As above, so below. What does your body know that your mind does not yet realise?

People come for counselling in general because something feels wrong. Emotional pain, stuck thinking patterns, adverse life events, a whole range of life circumstances and ways of coping with them cause difficulties. The work of therapy is to move towards wholeness, relieving symptoms and supporting clients in moving towards what they want.

I am often struck by the depth of communication that happens when two people sit together and connect. Oftentimes, people do not have neat or succinct answers to the questions their situation poses. Often, they profoundly do not know, there is a sense of confusion, or detachment and the way forward seems obscured.

In these cases, a very beneficial way of working can be to move past conscious awareness and to stop attempting to answer questions with cognitive thought. Increasing body awareness and exploring what the body is communicating through its tightness, symptoms, movements and sensations can be one way to uncover the wisdom the client has available beyond their immediate awareness.

Another useful way of working is to explore metaphorically, discovering what the client is experiencing in a different way. Metaphors are packed with meaning, and as metaphors evolve, so does our lived experience of what they represent. You might ask yourself, when I have this symptom, I am like what?  Let your imagination run free and don't edit what it tells you, the symbolic realm is unconscious and it is not intended to make sense.

If you feel out of tune, or you want greater harmony, working with a counsellor may be beneficial. Why not search the directory for someone who would help you get in tune with your inner self?