About Jan

 

Advanced Certification in

Clinical Psycho-analytic

Psychotherapy 

and

Counselling

Clinical mbr PdPP  (Psychodynamic Practitioners of Perth)

Mbr WA Jung Society

B Sc, Adv Cert CPAP, Dip Tchg, Dip AP&M

Connecting with your nature

 WHAT DO I DO?                                                                                                                       

 I offer dedicated confidential care to those in need of sorting through their thoughts and feelings. I listen deeply to you, and respond.

 

 I lean towards both body-centred work and Jungian perspectives.

 

My work is for those suffering personal trauma, anxiety, lack, excess, depression, exhaustion, loss, grief, confusion, shame, change or stagnancy.

 

Different stages of life can sometimes throw us into confusion and so dedicating time to air them and perhaps see them from different perspectives with the therapist can help clients on their way with more acceptance of and options for their situation.

 

So too when unexpected changes might catapult a person into all sorts of states of mind.

 

Global issues deeply affect us. If they go by denied our behaviour acts out in ways that can be negative in how we live our lives.

 

Climate change is real and I help people explore what they feel to discover how and who they truly want to be amidst our changing world.

 

Vegans who are psychologically affected by vicarious trauma from what they may see or know directly or indirectly find help here in expressing their feelings and in truly being heard. It makes sense to work with a long-term vegan psychotherapist and counsellor.

 

Similarly, I am here for people struggling with the rate of changes in our world, not that I profess to have the answers, but my working knowledge leads me to understand the value that clients find in giving their concerns time to be shared and heard rather than burying them. 

 

 I do community voluntary work for those homeless or in financial hardship.

 

My advanced years seeing personal, family, social, historic, technological and global contexts are an asset to this work. 

 

I am trusted over the years by many.                                                                                                                                                               

 CLIENTS HAVE SAID                                                                                                                 

 

“I am so glad I was given your number. I cannot believe how much better I feel now”.     

 

 “I feel lighter now and I can think rationally”.                                                                     

 

“I wished I had come to see you sooner. I kept all this inside and now I can see how it was badly affecting my health and work”.                                                                                     

 

“I didn’t realise the origin of these patterns of mine until we worked together and now I can see they are no longer useful’’.       

                                                                               

 “I can see now how cut off I was from my body and life”.         

                                           

 "Do you have gift vouchers? I know a few people who would also benefit from your work.”   

 

"You know, this is the first time I have been able to explore and express my feelings about the effects of climate change and how secretly enraged  and  powerless I had been feeling.  Not only has this improved my  self acceptance but also my relationships, work and purpose".  

 

"Thank you so so much for holding the space while I shared and cried the angst and despair  I had been holding in my body heart and mind ever since I 'got' how much pain and suffering agriculture animals endure just for us. You also helped me deal with the lies that we had been told for so long by industries to hide these truths".

 

"You know Jan, I have never revealed this even  to myself til now... that I don't trust other men, even in my  football team.  This really surprised me. I am glad I can safely unravel my emotions here to explore this and to reflect on  my reactions and patterns. I  now want to cultivate my 'healthy male' and 'healthy female' psychological parts of myself to function well in this world".

 

"A heartfelt thankyou for the care and compassion you gave to my daughter".

 

"Thankyou so much for all you have done since that day. You have a gift and have truly enabled me. I want you to know that I am very grateful and so is my family who have become aware of many changes that have in turn made them happy".

 

"I appreciated your support, understanding and most importantly, listening this year".

 

See Testimonials page for more comments from clients.   

 WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?                                                                                                  Counselling is usually about a current and more urgent or present  issue and can be a single session or as many sessions as needed. It is often but not always about fixing a problem. The client may consider this adequate or may wish to continue on to deeper levels to discover patterns that have influenced certain reactions or behaviours through life.                                                                                                                                              Psychotherapy explores our unconscious part that has been modelled in us mostly without us realising. We can go through life repeating patterns and mistakes wondering is it just me or is there something wrong with me?  Psychotherapy helps to reflect and gain insight as to our acting out. Our ‘self’ is similar to an iceberg where the unconscious is the larger and hidden aspect while our conscious self  that we put to the world  is evident. Many clients comment that in any previous treatment they may have had, their early life history had not been explored whereas psychotherapy helps us to see and understand  origins of our internal workings and to create  purposeful adaptations that feel real and relevant.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    People may come to a time in life where they feel the need to explore their inner lives and to be heard in confidence without judgement by a professional trusted person. And this is psychotherapy.    

 

As Socrates said, “the unexamined life is not worth living”. And I agree. Do  you?

 

 

CONSULTATIONS         Local. phone or on-line.                                                                     *These can be singular session or more as needed.                                                                 * For individuals, couples or groups.                                                                                     *Open Dialogue: This is based on the highly successful  and documented model of over thirty years in Finland. This is where the client meets with more than one practitioner as well as with chosen friends or family members all at once. The weekly process allows each person to speak, be heard, to reflect and share. Each participant is treated respectfully and equally. The research indicates the significant reduction in the use of medication with ongoing improvement in many mental health conditions. www.opendiologue.org                                                                                                         *When needs occur I am happy to meet and work with client in locations away from my office, such as in nature, client’s home, hospital,  prison, cemetery,  etc.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      HOW DOES IT START?                                                                                                                   A person may make contact in a time of distress and require prompt attention.       Others may be less urgent and so through an initial discussion, both practitioner and client can gage if it seems a worthy ‘fit’ to work together and if so arrangements are made to  commence at an agreed date and time in person, phone or skype. If not suggestions may be offered as to other practitioners.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                WHAT CAN HAPPEN in THERAPY?                                                                                        Sessions can be ‘talk therapy’, or talking while walking or sitting in nature (or in venues mentioned earlier), in working with dreams, images, symbols; in play therapy.                                                                                                                                                              Some people are in such a state that words can take some time to be uttered. And that’s ok too. Trust, time, emotional safety are vital and cannot be rushed or forced.                                                                                                                                                                Somatic(relating to the body) or body centred therapy work invites the client to turn their attention inward to the body's sensations. As Drs Gabor Mate and Bessel van der Kolk stress, our bodies register everything we experience and do not forget. Memories stored somewhere in our bodies affect our minds and health even while we may be unaware of these connections.  I offer body-centred treatment for those who would like to work this way. Physical touch is used when or if both therapist and client believe it to be congruent with the process. In this case, I will explain what will happen and your consent is imperative all along the way. Body-centred psychotherapy brings about awareness of and attunement to otherwise unconscious bodily reactions. Until these are noticed, a person is likely to continue to live reactively, even with volativity or withdrawal, rather than with a considered approach throughout life. Screen or in-person treatments are most suited to this work.