Deborah Aita
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Imagine your life as a journey. You may be a passenger on a train with no driver feeling very anxious. Perhaps you feel stuck at a crossroads on this journey, unable to choose where to go. Or you are carrying a load that is too heavy for you, weighing you down. You may feel that you are slipping down the side of a cliff, or there's a dark fog around you making it too dangerous to move. You may feel lost and in need of a map. These are all metaphors and, as an arts psychotherapist, I will use them, and encourage you to find your own, so that we can explore and understand your stories, histories, relationships, and events. By safely uncovering the layers of meaning that are personal to you, you will come to understand yourself more deeply through this combination of left- and right-brain thinking that draws on both thinking/talking and creative intuition.
And what might this look like in practice? As well as imagining things as I've described above, you will also talk about the issues you bring and connect these to your creative intuition. By the practice of making things - drawing or painting or creative writing - or just moving things around - objects and images - you will be able to make meaningful connections that will bring clarity to your confusion and calm to to your anxiety.
No previous experience of the arts is necessary because this therapy is about expressing who you are and not about making something 'perfect'. The way you express yourself is entirely individual to you. Although many people say they're not creative I firmly believe we are all creative in our different ways. There are common difficulties and symptoms that bring people to therapy but it is how these are experienced by you, as someone with a unique history, that is key to how you can recover from them. You may have been given a diagnosis but it is your own personal experience that is important to understand so as to work towards change. I can support you to draw on your strengths through development of mindfulness and body based practice which gives further tools to think around a problem and deepen your understanding of yourself.
There is a great deal of research evidence to show that Arts Psychotherapies are effective in treating the full range of psychological issues and symptoms, and in particular Dramatherapy is indicated for work with trauma. All trauma has a story but it can be very difficult for those who have experienced a traumatic past to remember or piece together their own particular story. Some stories feel too painful to acknowledge so we hide them, guard them not only from others but from ourselves. These hidden stories, or parts of stories, can control us, impacting on our way of living, affecting our relationships and behaviour, and we may feel powerless to change. Working safely and confidentially I support you to access your story, through metaphor and symbol, so that the stories that matter to you can be released from your unconscious and cease to control you.
Many people do not know what ails them and if this is the case Arts Psychotherapies can be particularly helpful as they work 'obliquely', coming sideways at a problem, utilising the non-rational, pre-verbal, limbic parts of the brain and what is sometimes called 'implicit memory', to find what the issues are. With ongoing developments in neuroscience we now know how important it is to access these parts of the brain in order to ensure long lasting healing. I offer evidence based practice and safe structures to support you to fully engage in the process of examining your life, behaviour and feelings, so that you can live your life more fully.
Do phone or email me if you have any further questions or if you would like to book for an initial session to see if this approach, and my way of working, would suit you. I see clients both online and face to face.
Training, qualifications & experience
After a career in the arts I trained as a Dramatherapist at Roehampton University, taking a Master's qualification and registering with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as an Arts Therapist. My training placements were in adolescent secure units and a large mental health forensic hospital for adults. My final dissertation looked at using role in the treatment of schizophrenia.
I am a full member of the British Association of Dramatherapists and registered with the Information Communications Office (ICO) to ensure data protection. I attend regular ongoing professional development as well as monthly clinical supervision.
My private practice is in Bournemouth and I work with young people and adults with a range of emotional, relational and psychological issues. I also freelance for a number of organisations linked to local social work teams, including Chroma Therapies, the UK's national Arts Therapies provider. I was employed for nine years as Lead Arts Psychotherapist at Weldmar Hospicecare, working with patients and their significant others and families, individually and in groups, both pre- and post-bereavement. I supported staff both here and at Lewis-Manning Hospice through clinical supervision.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Grief
Loss
Death
Dying
Complex Trauma
Developmental Trauma
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 per session
Additional information
When I work
Please email or phone for availability.
