I've had therapy before and it didn't work, how will this be different?

Hey, me too! I've had many attempts at therapy before I found a person and an approach that helped me. I love working with people who have had therapy before as much as I like to support those new to counselling. In both cases, I welcome your scepticism. I think trust is something to be earned and there's no expectation for all parts of you to be on board straight away if you had experiences of therapy which didn't meet your needs.

 

During our introduction call, I will ask you about past experiences with therapy to see if I can offer you something different. I will also note what you don't want as well as what you do want this time around. 

 

I also encourage you to have a read about the approaches I use- IFS and Polyvagal Theory. You can search for Deb Dana and Richard (Dick) Schwartz who explain these modalities. If it speaks to you, I encourage you to give therapy another go, it's exhausting to try again, but so so worth it. 

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Who do you work with?

I work with people experiencing symptoms of persistent anxiety, depression, and emotional overwhelm. Those struggling with anxiety, emotional dysregulation, perfectionism, people-pleasing, inability to be assertive, toxic relationship patterns, insecure attachment. Many of my clients struggle with feeling stressed in social situations, overachieving and feeling burntout, emotional eating, constant feeling of shame and guilt. I work with people from all walks of life, and cultures. I am a white, cishet woman (she/her pronouns). I come from Poland, and I'm committed to the decolonisation of indigenous spaces, I'm a feminist and an LGBTQIA+ ally. I constantly work on improving my cultural competency to be able to help those from cultures different than my own.

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Who do you not work with?

If you are currently experiencing a mental health crisis, it's not the right time for us to work together. If you're in crisis, please seek help here (NZ only). I also can't help you with issues related to psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or personality disorders at this stage. 

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What qualifies you to do this work?

I am a student of Masters of Counselling at Massey University and work under clinical, IFS and cultural supervision. In my work, I draw from my extensive training and my own experience of therapy. I hold an MSc. in Psychology of Mental Health, a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and specialised training to work as a trauma therapist. As part of my Masters,  I am working towards my provisional registration with the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC). You can read more about my education, qualifications and work experience here. If you'd like to know more, just reach out. I always welcome questions about my qualifications - you deserve to know.

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How do I know it will actually work?

Even though it may be difficult to hear, we can't know if it will definitely work. That's why we will check in about progress and how useful the sessions are for you as we go. Success will depend on the relationship and right fit with the counsellor, your capacity for change, if your environment supports your healing or makes it harder and your goals for therapy - what success in therapy looks like for you. Counselling won't help you get rid of unpleasant feelings, because that's physically impossible. But what we do know is that it's easier to naviagte difficult times and feelings when we're not alone with them. I can promise you is that you will learn to relate to your anxious, critical and overwhelmed parts of you differently. I'm committed to helping you regain trust in yourself as the source of self-love and self-care.