Further Information about Services & Therapeutic Approach Xeg
Here you will find more of a brief overview of some of the components, therapeutic approaches and methodologies that inform my integrative, whole-person style. This can help you to further understand how diverse and bespoke my approach to working with you can be, based upon your needs, goals and the issue. To learn more about the practicalities of the space, read this post.
Art: this complements the therapeutic process as it aids people in expressing themselves and subconscious feelings. This is particularly useful to anyone who finds talking about an issue difficult or are not sure how to express it. It can also be a relaxing & calming tool.
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Breath work: supports physical, mental and emotional wellness. Specific use in anxiety, stress and sleep hygiene.
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Colour: blending colour and the chakra system to bring awareness to a practical and simple way of thinking about different areas of life to bring a sense of wellbeing and balance. Environment affects on mood.
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Gestalt therapy: uses individual awareness to encourage personal growth and develop potential, by noticing how we are living now and exploring how we create fixed patterns of behaviour that leave us feeling uncomfortable or dissatisfied. Non-judgemental awareness of our present - moment to moment. Noticing what we experience (feelings, sensations, perceptions) and how we behave (communicate, express) in the present creates an opportunity to explore changes in attitudes and behaviour now. Can involve completing previously unresolved experiences/ relationships, and develop more effective ways of expressing ourselves.
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Internal Family Systems: A therapeutic model, developed in the 1980s by Robert Schwartz which posits of different selves and the governing and Resourceful Self which unifies the whole, amongst other components.
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Mindfulness: the gentle noticing of what an emotion feels like in your body, consciously thanking it for informing you of your feelings towards something and then allowing it to pass as emotions are information. Accept and let go. Mindfull meditation helps you live more in the present and engage with life in a more conscious way to feel more calm, confident and content plus much more. Lets go of mental clutter and works well with CBT techniques.
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Oracle cards: used as a tool to bring focus to an idea or concept or provide a direction or simply something to think on. Can bring deeper awareness to client issues, particularly used with spiritual clients who enjoy tapping into a higher guiding Self or collective unconscious.
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Person-centred: a supportive and humanistic approach developed by Carl Rogers to therapy with the belief that clients hold the wisdom themselves for change. A phenomenological approach that allows the therapist to understand the world of the client to best walk their journey of change with them.
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Reality therapy: viewpoint that to be effective and happy we must live in the present, regardless of what has happened in our past. Assists with clarifying how needs can be best met, evaluate own behaviour and make more effective choices.
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Spiritual accompaniment: more experienced spiritual practitioner accompanies a spiritual seeker while exploring their personal deeper meaning and purpose in their life in an atmosphere of trust and open-mindedness.
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Assertiveness training: helping the client for situations where they may have been prone to minimising or ignoring their true feelings, when to be assertive or not, beliefs underlying non-assertive and assertive behaviours, characteristics of assertive action - what to do and say, body language and handling other people's reactions.
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Career coaching: deals with issues that surround career, including skills, values, and personality assessment, environment.
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DBT: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy is used to support clients who struggle with emotional regulation and who have difficulties in their close relationships. It is also the recommended therapy for those with BPD.
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Guided meditation/visualisation: extremely useful method of gently uncovering repressed emotions/experiences so that they can be worked on within therapy. Can also assist to deepen motivation, tap into desires that can be turned into goals and help shift unhelpful mindset patterns. Especially useful when combined with affirmations and can also be a gentle introduction to meditation for beginners.
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Journaling: self-expression tool that does not require you to be a writer or wordsmith. Can be used to "brain dump" thoughts, worries etc., can alleviate stress, clarify thoughts and feelings, work through emotions, align with goals, be used for gratitude, as a log within therapy, habit tracking etc.
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Neuro linguistic programming: goal-oriented approach to problem-solving and modelling success, characterised by a focus on structure and process of conflicts in individual, interpersonal and social contexts.
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Psychometric assessment: branch of psychology that deals with design, administration and interpretation of quantitative or qualitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables, personality traits and aptitudes.
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Pendulum dowsing: to dowse is to search, used with spiritual clients as a tool to tap into higher Self when emotions are thought to be clouding judgement.
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Relaxation: use of simple relaxation and breathing exercises to bring calm.
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Stress counselling: is working with individuals so they take charge of and control the stress experienced to fall within their available resources. Stress is experienced when the person perceives that "demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilise" (R.S. Lazarus). Can involve altering unhelpful perspectives and beliefs.
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Solution Focused: a therapeutic approach from legendary late Milton Erikson, where the focus is on developing the clients' skills to address their issues themselves rather than focusing on pathology. This is my primary approach unless the client asks to understand why or go deeper.
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Behaviour therapy: identifies environmental variables maintaining problem behaviour and makes changes accordingly. May involve communication improvement and learning self-help skills, positive reinforcement.
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Cognitive behavioural therapy: designed to help solve problems such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance misuse. Aims to change thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, expectations and actions. Stems from the theory that the way we think affects how we feel and what we do and visa versa. It is then necessary to change thoughts and behaviours simultaneously.
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Feng shui: Chinese art of positioning objects and colours based on the belief of the flow of chi.
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Interior design: advising colour, decor and style to provide more function, an environment that works for you and allows you to feel what you wish to feel from your environment e.g. peace, happiness, creativity, vitality etc.
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Intuitive counselling: listening to a client, asking questions to have them think and feel why they really feel the way they do, not leading - client comes to a realisation themselves.
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Life coaching: a personal service to an individual that is non-judgemental and will assist to guide, challenge, motivate and be a source of support.
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Mentoring: where an experienced individual collaborates with an inexperienced person to assist in training and supporting them to reach where the experienced individual is.
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Nonviolent communication: supports deep empathic understanding of oneself and others, healing past emotional pain and trauma, processing and managing anger in oneself and others, resolution and management of conflicts in individual, interpersonal and social contexts.
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Psychology: the science of the mind, attempts to explain why beings think and behave the way they do - many branches of psychology.
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Relationship consultation: advice and coaching on the management of problem behaviour in relationships. Often involves a change in thinking in addition to behaviours.
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Sleep coaching: helps clients identify sleep goals and encourages them to self-determine ways to achieve those goals and the approaches that resonate with them. Non-judgemental, collaborative process involving creating action plans and reviewing, encouragement, holding the client accountable to goals and helps understand consequences to choices.
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Unconscious: as Erickson did, I believe that the unconscious mind is useful and contains its own wisdom and assist my client to bring this out.
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EFT: Emotionally Focused Therapy, a methodology utilising the power of emotions and the importance of understanding that we are emotionally driven creatures and that learning what our emotions are saying, why, and how to respond to them can greatly aid a person's happiness and sense of fulfilment.
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What Clients Say
I chose Sophie because she offered a wide variety of counselling styles. She exceeded my expectations and created a lovely relaxing and comfortable environment. Her style of counselling is very empathetic, relaxed, and non-judgemental and she is easy to talk to so I would recommend her.
— L. W. (female)