and being clear on their functions
• distinguishing between our feelings, and the feelings of other people
• knowing that states of upset are nearly always feelings from our childhood triggered by current events that unknowingly remind us of things from back then
• knowing that feelings triggered in our bodies right now in the present, are usually not about the present circumstances
• knowing how to take these upset feelings back to childhood in the body, thereby realising first-hand that the inner conflict is not about now
• becoming very familiar with these feelings, recognizing them earlier & earlier when triggered in our body
• thus we gradually allow our past to be the source our inner richness (emotional, sensual & mental memory), without the element of past conflict being overly intrusive in our daily lives

What we can expect in the end

• Resolution of our struggle around our original difficulties.
• The return of choice in our lives. What previously used to drive us in one direction, seemingly against our will and our better judgment, ceases to do so.
• Satisfaction with our lives. Even in times of difficulty, we find ourselves being glad to be alive, because now we can respond to the painful circumstance, instead of reacting and worsening the situation in our pain, anxiety and confusion.
• A very real sense of being more 'fully alive' to life, as a result of not needing to be rigid and in control.