“The brain is wider than the sky”
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
About
I came to Psychotherapy as a result of my own life journey and my longing to become the person I was truly meant to be . Each and every one of us deserves to embrace our own unique self as we always in our hearts know our worthiness for love , we always know the rightness and integrity of our own unique presence . The secret now is finding the safety to operate openly and freely from our real authentic self . This is something we can not always do on our own ; we all need to have someone in our lives – partner , parents , friend , therapist – who is mature enough to accompany us as we make what is often the long journey home .
I was fortunate to have two such friends and mentors whose clinical work and writings I draw on heavily to inform my practice and indeed the way I live my life . Dr Helen Ruddle and Dr Tony Humphreys have taught me that with loving holding from ourselves and others we can begin to move from isolation to belonging , from shame to celebration , from loneliness to intimacy , from presence to realness , from being hidden to being out in the light.....
I initially studied Speech and Drama at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. On completion I trained as a Drama therapist at Lady Mary School for emotionally challenged children and adolescents.
I subsequently developed a program for Theatre In Education (TIE) bringing the benefits of drama as a medium for emotional and psychological expression into the class-room.
Co- scripting and performing plays with children that were relevant to what was happening in their own lives and within their communities taught me the enormous power and benefits in expressing our inner and sometimes conflicted selves through the medium of self- script and drama.
Self-Esteem
When we discourage our children’s dreams and personal aspirations , we do so , or so we believe because we don’t want them to be hurt or disappointed.
But the real hurt comes not from life – which has a way of guiding us towards our true goals- but from telling our children that they can’t make it .
When parents take time to listen as well as talk to their children , their children feel loved and valued , capable and encouraged.
Depression
Depression attempts to bring attention to the aspects of self that are supressed. buried , deeply hidden or flattened out.
Examples are ; your lovability, uniqueness , difference , the right to live your own life .
The symptoms of depression attempt to emphasise those hidden qualities of self and invites the person to detect and begin to express them.
The opposite of depression is expression.
Sexuality
Adults and young people are better enabled to make safe , responsible, respectful , open and mature sexual choices for themselves when they have the physical safety to accept and look after their bodies , the emotional safety to identify and follow their own feelings.
Whether your attraction is to same gender or opposite gender, or both , each of us needs the social safety for our choice of sexual expression to be recognised and celebrated equally.
Relationship issues
No matter where you are in your life you are always in relationship with others, whether it is with parents, friends or an intimate partner.
Each of us is made up of a loving energy that gets expressed in many extraordinary creative ways. One of the most creative and intimate forms of self -expression is found in our relationships with others. It is in our relationships that our deepest needs to be known and to belong are met.