What’s the difference between what I do, and what a counsellor or psychologist does?

I think most of us at some point by the time we get to the end of our lives have had an experience with a counsellor or a psychologist. Counsellors and psychologists are both talk therapists.

Talk therapy is about discussing problems, and working through solutions. The counsellor or psychologist will be delving into your story and what has happened in your life. It’s a conscious process. Results are usually gradual, and the client typically learns and develops skills, like communication and ways of dealing with stress and emotions. Counsellors and psychologists can assist people with exploring their options, delving into the meaning of events, and making choices about their future. Speaking to a counsellor is different to speaking to a friend because they are unbiased, and do not give advice.

Psychologists are all the above but more analytical. They are required to write reports, do tests, and label people as having various mental conditions or disorders, such as borderline personality, Depression, PTSD, BiPolar, ADHD etc.

So what do I do?

Firstly, I take a snapshot of where you are right now. Then I help you describe what you would like instead.

After I understand what you want in your life, we work out what is blocking you and stopping you from having that.

If you are overweight, what is stopping you? (tip, it’s not food).
If you are a smoker, what is stopping you from quitting? (tip, it’s not nicotine).
If you are depressed or anxious, what is stopping you from feeling happy and calm? (tip, it’s not because there’s something wrong with you).

Then we do some hypnosis. Sometimes I record the session and get clients to listen to it at home many times.

My goal, is to shift you from where you are now, to where you BELIEVE you CAN have what you want… and then help you get there by helping you step into your PERSONAL POWER. Believing in yourself, knowing you can, knowing you are powerful.

The second part is to get every part of you to feel and know… You deserve it. You are worth it. You are enough. Right down to your soul.

And the third part is to program your unconscious mind, to get you there. That’s the same unconscious mind that makes you eat the donut, pick up the cigarette, and down regulates your dopamine and serotonin by releasing extra cortisol into your system to make you depressed.

During these processes, there may be EMOTIONS that come up to be dealt with… whenever we are ‘stuck’ in our lives… there’s emotion stuck there too. Usually the ones we don’t know how to deal with… Grief, Guilt, Anger, Sadness, Fear, Despair, Shame, Self-Blame. So we deal with those… safely, usually in hypnosis, or using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), both do not require you to sit and ‘talk about your feelings’.

There’s always layers or stages to growth. Liberation comes in stages. Imagine being bound, gagged, and blindfold… someone takes off the blindfold… you already feel different, then removes the gag, now you’re relieved, then releases a few of the binds… each stage brings freedom, and yet there’s still more to remove, strengthen, discover. That’s how it goes with sessions… for clients who come long term, it’s an ever evolving process of self discovery and growth. Sometimes the sessions do resemble counselling, because sometimes it just feels right to talk for now, and it’s at your pace… Like I tell my clients… “I am just sitting here, you’re the one doing all the work”