ADDICTIONS:

Addictions are not limited to substance abuse. Various activities can cross the line from recreational to addictive. Common examples include gambling, sexual addictions, pornography, internet and playstation. Casual engagement in these activities may not be considered as addictive. However when engagement becomes excessive, to such a point that it interferes with the normal day-to-day functioning of a person addiction is present. Usually this behaviour cannot be stopped by the person through will power alone and great feelings of anxiety and distress will arise when you try to force yourself to abstain from this. Force is not the answer, but rather a co-operative facilitation towards self-actualisation through greater health, strength and sense of direction in life.

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COUPLES AND MARITAL:

A relationship with a significant other can be one of life’s most fulfilling, rewarding and nourishing experiences. Unfortunately we are not always able to express ourselves or understand the other optimally resulting in a situation where a much cherished relationship is also a source of great pain and suffering. This pain and suffering within a relationship is centred around communication, and resolving these communication difficulties will improve a relationship greatly. Couple or marital therapy thus focuses on the relationship and communication problems. I assist with a variety of possible issues that may arise within the context of a relationship.

 

 

 

INDIVIDUAL:

I  offer individual therapy to children, adolescents and adults. Individual therapy / psychotherapy starts with entering into a supportive relationship with me, with the purpose of reducing your suffering or distress. 

Individual therapy is also a common and useful means of self-growth and self-actualization. Many people embrace therapy and walk the path along the road of self-actualization by becoming more conscious about themselves, their inner world and their relationships.

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TRAUMA:

Trauma is defined as “severe emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely upsetting experience”.  Trauma counselling is a short-term intervention, which is appropriate when a person has suffered a traumatic incident. Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes; events such as abuse, divorce, job loss, death, mugging, armed robbery, rape, car accident, illness, failing an exam, losing your car or house – in fact any event that you regard as negative and that changes your view of yourself and your world. Most people will suffer a traumatic experience at least once in their life. Trauma counseling supports you in identifying and coming to terms with the feelings and emotions you may feel during and after a traumatic experience. These emotions will vary from individual to individual, but the most commonly experienced emotions are anger and fear.  Anger and fear are very powerful emotions and if suppressed will almost certainly have an impact on your well-being – physical, emotional, and mental. They are also often misunderstood emotions and perceived as “bad”.  Anger and fear in themselves are neither good nor bad. A useful analogy is water:  we do not label water as bad because a tsunami killed thousands of people and therefore decide never to bath or shower again. So it is with anger and fear (and in fact all our emotions) – it is how we channel our emotions that makes the difference. Of course, our responses are not limited to anger and fear; we could also feel shock, hopelessness, numbness, self-pity, inability to cope, disbelief, grief, guilt, or any other of the emotions we are capable of feeling .

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An effect of these powerful emotions is the activation of the “fight or flight” response. Your adrenal glands dump adrenaline into your bloodstream and you are poised either to fight for your life or to run for your life. While this was an appropriate response for our ancestors when faced with a saber-toothed tiger, it is not effective when faced with a thug holding a gun to your head – fighting or running is likely to get you shot! As this stored energy generally has no physical outlet, it can manifest in a host of physical symptoms such as headaches, pain in the neck and shoulders, chest pain, stomach pain, diarrhea, yawning and sighing, absent mindedness, nausea, tearfulness, disturbed sleeping patterns and short-temperedness or aggression.

 

There are many trauma-counseling models and they all have the same objective:

To get your life back on track and to move you from being a victim to being a  victor.

Ways that the Trauma Counselor may use to achieve this include:

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-  Listening to what you are saying (and not saying);

-  Supporting your coping mechanisms;

-  Exploring with you, and validating, your feelings and emotions;

-  Supporting you to make sense of the incident;

-  Integrating the event meaningfully into your life.

 

Trauma counseling differs from traditional counseling and analysis in that it is typically short-term and often limited to one or two sessions. It is a fact that trauma counseling often uncovers other issues from the past that have never been dealt with and in this case, longer-term therapy may be indicated.

People who have received trauma counseling within a few days of an incident typically report a feeling of relief and they feel able to take what they can from the experience.