What is Counselling / Psychotherapy, and how does it work?
Counselling involves a way of relating in the room that might be a bit different from other relationships.
The topics of conversation are about you, and it’s about helping you make sense of what brings you to see me in the first place.
Very few personal information about myself will be disclosed. I believe this is important as part of the therapeutic process, and helps us focus on what is really important: your distress and how to help you go through it and to a better place in life.
Due to the nature of the topics discussed, I believe the first few sessions should be used as a way of establishing a safe and confidential environment for you to feel comfortable to disclose personal information thatyou might be struggling with.
Once an environment of safety and trust is established, we can continue with the focus of our work, which is guided by your discourse, and by my interventions whenever I find something that might link us to the origin of the problem, so we can continue exploring and figuring out how to move forward with the new information being brought up throughout the therapeutic process.
It is important to note that it is an organic, ever-moving process, from the initial contact to the final session and even beyond that (the work that we do in the room will carry on even after our sessions have ended).
MY APPROACH TO THERAPY: WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN WORKING WITH ME
*** GENERAL TOPICS EMERGE IN EACH CLIENT’S PROCESS, SOME ARE BASIC TO ALL HUMAN BEINGS, NO MATTER WHAT THE PRESENTING ISSUES MIGHT BE ***
Over the years, I have worked with many clients, and with many different issues that affect their lives and impact on their relationships, work, and other areas.
I have found that there is a thread in all of their stories and in their struggles. There is also a thread in the way we work through these struggles in each of their individual therapeutic processes.
This thread is something that I find important in my life as well, but that I have seen has a great impact in my clients’ lives and relationships.
That thread relates to Boundaries, Self-Care, and what the client needs for themselves and from those around them.
It sounds easy, right? But trust me, it is something that us humans are not very good at, especially when we are told it is selfish or rude to set clear boundaries and to do things that mean we are taking care of ourselves. I challenge that in the therapy room, and work through what keeps clients from finding their truth and sticking to it.
Whether it be something more practical like getting stuck with all the cleaning in the house and wanting to ask their partner to help out as they live there too, or something less visible like needing to say no to an invitation due to needing time alone to recharge their energies when social contact gets too much, or other more difficult issues to work through like domestic abuse, for example.
These are things that I can help with – setting boundaries, finding ways to look after yourself, and finding out what you need and want out of life and relationships – within the greater context of the current situation that brings you to counselling.
These are just some of the issues I can help you with.
*** autism *** abortion *** abuse *** addictions and compulsions *** anger *** bullying *** Relationship issues *** relationship breakdown *** codependency *** dissociation *** domestic violence *** eating disorders *** emotional intelligence *** family problems *** fear and phobias*** health issues *** identity issues *** infidelity *** jealousy *** life purpose *** panic attacks *** parenting *** religious issues *** self care and self compassion *** sleep disorders *** somatisation*** workplace issues ***
Psicoterapia en Español
La vida a veces nos trae situaciones problematicas que se nos salen de las manos, y en un pais nuevo, puede ser dificil encontrar en quien confiar o como recuperarse de ellas.
Pedir ayuda es algo positivo.
Creo en el poder de una relacion flexible, de confianza con tu terapeuta, para asi poder hablar, procesar y hacer sentido de lo que te esta sucediendo, y recuperar el control de tu vida.
Ofrezco un espacio lleno de empatia, sin prejuicios en donde puedas explorar los problemas en tu vida y encontrar una manera de salir adelante.
Nacida en Guatemala,obtuve un B.A y licenciatura en psicologia clinica. Tengo sobre 13 anios de experiencia en psicoterapia para adultos y niños en Guatemala, desde las modalidades Cognitiva-conductual y terapia de juego en cuanto a niños, y psicodinamica contemporanea e integrativa para adultos. Tambien he trabajado con personas con dificultades de aprendizaje, autismo, entre otras.
Mi motivacion para ofrecer psicoterapia en español es el hecho de la dificultad que pueden encontrar personas que se mudan a un pais con una cultura distinta y un idioma distinto. Este simple traslado puede ser complicado y un problema para adaptarse.
Contactar con servicios de psicoterapia podria ser mas complicado aun, por la barrera del lenguaje emocional que puede darse, tornandose dificil darse a entender en su segundo idioma.
Por este medio quisiera ofrecer la oportunidad de contactarme para poder tener una conversacion en nuestro idioma nativo a manera que entre los dos podamos encontrar la mejor forma de comprender tu situacion actual, para que puedas disfrutar mas de tu vida.
Counselling For Students On Counselling and Psychotherapy Courses
Having gone through the process of training myself, I know how important it is to find the right therapist to get you through the challenging but overall rewarding experiences that the counselling/psychotherapy student will encounter during their training.
I am also aware of the expenses of training, sometimes paying for supervision, as well as paying for therapy from approved therapists in our area.
It can be overwhelming to feel “raw”, exposed and vulnerable, constantly examined by self and others (in settings such as workshops, supervision and personal development groups), as well as feeling that we have every mental illness that we are studying!
It can also be a challenge to contain ourselves from trying to counsel everyone we know with the skills we are acquiring, which will pass in time…
Seeing clients for the first time can also be a challenge, and having counselling ourselves will help us develop the empathy and skills necessary to see things “from the client’s perspective” as well as to develop the abilities that will allow us to help effect positive and lasting effect in ourselves and our own clients.
Personal therapy therefore gives us insider’s knowledge as to what our client might be experiencing when they first meet us and what they might face as their therapeutic process moves forward with us as their therapist.
I encourage everyone that is studying or planning to study counselling to get personal therapy, as it has been extremely helpful to my personal development as well as my professional development and success with my clients.
Counselling Young People (16+)
I’ve chosen to work with young people aged 16 and up. There are different things to take into account when working with children younger than that.
When working with young people under 16, the cooperation of the parent(s) or carer(s) is essential for the process to fully work. Parents and carers are the main models in a child’s life, including the counsellor they will be seeing and trusting with their feelings and difficulties in expressing what they might be going through. Therefore, input and support from parents is essential.
As adults, we have learned, through better or worse circumstances, how to work out what we are feeling, how to address it – by seeking counselling ourselves or by talking it through with those closest to us – and work through it to regain balance in life. As such, we are in a great position to support our children and young people to do the same, understanding that their life experiences are not extensive yet, and are learning to do what we already know how to do, to a greater or lesser degree.
It is important to be aware that some young people, particularly those 16+, might not want their parents involved in their therapeutic process, which relates to the Gillick Competencies:
“parental right yields to the child’s right to make his own decisions when he reaches a sufficient understanding and intelligence to be capable of making up his own mind on the matter requiring decision.”
More information can be found by clicking here.