Counselling Sessions
Not putting permanent labels to suffering is a central part of my work. I help you process what is happening.
I work with people like you, in person or online, in a completely confidential and private space, in a calm environment that fosters serenity and self-reflection.
In some cases, developing a better understanding of what has happened to us allows us to see the situation from a different angle, thus reducing its impact on us. Sometimes it's not something that happened in the past but something we are experiencing in the present, where we need to find what works for us to cope or develop resilience.
Many situations are not black and white but have a variety of shades, making it difficult to discern the most beneficial decision in the long run.
Counselling can help you to process the experience and in the process of exploration, you can hopefully find your own answers.
We can also explore and process emotions and feelings that have left their mark or are clouding your daily life.
I have vast experience working with adults to address difficulties related to anxiety, domestic abuse, depression, breakups, separation and divorce, self-sabotage, self-esteem issues, grief and loss of loved ones, including migration related grief, long-term illnesses, traumatic loss due to suicide, work-related stress, career changes, issues related to neurodiversity, childhood sexual abuse, sexual diversity, and trauma.
With children and adolescents from age 11, I work around school anxiety, self-esteem issues, bullying, domestic abuse, gender issues, adverse childhood experience, body image, traumatic loss, issues related to neurodiversity, low self-esteem and academic stress.
Below you can find in more details the different modalities we can work with.
Person Centred Therapy
This is a humanistic approach founded by Carl Rogers, where "I," as your therapist, and "you," as the client, are equals in the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship, but you will be the one who expresses yourself most during the sessions. As your therapist, I will make short and precise interventions using techniques specific to this modality to help you reflect on or connect with your emotions when necessary. In this modality, you are the expert on your own life, while your therapist intervenes only to help you clarify your thoughts and find your own solutions. As your therapist, I will not offer you answers, try to fix you, solve your problems, or rescue you from a situation. Instead, you will have a supportive, non-judgmental environment based on empathy, authenticity, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. I will encourage you to understand the situation from your own perspective, which will help you develop a deeper capacity for self-reflection and self-acceptance.
Therapy for Depression
This type of therapy will help you reflect on how you feel, working with you to identify feelings and emotions that may be stuck or unprocessed.
Holding onto unresolved feelings from difficult relationships can make us feel down and depressed, thus perpetuating the problem. Being overly critical of ourselves, feeling hopeless and helpless in a situation, also affects our mental health.
Therapy for Depression aims to help you connect with the feelings underlying your depression. The sessions offer you the opportunity to reflect on and explore your feelings and emotions. It encourages you to identify them, express them, understand them, and develop new ways of seeing yourself and the world around you.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
Often, when something traumatic happens, it seems to get stuck in the nervous system with the original image, sounds, thoughts, and feelings. Because it remains stuck there, it continues to be triggered every time a reminder arises. This traumatic memory can be the cause of a great deal of distress and, sometimes, many negative emotions, such as fear and helplessness, that we seem unable to control.
This modality uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain process traumatic memories differently, reducing their emotional and physical impact.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, which focuses primarily on thoughts and emotions, EMDR recognises that trauma resides in both the body and the mind.
The bilateral stimulation used in EMDR appears to unlock the nervous system and allow the brain to process the experience.
Your own brain will do the healing, and you will be in control.
You can contact me at news@doralizaranda.com