At Family Life – Counselling and Support Services, I use a range of therapies and counselling techniques.
Narrative Therapy is a Connected knowing– listening, sharing knowledge, and connecting without judgement.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is similar to CBT but includes Acceptance, Validation, and Dialetic Strategies. Using Dialetical strategies is helpful when we experience Emotional Regulation problems because it helps create a less rigid frame of thinking. In DBT you are taught skills that relate to your own emotions and situations. DBT is especially helpful for people diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or CPTSD. DBT works well alongside skills groups.
Sandtray Therapy is a holistic approach to counselling.
Sandtay uses miniature objects that represent all aspects of life, and it is a process which brings peace and clarity to what is under the current situation that is presented. It identifies unspoken issues and it brings solutions. Sandtray is for everyone.
Art and Craft used in Therapy can be psychologically and emotionally healing, as well life-enhancing for a person. A person can improve their level of self awareness, ability to cope with symptoms/stress/traumatic experiences, improve their cognitive abilities and express themselves in a different medium to simply just talking. Both children and adults alike can benefit from this therapeutic style. The level of personal learning and self-awareness that can come from Art Therapy, is particularly powerful. Many adults will be initially reluctant to engage in Art Therapy, due to the preconceived idea that a person must draw/paint something that is artistic and possibly even ‘perfect’. However, this type of therapy does away with this notion, and encourages adults to approach art as a means of expressing themselves in a non-judgemental way.
Art is particularly useful for children and teenagers, who can often have difficulty discussing deeply emotional or painful issues or feelings. Sometimes a client will not know the importance of a drawing or creation that they have made. However, art therapy is a valuable therapeutic tool for tapping into the basic part of the human psyche, that can have far reaching effects on a person’s resolution of problems and building additional “tools” for their “tool boxes”.