Psychological strategies and Psychotherapy
Medicare will fund sessions involving focused pyschological strategies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or interpersonal therapy. Both are short term, solution focused therapies aimed at reducing symptoms through practicing different ways of responding and widening your thinking and behavioural options. CBT focuses on thoughts and behaviours and the resulting feelings - and changing these, it doesn't necessarily go deeper into the where, why and how you came to think, feel and act the way you do, that is the domain of psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy helps you deal with long term emotional problems, dysfunctional relationship patterns and inner conflicts that can lead to anxiety and depression, and trauma from childhood or the recent past. There are many different schools of psychotherapy, I am primarily trained in Gestalt psychotherapy with some knowledge of Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) and somatic psychodynamic therapy. I use Brain Spotting as opposed to EMDR for traumatic memories, and I have an affinity for the spiritual and mystical ineffable aspects of certain experiences.
What is the difference between a Psychologist, counsellor, therapist and psychiatrist find out more here.
“You are here to enable the divine purpose of the Universe to unfold. That is how important you are!” Eckhart Tolle
A little about Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt is an emotionally focused existential therapy that aims to promote awareness, increase response-ability ~ our ability to respond spontaneously and appropriately to the environment or to our inner needs ~ and maturation.
Gestalt therapy is psychotherapy that differs from psychoanlysis. Gestalt is more akin to Ekchart Tolles' "Being in the now." You are invited to see how the various aspect of your ego operate to keep you stuck in painful situations. Gestalt is relationally oriented so it is the ideal therapy to help you see who you are in relationship to others, to uncover the patterns that hold you back, and to find a more authentic way of living.
Gestalt therapy encourages personal growth, leading to a more fulfilling life and satisfying relationships. It is useful for addressing immediate crises and long-term chronic issues.
With Gestalt we seek to reinstate wholeness to the person by helping them become fully integrated. People are not seen as sick or dysfunctional but as having adapted functional ways of dealing with situations that served them well in the original contexts in which those situations occurred. The problem now is that the person is stuck in behaving that way. The personality becomes split and part of the person is frustrated, conflicted or rigidly repeating what they know is not good for them. This ties up energy that would otherwise be directed toward growth and creates a situation that can lead to depression, anxiety and many other psychological issues.
Gestalt is great for looking at how you defend against being your authentic self, as well as for working with internal splits (which often underlie and fuel anxiety) and looking at unexpressed parts of your self including your shadow self, which can take on a life of its own and work against your best intentions, often sabotaging your relationships.
Gestalt therapy addresses the many defence mechanisms that we all use to reject unwanted aspects of self and others, the anxiety that results from splits in the personality and the depression that comes from rejecting parts of our self and suppressing emotions. Unresolved issues from the past are recognized as unfinished issues that yearn for resolution in the present and often create the repeating patterns of our current problems.
Gestalt is the ideal relationship therapy, utilising the therapeutic relationship to identify issues that occur in a person's day-to-day relationships. Gestalt therapy aims to turn power relationships into loving relationships and enable an individual to find a sense of wholeness and authenticity.
Gestalt offers the deepest understanding of the thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and spiritual longing for meaning and connection to the essential self and for knowledge of what it means to be human. Gestalt develops therapists who have authenticity and know from the inside out what it means to go through emotional growth and come out the other side a fuller person.
Gestalt Therapy is not Fritz Perls (for those who have seen those dreadful YouTube videos). It is simply the most comprehensive system of personal growth and development that has yet to be replicated in post-modern therapies.
Gestalt therapy is psychotherapy that differs from psychoanlysis. Gestalt is more akin to Ekchart Tolles' "Being in the now." You are invited to see how the various aspect of your ego operate to keep you stuck in painful situations. Gestalt is relationally oriented so it is the ideal therapy to help you see who you are in relationship to others, to uncover the patterns that hold you back, and to find a more authentic way of living.
Gestalt therapy encourages personal growth, leading to a more fulfilling life and satisfying relationships. It is useful for addressing immediate crises and long-term chronic issues.
With Gestalt we seek to reinstate wholeness to the person by helping them become fully integrated. People are not seen as sick or dysfunctional but as having adapted functional ways of dealing with situations that served them well in the original contexts in which those situations occurred. The problem now is that the person is stuck in behaving that way. The personality becomes split and part of the person is frustrated, conflicted or rigidly repeating what they know is not good for them. This ties up energy that would otherwise be directed toward growth and creates a situation that can lead to depression, anxiety and many other psychological issues.
Gestalt is great for looking at how you defend against being your authentic self, as well as for working with internal splits (which often underlie and fuel anxiety) and looking at unexpressed parts of your self including your shadow self, which can take on a life of its own and work against your best intentions, often sabotaging your relationships.
Gestalt therapy addresses the many defence mechanisms that we all use to reject unwanted aspects of self and others, the anxiety that results from splits in the personality and the depression that comes from rejecting parts of our self and suppressing emotions. Unresolved issues from the past are recognized as unfinished issues that yearn for resolution in the present and often create the repeating patterns of our current problems.
Gestalt is the ideal relationship therapy, utilising the therapeutic relationship to identify issues that occur in a person's day-to-day relationships. Gestalt therapy aims to turn power relationships into loving relationships and enable an individual to find a sense of wholeness and authenticity.
