What is Spiritual Counselling?

Spiritual Counselling is based on face-to-face talk therapy. The simple theory behind this work is “better out than in” – any repressed thoughts, emotions, beliefs, memories, etc. cause energy blockages that create physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual difficulties. I use a variety of traditional therapy techniques gained from my study and personal experience of a variety of therapy approaches. I draw from the work of Freud, Adler, Jung, Perls, Rogers, Berne, Klein, Horney, Reich, Erikson and others such as Stone, Janov, Orr, Gendlin, Grinder & Bandler, and Hellinger, and including feminist therapists Susie Orbach and Judy Freespirit and the 12-Step-derived work of people like Melody Beattie and Claudia Black. I also value highly the contributions made by Dr. Myss and Alice Miller. This is classic therapy, that helps you understand your fears and inhibitions and to resolve your crippling neuroses.

The spiritual aspect of my counselling work is based on harmonising the resonance between your own fundamental truths and your daily actions. Only by creating a harmony of vibrations between these two energies can you access the synergy that is available in an actualised life to create the reality you truly want. This process relies on your ability to be honest with yourself, and with me, and to consider parts of your life that you have perhaps avoided looking at directly. For example, conflicts between your own deeply held beliefs about life and death, and those you were taught in your childhood, can create a spiritual malaise that undermines your vitality. Similarly, you may be ready to understand and dissolve self-defeating patterns that while not overly serious in themselves, create an energy in your life that prevents you feeling successful, creative, beautiful and strong.

Metaphysically speaking, we are four bodies, each with a lower and higher ‘octave’. The one we are most familiar with is the physical body, and it has an etheric body that is with us throughout life and in which the shadows of approaching physical maladies can be discerned. Our emotional body is the one we work with the most in any counselling situation, as this is the part of us that holds our memories, both painful and joyous, and is so often in need of healing through conscious attention and gentle ministering to its needs. It is this part of our being which astral travels in our dreams and during certain occult exercises. It is also the seat of the soul and it is this part of us that is said to reincarnate.

In the Spiritual Counselling process, it is the resonances of your soul that we encourage. You need to be able to sense these vibrations clearly in order to follow the lead of your soul as you move forward in your life. The mental body is the source of our cognitive intelligence, and in its higher octave is the home of our spirit, which reunites with the universal life force at our death. The spirit relies on the soul to incarnate in each lifetime, so soul work brings comfort to your spirit and well-being to your emotions. And of course, your health improves when you are no longer in conflict with yourself.

The fundamental difference between counselling and coaching is that counselling seeks to root out the first causes of difficulties, whereas coaching seeks to develop strategies for circumventing or overcoming these obstacles to live more effectively today without necessarily understanding the origin of your struggles. In general, I favour a counselling approach as it creates fundamental change which provides a solid grounding on which you can base your future. Our work together can also include a coaching element focussing on developing strategies for living, and these often centre around the creation of appropriate revenue-generating activities that are in keeping with your spiritual needs for creativity, service and freedom.

 

How can we use spiritual counselling in our work together?

Spiritual Counselling is the basis of all our work together. Helping you to access your deeper truths, to recognise and respect your inner collective, to feel the vibrations of your soul and to commit yourself to maintaining your own harmonies is the work to which I have dedicated my life. I use all of the techniques explained on this web site as well as some additional ones developed by therapists and meditation teachers whose work I admire and trust.

Having had a full-term Freudian psychoanalysis myself, and having found it wanting in some fundamental ways, I became committed to offering my clients a manner of self-exploration that integrates all the elements of the psyche and acknowledges our incarnation in a 21st century environment. Having studied the occult sciences for many years, I feel we can only truly heal when we embrace our unseen selves and work with our ‘paranormal’ powers as well. As a meditator, I recognise the challenges of self-honesty, and I honour the struggle each client has to tell their own truth and to stay on their path. As a feminist, I understand the difficulties of defining one’s own evolutionary path, for which there often appear to be no precedents. My job, as I see it, is to support you in your change process, to challenge you when necessary, and to teach you how to use a variety of tools for self-care, so that – at the end of our work together – you will feel renewed and enabled to successfully negotiate whatever experiences your life brings you in the future.