The Ways We Work

Integrative Therapies & Transformative Inner Life Skills (Also known as Transpersonal and Emotional Release Counselling and Expressive Therapies) are a unique blend of counselling methods developed in Australia since 1980, drawing on the work of Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, Stanislav Grof, Hal & Sidra Stone and others. It combines a range of approaches, exploring the hidden causes behind the conflicts and difficulties we experience in life, and opening people to their potential for growth.

Our way of working engages the whole person: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, and the energies that express themselves in all these aspects of our being. It enables a person to gain access to their innate healing potential.

We work with an awareness of the transpersonal dimension of human experience, addressing the imprints from womb and birth experiences and patterns of thinking and behaviour that come from beyond our individual biographical experiences.

Sandplay

Sandplay therapy consists of ‘playing’ with objects in a sandtray, and is suitable for adults and children. The objects serve as symbols which open up doorways into the unconscious. Sandplay is a gentle tool which can open up new awareness and different perspectives on life’s problems.

Sandplay is especially valuable in owning shadow aspects of oneself, i.e. aspects one is not aware of or in touch with. These may be, not only painful areas, but also the positive potential that is waiting to express itself in outer life.

In Integrative Therapies we combine Sandplay with Gestalt, which gives added depth to the Sandplay experience.

Emotional Release Processing

Repressed emotions remain in the body and can lead to depression, loss of life energy and even physical illness. These processes allow a person to experience held-in emotions which may go back to earlier life experience. We create a safe, supportive space in which unresolved issues can be processed.

In experiencing the emotions connected with these issues and giving them expression, a person releases the power such issues can continue to have over us; we integrate the experience, and then we can move on in our lives. The process bring about a sense of release, a more vibrant connection with self, and a clearer, more direct relationship with those around us.

Voice Dialogue

The course of our lives is influenced, to a considerable extent, by an array of ‘selves’ or sub-personalities, that constitute our personality. These selves can operate quite strongly without our being aware of their power and purpose. At times we experience these selves as conflicting voices within. They also operate in our relationships, sometimes quite disfunctionally. In Voice Dialogue a person meets these sub-personalities, giving them the opportunity to express themselves. This is done in a dramatic way that is very effective and sometimes quite humorous. As each ‘voice’ has opportunity to be heard and experienced, the resulting awareness leads to a greater sense of clarity and inner freedom to direct our choices of action. This brings with it a free flow of energy.

Holotropic Breathwork tm

Holotropic Breathworktm is a process wherein we use the breath, supported by music, to enter a deeper, or non-ordinary, state of consciousness within which the psyche is enabled to go about its healing work. The use of breath to open up consciousness is a very ancient practice, used in tribal cultures and by mystics of both east and west through the centuries.

All of us hold within ourselves experiences that are incomplete and emotions that are unresolved. In a non-ordinary state of consciousness this material is allowed to come to the surface. The participant in a breath session may experience strong emotional and body sensations. A person may also experience events from the past which still impact on them. As well, they may experience the transpersonal dimension connecting with the greater human experience, the cosmos or the Divine. A typical result of a breath session is a sense of release and deep relaxation.

Dreamwork

Freud described dreams as “the royal road to the unconscious”. In working with our dreams we gain access to the profound wisdom at our depths. Our dreams speak to us in the language of symbols. While there are symbols that have universal meaning, those that emerge in a dream hold a unique meaning for the dreamer. In Dreamwork the dreamer explores the meaning of the symbols and the dream in one or more of a variety of ways such as writing, art, free association, gestalt, active imagination, movement and sandplay.

Body-Focused Energy Work

Body focused processes invite a person to become a fully embodied being, grounded in the body, alert to the inter-connectedness of body, mind, emotions and spirit, alive to self, connected to others, to the earth and the Source.
Body focussed energy work includes bioenergetics, body mapping, movement and dance, massage, etc.

Journal Writing for Personal Development

Journal writing is a method of working with one’s inner life, bringing greater self-awareness and facilitating personal and spiritual growth. Using various approaches to the journal, a person can work towards healing memories from the past, clarifying current problems and searching out future directions.

Art and Meditation

Art and mandala drawing are used as powerful means of self-expression and self-exploration. Drawing, sculping and other forms of art allow a person to express.

Meditation is an important facilitator of personal growth, bringing inner stillness and new awareness of the mystery of one’s own being and one’s belonging within the greater Being.