How I Work

Your First Counselling Session

During our first therapy session we will discuss the problems that are concerning you and what you would like to gain from counselling. As we talk, we will clarify some of the underlying reasons for your present concerns and make a plan for future counselling sessions to address these issues.

I will do my best to make sure that you feel comfortable and safe with me by checking with you about your experience.

Depending on how our first session goes, we will make future therapy appointments that will best suit your needs and schedule.

Why Should You See Me for Counselling?

When you are in midlife and are confronted with problems you may have some of the following reactions.

• You may fear falling-to the extent that you are overly cautious, or may not even leave your home.
  
• You might feel that you should have learned how to solve your problems by now and feel ashamed that you are still grappling with the “same old stuff”.
  
• You have probably tried very hard to create the life you want but the strategies that may have worked in the past are no longer effective.
  
• You constantly worry and think about how to improve your life but you just seem to go around in circles.
  
• You may have old trauma experiences that are surfacing and causing you problems.

Usually when people look for help through therapy, they are at their wit’s end.

• If you could think and analyze your way through your problems, you would have done that and you wouldn’t be feeling stuck and confused.
  
• You cannot always think and talk your way to feeling better. You need to listen to and understand the messages from your body in order to recover from your problems.

In my counselling practice I use a combination of therapy approaches and psychotherapeutic tools. These tools will help connect your thinking brain with your creative and imaginative skills to help make your experience in midlife more satisfying and rewarding.

In therapy, we will use the methods that are best suited for your particular needs and goals.

My Therapy Approaches

The Sand Tray
One of the therapy tools I often use with clients is called a sand tray. The sand tray is a small box containing about four inches of sand. Hundreds of objects are available to make a three dimensional “picture” in the sand. The sand tray is like the blank page on which you draw a picture but no drawing or painting skills are required to make a sand picture.

When you make pictures in the sand tray you bypass thinking and analyzing and instead, use your intuitive, non-verbal skills. These creative skills are often neglected when you are busy or under stress.

As you develop your creativity and imagination through the counselling process, you will likely begin to dream and imagine more — and feel a great surge of new energy.

You will begin to discover new ways of perceiving yourself and your problems.

As your perceptions shift you will create new ways for solving your midlife problems and new ways of being in the world.

Dream Work
Along with working in the sand tray we may also explore your dreams as another way of finding your creative energy and increasing your self-awareness. Using Carl Jung’s methods of dream interpretation and active imagination we will connect your dreams to what is happening to you in your waking life. In therapy, you will gain insight into the reasons for your problems and discover ways to resolve them.

You have within you the ability for healing. Your dream images and your imagination can help you get in touch with this powerful resource. You will become more aware of the underlying causes for your midlife problems and you will find solutions for them.

Self-Regulation Therapy and Trauma Recovery
Self Regulation Therapy, (SRT), is a powerful method to help you break out of patterns that are making you feel tired, sick, unhappy and discouraged.

SRT is based on the latest research in trauma and brain science that can now tell us how our negative experiences get stuck in our bodies and our brains and then cause a variety of problems that influence our health, relationships, thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

By the time you reach midlife you may have had many negative experiences. An accumulation of stresses over time can be a form of trauma. Your brain and nervous system may be overloaded and you may be over-reacting to daily irritations or feel too tired to enjoy pleasurable events. You may feel like you are just managing to survive day to day.

When you are using all your energy to get through the day and are experiencing stress, anxiety and depression you may develop more health problems, feel fatigued or not be able to sleep well. You might find that you have difficulty concentrating at work and have problems in your relationships with others.

SRT focuses on your body’s reactions to present or past events. SRT gradually reduces the energy trapped in your nervous system from long-term stress or trauma. SRT frees up space in your nervous system that enables you to become calm, focused, and energetic.

When we work together to help you resolve your midlife issues and traumas you will:

• develop a deeper awareness of your thoughts, feelings and body’s sensations giving you the strength to overcome your difficulties
• gain more control over your behaviours and strong emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger and despair
• shift away from negative and critical thoughts that are draining your energy
• feel more fully alive, joyful and enthusiastic
• be less irritated or overwhelmed by others and have more satisfaction in your relationships
• reduce physical pain and tension, resolve health problems as well as increase energy and a sense of well-being

DO you want to live the rest of your life with zest, fulfillment and great relationships?

If so, call me and leave a message on my confidential voice mail at 604-218-1057 or send me an e-mail at lauris@lauriswilliams.com to arrange for a 30-minute free consultation.

I look forward to working with you.

My office is located in central Richmond and is easily accessible by public transit from Metro Vancouver, Delta, Surrey, Langley, Burnaby and New Westminster.