Honour Your Story

Hello, I'm Sue and I have a question for you.

Have you ever really honoured your story – it's ups and downs, joys and hurts or even traumas, and successes versus what you may even be calling failures, mistakes or regrets?

And if not, why not? Often, I hear it's due to a sense of shame, avoiding discomfort, not wanting to be a burden, or in terms of sharing the good stuff, not wanting to seem arrogant or hog the limelight.

Or maybe it's hard admitting these things even to yourself, including your strengths and positive qualities. Isn't this an absolute waste of resources and potential lessons for yourself and others? These experiences and qualities are potent tools for self-acceptance, personal growth, development and contentment.

For almost 15 years have worked with people just like you who, so far, have not yet realised their worth, or perhaps feel like they have lost it somewhere along the way. They are often yearning for a quality of life where they feel secure and confident in themselves and are longing for that universally sought after sense of inner peace.

How can I help you?

In the unique space that is the therapeutic relationship, I will meet you with empathy and offer you a genuine, human and fortifying connection, where I will invite you to tell your story (in as much or as little detail as you see fit), and we will hear and honour it together. My aim is to help you connect to yourself – to really know yourself and your values. I can help you find that inner healing and those personal solutions that are already within you so that you can build resilience, maximise your wellbeing and live and maintain a life that you find fulfilling. I like to call this way of being a sense of 'earthed empowerment'*.

Like the African proverb says, "When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind."

For you, coming from a place of earthed empowerment could mean any number of things like the ability to acquire a preferred self-image, or improved communication, better relationships, honing new habits like weight management, negotiating a career or job change, making general life decisions, coping with menopause or coming to terms with a different life transition, or it may even be allowing yourself to begin to grieve a loss.

As a spiritually aligned therapist and integrative counsellor/clinical supervisor, my work is influenced by mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (A.C.T.) I also often use Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) sometimes called 'Tapping' and am a Clinical Hypnotherapist too.

I bring a compassionate perspective, bearing in mind the attitudes of mindfulness, working both somatically, that is with the body, and also cognitively with the mind. I will help you befriend your body, learning ways to ground and soothe yourself, while we also explore what changes you might feel it beneficial to make to your thinking regarding perspectives and attitudes, and also behaviours which in turn alters feelings, and of course, how to do this.

And what qualifies me to help you?

Aside from years of practical experience in private practice, my qualifications and training, I have been to the university of life and am still a student there actually, (when can we ever say we've truly graduated, eh?! I believe there's always stuff to learn). Personally, I can probably tick off experiencing the majority of major life stressors, including some traumas.

I am a great believer in the Zen Buddhist philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, which values accepting imperfection like in the art of Kintsugi where damaged vases are repaired with gold, highlighting their unique cracks so that they can shine brighter than ever before.

As Leonard Cohen sang:

"Forget your perfect offering. There's a crack...in everything. That's how the light gets in."

So, if you're absolutely fed up with how things are and are ready to learn how to fully accept and/or forgive yourself, to feel comfortable in your own skin and with who you are, and to celebrate your authentic self, and build resilience for those inevitable challenges and changes of life, and gain the confidence to reach your potential and live your life fully, come share your story with me. Let's do this together.

* phrase courtesy of Eryl Hulatt