Befriend Counselling
Where you can be a friend to yourself
You can help yourself. And there is hope.
Not good enough. Not lovable enough. Helpless. Hopeless. Do you feel weighed down by thoughts like these day in and day out? The sad fact is negative thoughts like these 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.
I ask people what they would tell their friends 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 if you're like them, you're good enough. You're 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.
Challenges I work with
Trauma
Anxiety
Depression
Low Self Esteem
Emotion Regulation
And more
My therapeutic approach is informed by
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP)
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)