Ask any of the wisest people you've met and they will tell you that we are ever changing beings, with the potential to be constantly learning about ourselves and about life in general.

The older of these wise people, who have many years of experience behind them, will tell you that there is still yet more self knowledge to acquire

These people embrace each new experience, good or bad, as an opportunity to learn about themselves.

This 'self-awareness' is at the heart of personal development work in counselling.

In counselling in general there will always be a certain amount of self-awareness gained. This gets quite naturally woven into the counselling through the process of looking at the issues the client brings.

Sometimes clients come to counselling with a specific issue and a certain amount of self-awareness will arise through looking at that issue and processing the emotions that come with it.

Some clients come along specifically seeking personal development. They want to increase their levels of self-awareness, in order to understand better how they as an individual identify their place in the world and in relation to others.

Through our personal development work they can gain an understanding of what thoughts, behaviours, and responses are helpful, and those that are not so helpful.

They may find that they are repeating unhelpful patterns and want to look at the origins of these so that they can make changes for the better.

I place a strong emphasis on your personal development for those clients who enjoy this side of our counselling work.

I believe that the key to sustaining the positive work achieved through counselling is in your growing self awareness.

When our counselling relationship comes to an end, I feel it is important that you have the necessary psychological tools to call on in future life challenges.

I find clients enjoy this aspect of our work so much that they sometimes return at a later date for some further "top up" personal development sessions.

Personal Development Exercises

I take a holistic view of therapy. That means I look at the whole of your life. For example I may help you to consider your lifestyle choices and any changes you would like to make such as eating, smoking, and alcohol consumption. I may also help you to look at the quality of your working life and your social life. I make a point of being non-judgmental but I can help you to consider your liefstyle choices if you would like to.

In sessions, where appropriate I often use a whiteboard to demonstrate techniques and models of therapy and how they apply to your themes and patterns in your individual life.

We can together do exercises to practice recognising how you approach issues and different, more helpful ways of seeing and doing things.

Sometimes it is helpful to simply write things down. This enables you to clear your mind from things that are going round and round and to make sense of your worries.

Where appropriate, I offer worksheets and exercises that we can work through together in the session. These can include topics such as

• Managing Anxiety

• Communication Skills

• Managing Anger

• Lifestyle

• Understanding Relationship Patterns

Homework

Many clients enjoy taking away worksheets to do some fun exercises. There are never right or wrong answers to these exercises. They are simply useful tools to help you discover more about yourself, and to develop ways to practice thinking and behaving differently so that you can begin to have a more productive experience of life.

If you would like some counselling in Weston-super-Mare, or by telephone or online, please contact me on 01934 642976 or via the form provided on the 'Contact' page. I will respond to you as soon as possible to arrange your first free session.