Befriend Counselling

Where you can be a friend to yourself

About

You can help yourself. And there is hope.

Helpless. Hopeless. Not good enough. Not lovable enough. Do you feel strung up and weighed down by thoughts like these day in and day out? The sad fact is they can stay with you long after abuse and neglect have passed. And they can be even more powerful when they gang up on you with your body, so you feel anxious and depressed.

These thoughts can affect the relationship you have with yourself, as well as the relationships you want to have with your friends, family and partner. I often ask people what they would tell their friend if they were having a similar experience. If you're like many of them, you'd be more compassionate with them than you are with yourself. And like them, you're good enough and lovable. You can help yourself and there is hope, because you're not your thoughts and you can befriend your body.

The BEST friend approach

Using the BEST Friend approach to counselling, we will understand the connections between your:

Behaviors

Emotions

Sensations

Thoughts

We will also explore questions like:

Is it fair to have one set of standards for yourself and another for everyone else?

If all your problems were gone, what would your life look like? How would it be different?

Sitting here today, try to visualize yourself as a child. Knowing what you know now, what would you tell that child?

Befriending Myself

I'm happy to say I'm a better friend to myself now. That's because I've learned to listen to what my body and mind are telling me. For years I felt depressed, anxious and stuck. Depressed because I wasn't happy with where I was at in life. Anxious because I knew I needed to make a change but didn't know how. And stuck because I didn't think I had options. I had little energy to do things and my body felt heavy, yet I felt restless and agitated. And I would find myself stuck in repetitive and negative thought loops that left me feeling mentally exhausted and physically drained. Now I want to help you see how your life can be different, so you don't feel depressed, anxious and stuck.