Reasons for counselling
I offer counselling for a wide range of issues. Although each client and approach is unique, some common themes that I work across include:
Unresolved childhood issues & trauma
Counselling can be an effective way in which to make sense of past issues and patterns of behaviour in order to see how aspects of past history are perhaps getting in the way. Perhaps you are struggling to accept a change in your life or want to look at unfinished business from the past. Working through this in Counselling can help come to terms with change or loss in a more manageable way.
Panic attacks
Panic attacks, sometimes referred to as anxiety attacks, are characterised by sudden, unexpected bouts of acute and debilitating anxiety, which are often accompanied by distressing physical symptoms. These physical symptoms can be so severe, that it is not uncommon for first time sufferers to believe that they are experiencing a heart attack or a nervous breakdown.
Relationship issues
It can be extremely important to have the opportunity in one to one in counselling to work out what is happening to you, within your relationship. Perhaps past experiences and dynamics are being re-triggered and re-experienced. It can be very effective to look at patterns in past relationships and to work out in counselling, what is familiar and may be repeating itself in your relationship and therefore your life.
Depression
We all experience periods of feeling “down” in our lives. However, if these feelings don’t go away quickly, or if they become so persistent that they interfere with your everyday life, you might be suffering from depression. When you are depressed, things can feel hopeless and beyond your control, but with counselling it can be possible to turn it around.
Counselling for students
Currently I am working more frequently with young people new to Brighton who are at college or university and in need of support and counselling. I work with both undergraduate and MA/Phd students, offering support and counselling during what can be a very difficult and stressful time.
Low self esteem
Our self esteem is influenced by lots of different factors, from our childhoods to life events. When we have low self-esteem we tend to see ourselves and the world around us in poor light. Whichever way we look things can feel negative. This can compound feelings of low self worth and we inevitably find it more difficult to cope with challenges as they present themselves.
Health related issues
I work with clients having been diagnosed or living with health related issues including Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, fibromyalgia, chronic pain & chronic fatigue. These conditions can be isolating and a lonely experience. If you have a health condition, pain may well be part of your life. We tend to think of pain in physical terms, but it’s more complex than that.
Addiction
When it comes to common social behaviour like drinking or smoking, it might be difficult to determine if there is an addiction problem. What looks like addiction could be an experimental phase or a form of stress management. But a real addiction, if left untreated, can develop into a debilitating habit or increased risk of illness.
Anxiety
Anxiety can gradually build up when perhaps we find ourselves overloaded by stressful circumstances. When we feel anxious it can be overwhelming and debilitating. It can become very hard to see clearly and can stop us in our tracks, from living our lives as we had before or as we have the potential to.
Bereavement
Bereavement counselling can help in coping with the pain and potential loneliness of grief. The death of a loved one can be devastating, one of the hardest challenges we face in life. Everyone experiences grief differently and there is no ‘normal’ or ‘right’ way to grieve.
Eating disorders
I supervise a support group for eating disorders called BHEDs in Brighton and Hove and have worked extensively with young people, students and older people with food related issues such as anorexia and bulimia. Counselling can make such a difference to understanding what is causing our addictive behaviour and how we can take steps to change it.