My Approach to Counselling
Every person’s journey is unique, and there is no single approach that works for everyone. I draw on a range of counselling approaches and developmental theories to best support your individual needs. These approaches are not rigid techniques, but guiding frameworks that help us make sense of your experiences, explore new perspectives, and find practical steps toward growth and wellbeing.
Therapeutic Approach & Developmental Theories:
Person-Centred
American psychologist Carl Rogers built this approach on the belief that people can make positive changes when offered the right environment. This forms the base of everything I do. By creating a safe, non-judgmental, and supportive professional relationship, you are encouraged to explore your experiences openly. Core conditions of empathy, genuineness, and unconditional acceptance help foster growth and healing.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
CBT focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected and how negative thought patterns can lead to negative feelings and actions. By learning to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and replace them with more balanced perspectives, you can build healthier ways of coping. CBT is evidence-based and effective for concerns such as anxiety, depression, stress, and relationship challenges.
Solution Focused Therapy
Rather than focusing heavily on problems, this approach highlights your existing strengths and resources. It is future-focused, encouraging small, achievable steps toward the goals you set for yourself. Change is created by building on what already works.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT encourages acceptance of difficult emotions instead of fighting against them. At the same time, it supports you in taking meaningful actions guided by your personal values, leading to greater fulfilment and resilience.
Supportive Decision Making
When faced with important choices, supportive decision making offers guidance to explore your options, weigh the possibilities, and make confident decisions that align with your values.
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
Freud suggested that unconscious thoughts and early childhood experiences play a powerful role in shaping how we think, feel, and behave in the present.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development
Erikson’s theory explores how we grow and change throughout life, with each stage presenting unique challenges and opportunities for personal development.
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Attachment theory highlights the importance of early bonds with caregivers and how these shape the ways we form and maintain relationships across our lifespan.
Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory
Piaget described how thinking develops through different stages, influencing how we learn, problem-solve, and make sense of the world as we grow.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s model suggests that our basic needs — such as safety, belonging, and security — must be met before we can focus on personal growth, fulfilment, and self-actualisation.
I am passionate about making a difference and providing quality, targeted support. If we determine you need specialised support in an area outside my scope I will assist you to transition to someone within that speciality.
