I began my working life in education and taught for many years before deciding to study psychotherapy. I had been fascinated for many years by our human journey, our pain and suffering and our capacity to heal and move towards maturity as we discover and include more of who we are.
My initial training was a three year Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy in the Dublin Counselling and Therapy Centre. Following that I did a Diploma in Gestalt Therapy in The Dublin Institute of Gestalt Therapy. More recently I completed the Sensorimotor Training in the area of trauma.
I believe that in the context of a respectful, accepting, supportive and safe space we can come to a greater understanding of ourselves. In therapy we are supported and accompanied as we explore what blocks us from living a more satisfying and authentic life, what prevents us from enjoying healthy relationships with others and moving closer towards realizing our potential. The therapeutic relationship then provides the context wherein the therapist and client engage in a dynamic and organic process. Some of this process may be about integrating parts of ourselves we have disowned and looking at defences and patterns of behaviour that may have been necessary at one stage in our lives but which no longer serve us well. Being present in the ‘here and now’ to whatever emerges in the working alliance between client and therapist provides the backdrop for all that takes place.
We are more than our struggles and in therapy we often discover that what brings us to our knees and into therapy often proves to be the gateway to a richer, deeper and more authentic experience of what it means to be human.