I started Meeting Point Counselling in 2016. I'm a spoken-word poet and a former community radio host. I have a Diploma of Counselling, an Advanced Diploma of Transpersonal Counselling and a Diploma of Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy. I've studied/taught meditation for 34 years, practiced 12-step addiction recovery for 14 years and have 6 years experience as a men's group facilitator.

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“Unconditional positive regard, a concept developed by the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers, is the basic acceptance and support of a person regardless of what the person says or does, especially in the context of client-centred therapy.”

-    Wikipedia

Unconditional positive regard is the foundation of the work I do as a counsellor. It underlies all other skills and therapy tools, and is my starting point for working with any client. Carl Rogers explains it as ‘prizing’ the client; as offering the qualities of acceptance, caring and non-possessive love. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconditional_positive_regard

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Here’s an extract from the Wikipedia definition of Humanistic Psychology, which is mentioned  above: “…this approach emphasizes the individual's inherent drive toward self-actualization, [which is] the process of realizing and expressing one's own capabilities and creativity.” Every one of my clients has within them a seed, it’s their inherent drive to fulfil their ‘positive human potential’; and I believe the unconditional positive regard they experience from me, waters that seed.

 

Person-Centred Therapy (developed by Carl Rogers), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution Focussed Therapy, Acceptance Committment Therapy and GESTALT inform my work as a transpersonal counsellor.

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‘Transpersonal’ means transcending the ordinary sense of self. If you want, I can facilitate your exploration of ‘non-ordinary states of consciousness’ (without mind-altering substances). This could enable you to access more inner resources than ordinary talk therapy could.

 

Any good therapist listens well and supports you to find your own solutions. In addition, here are four non-ordinary states of consciousness that you could be taken through during a session at Meeting Point Counselling:

 

• Tailor-made, live guided meditation. Starting with a relaxation of the body and a centring into the present moment. From there, the meditation could include one or more of the following, depending on your preference: Grounding; tuning in to and feeling alignment of energy centres up the spine; awareness of the third eye (understood in mystical traditions as the seat of consciousness); opening to a Higher Power; feeling for a resource or inspiration to deal with a particular issue; affirmations and/or visualisations that could help you move towards greater wholeness. www.soundcloud.com/meetyourpoint

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• iRest Yoga Nidra. iRest stands for Integrative Restoration. It’s a meditative and nurturing practice that can be done on your own or as part of a counselling session. One of its key components is exploring what primary sensations are in your body. The process then integrates opposing sensations (and/or thoughts and/or emotions.) www.irest.us

 

• Focussing. During a session, sometimes a client comes up with a burning personal question about an issue or difficult situation. Sometimes they just can’t get a satisfying answer with their analytical mind alone. Focussing is a simple technique you can be guided through to ask your own body’s wisdom that question.

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• SEEL stands for State-Enhanced Exploration and Learning. It’s a transpersonal process that’s like hypnosis. Whereas Focussing enquires of the body, SEEL enquires of the unconscious. A guided SEEL journey can often be a gold mine of symbology / deeper meaning and hidden resources for clients.

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