Why Counselling?

Life challenges and feeling persistently unwell can sometimes be hard to cope with on your own.

Talking to a counsellor can help you make sense of what is going on. A counsellor listens without judgement, and will help you learn how to overcome your difficulties. He will support you in changing things you want to change so that you can find your way back to feeling well and in balance.

Through counselling / psychotherapy you can come to know yourself better, to feel more at peace with yourself and explore the full range of your potential.


What is Counselling / Psychotherapy?

For those who do not know, counselling is a form of therapy in which the client sits comfortably in a quiet room and talks face to face with the therapist. That is why it is often known as “talking therapy”.

Through carefully guided conversations I would help you to understand better what is happening and why, and then to seek effective ways to address the problems that are affecting your life.

 
Duration and Frequency

Counselling and psychotherapy sessions usually last about an hour and are spaced to meet your needs, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. The duration of counselling is always very personal and this is usually discussed during the initial assessment and reviewed as appropriate. In most cases it is short term, 1–12 sessions. Occasionally, in more complex cases, more sessions might be recommended.


First Appointment

An initial consultation will allow me to learn about you, your particular situation and your issues. I will then make an assessment which I will discuss with you. A mutual decision will then be made about whether we would like to work together and, if so, an agreement will be made concerning what you wish to achieve and how to work towards that. When possible, I like to allow 90 min for this first appointment to ensure that we cover everything carefully.


For Whom?

I provide counselling and coaching to adults and young people, to groups, couples and families. I speak English, Portuguese and French fluently and I can understand Spanish.


Couple Counselling

I help couples address their relationship problems mostly in a twofold way:

• Through coaching communication skills, which will improve the way they listen to each other and express how they feel, what they need and what they want, in a more compassionate and effective way.
• Using the CBT approach to develop a better awareness of their expectations and underlying assumptions and to help them consider whether they need to change them.

During couple counselling it is also possible to have individual sessions for each one.

When it is not possible to save the relationship our work will then focus on how to manage the separation in a respectful way.

I provide counselling to both heterosexual and homosexual couples.


Family Therapy

Is used to address the problems within the family and usually involves one or both parents and one or more of the children.
 
I help parents and children deal with a variety of problems and situations that affect relationships within the family and I try to use the approach that best fits the situation. When there is a need to improve the way people interact, I teach listening and communication skills. Sometimes there is a need for conflict mediation or anger management. Support for parenting skills is an important element in many cases.

CBT is an aid to understanding how unhelpful assumptions and behaviours contribute to maintaining the problems, as well as how these can be changed to improve relationships.