Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to be good at art to work with you?
Absolutely not. The creative work in these sessions is not about creating something to be judged like in an art class or exhibition.
It is about using colours, textures, materials, spaces, movements and words to allow deeper resonance with an emotional undercurrent. The creative work is there to allow expression to deepen, bring stuck feelings to the fore, to find release and to give the heart a language with which to speak.
Do I have to be an extravert or a dramatic type?
Absolutely not. A lot of my clients work quietly, simply, tenderly and subtly.
I am however here to help you delve beneath the story or intellectual perspective and find what is happening on an emotional and embodied level in order to support emotional expression. The intellect can then be supportive by helping with awareness building. I can support you find a balance between emotional expression and building inner resources to hold your own vulnerability.
The power of integrative ways of working is that there is a modality to suit all types of people. My job is to listen deeply to what is arising in you, to what you bring and how you bring it and to work there. To create a container for this to find it’s expression that allows an impulse that might be stuck to complete and make space for movement, awareness and more flow. I will strive to always meet you where you are and work from there.
Will I have to cry and rage?
Often we only end up in therapy because something in our lives is becoming unbearable. It is a brave thing to engage in the therapeutic process with a complete stranger and there can be resistance. Our first sessions will be about getting to know each other, getting a sense of the ways in which we can work, strengthening inner resources around our vulnerability and building trust. I will not be pushing you to dive straight into the depths of your emotional story at any point. If we push your protective mechanisms away we are not honouring their importance and how they have kept you safe this far. Rather, as trust, inner resources and capacity to feel safe grows, the emotions that dwell in the body will release at their own pace. My job is to create that safety, and support you to create the right kind of inner resource to allow your emotional body to be met and held by you. I absolutely trust in the body’s innate wisdom and letting the body lead whilst at the same time supporting the nervous system to remain regulated.
Will I become an emotional wreck if I go into therapy?
We can often fear that if we cry we will not be able to be strong or that if we rage we will destroy everything or harm loved ones. When we support the nervous system AND emotional expression simultaneously we can find a sweet spot between our vulnerability and our power.
When we slow down the process, support the nervous systems regulation by finding the right distance from the feeling, the right pace and the right inner resource we stay in connection to our awareness and our whole being rather than becoming over identified with the feeling and flooded with emotion. In this way we can experience emotional release that is still in connection.
Is this work just about crying and raging?
Absolutely not. This work is about your wholeness, your sovereignty, your power, your authenticity and your freedom. What we see is that we often are drawn to therapy because we are struggling to feel these qualities so our work is to make space, time, compassion and curiosity for the places where these life force energies are blocked or ruptured. Emotional release is often part of the way of allowing these qualities to be released, supported, defended and honoured by the rest of the internal system within the psyche.