Get to know your inner world

“The unexamined life is not worth living” - Socrates

Many of us have a difficult relationship with ourselves. We feel frustrated or confused by the repeated patterns of behaviour, thoughts or emotions that we experience on a regular basis. We don’t really understand why we behave the way we do, or why we think a certain way. We often don’t pause to really reflect, examine or explore our inner worlds.

Alight Counselling believes in the power of self-reflection, curiosity and self-examination, studying one’s internal experience within the context of your past and present. Every single experience we have shapes us, influences us, leaves some mark. To fully understand our patterns, we must first look inside.

What can i expect during sessions?

Getting to Know You

The first couple of sessions are often more “discovery” focused, meaning that I will do my best to learn and understand your current struggle, as well as your internal and external experience. This may include gathering information about your current life circumstance, as well as your family and relationship history. I will also want to learn about how you uniquely perceive yourself, others and the world based on your past experience.

Goals/Areas of Focus

I will also likely ask you about your goals for therapy, what you hope to achieve, experience or learn from our time together. This provides us with direction and focus, as well as a benchmark we can revisit to ensure you feel you’re moving forward.

Rapport and Trust Building

Research also shows us that one of the most important aspects of the therapy is the therapeutic relationship. Clients get the most benefit and make the most progress when they feel safe, accepted, seen and heard by their therapist. Creating a safe, nonjudgmental space in which trust, rapport and emotional safety can develop is another thing you can and should expect from me.

Processes and Exercises

After the first session or so, I may invite you to engage in different therapeutic processes or exercises, including mindfulness, guided imagery, role play, body-centered or somatic practices or thought experiments. Some sessions may be more “talk therapy” based, in which I ask curious, clarifying questions in order to help both you and I better understand, make sense of and organize your experience. You are never required to engage in processes or answer my questions, but a flexible, open, curious mindset plays an important role in growth and change.

Psychoeducation

Stan Tatkin, Marriage & Family Therapist and developer of A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy, once described counselling or therapy as “adult education”. You will also find that I integrate a lot of psychoeducation into my sessions, teaching about the nervous system, emotions and emotional regulation, attachment styles, coping mechanisms, relationship dynamics and more.

Homework

Depending on client preference, I am more than happy to assign “homework” to continue to your work in counselling outside of session. This may take the form of research, completing handouts, watching recommended videos or reading articles, trying a new emotional regulation strategy, or taking risks in your life or relationships that help to break old, unhelpful patterns of behaviour. I often will recommend a variety of resources to continue your learning as well, including books, podcasts, articles, videos, websites and more. Homework is always optional!