Gestalt offers the deepest understanding of the thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and spiritual longing for meaning and connection to the essential self and for knowledge of what it means to be human. Gestalt develops therapists who have authenticity and know from the inside out what it means to go through emotional growth and come out the other side a fuller person.
Gestalt Therapy is not Fritz Perls (for those who have seen those dreadful YouTube videos). It is simply the most comprehensive system of personal growth and development that has yet to be replicated in post-modern therapies.
Brainspotting for trauma and creative blocks
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Brainspotting is a powerful, focused treatment method that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms. An alternative to EMDR, Brainspotting can be used to address upsetting experiences and to achieve performance enhancement by removing blockages to peak performance on stage or the sports field.
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What if I haven't had a traumatic experience?
Trauma is a big word. We tend to associate trauma with life-threatening events, but this is not true. Trauma can cover experiences that threaten one's wellbeing, sense of safety in the world or reliance on trusting the predictability of others.
People are often traumatised by events that are sudden or out of their control (e.g., their partner or a parent leaves with no explanation) or by events that threaten their belief in human nature (e.g. a stranger starts verbally abusing them or accusing them of something they didn't do or say). This other persons' irrational behaviour is confusing and can threaten one's expectation that people should be predictable and safe.
There aren't many people in this world who haven't experienced some event that is deeply distressing or disturbing. They might have been involved in an accident, seen their parent have a serious medical event or been subject to subtle or overt abuse as a child. They may have lost a sibling, child or close loved one and at some level blamed themselves.
Read more about Brainspotting in my Blog post or my page "Brainspotting Trauma Therapy"
Trauma is a big word. We tend to associate trauma with life-threatening events, but this is not true. Trauma can cover experiences that threaten one's wellbeing, sense of safety in the world or reliance on trusting the predictability of others.
People are often traumatised by events that are sudden or out of their control (e.g., their partner or a parent leaves with no explanation) or by events that threaten their belief in human nature (e.g. a stranger starts verbally abusing them or accusing them of something they didn't do or say). This other persons' irrational behaviour is confusing and can threaten one's expectation that people should be predictable and safe.
There aren't many people in this world who haven't experienced some event that is deeply distressing or disturbing. They might have been involved in an accident, seen their parent have a serious medical event or been subject to subtle or overt abuse as a child. They may have lost a sibling, child or close loved one and at some level blamed themselves.
Read more about Brainspotting in my Blog post or my page "Brainspotting Trauma Therapy"
Transpersonal or Spiritual Psychology
“Transpersonal” is when we go beyond the personal, beyond the ego and consider the idea of a higher self or soul consciousness.
Spirituality is not necessarily holding religious beliefs, nor is it talking to dead people or reading tarot cards. Believing there is a creative force, that we are all interconnected through a subtrate of consciousness and that we should aspire to elevate ourselves for the sake of others is an important aspect of self actualisation and reaching potential as a well rounded human.
Transpersonal psychology is about increasing individual awareness of mind, body, soul and spirit with a view to transforming the way we interact with ourselves and others for greater harmony/wellbeing and a sense of connection and compassion.
Many people have experienced transcendent, peak or altered states that signal there is something beyond our physical senses. Near death experiences NDE's can also trigger a spiritual crisis or rapid change in beliefs recognising that there may be a soul realm, reincarnation and karma.
A spiritual crisis or long dark night of the soul can occur at any time in your life; following the loss of a loved one or even in letting go of a cherished ideal, experiencing trauma or following an emotional breakdown. Stanislav Grof recognised that such spiritual emergencies needed special care and recognition. Meditation and practices to awaken spirituality, also known as spiritual emergence, can be experienced in workshops and week-long Joe Dispenza programs.
Clarissa does not adhere to any particular religion or theosophy but does accept the philosophical tenets of many eastern and ancient wisdom traditions. This includes the belief that we have aspects of self that exist beyond the material realm (higher self and soul) and that we may have many lifetimes (reincarnation) and karma with people or things from past lives.
Clarissa is able to integrate your personal or religious beliefs around soul/spiritual life into the overall fabric of therapy and believes this can both enhance a sense of meaning and placate the basic existential anxiety that often pervades life.
Suggested Reading:
Spiritual Emergency: Stanislav Grof
Becoming Supernatural: Joe Dispenza
The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle
Spirituality is not necessarily holding religious beliefs, nor is it talking to dead people or reading tarot cards. Believing there is a creative force, that we are all interconnected through a subtrate of consciousness and that we should aspire to elevate ourselves for the sake of others is an important aspect of self actualisation and reaching potential as a well rounded human.
Transpersonal psychology is about increasing individual awareness of mind, body, soul and spirit with a view to transforming the way we interact with ourselves and others for greater harmony/wellbeing and a sense of connection and compassion.
Many people have experienced transcendent, peak or altered states that signal there is something beyond our physical senses. Near death experiences NDE's can also trigger a spiritual crisis or rapid change in beliefs recognising that there may be a soul realm, reincarnation and karma.
A spiritual crisis or long dark night of the soul can occur at any time in your life; following the loss of a loved one or even in letting go of a cherished ideal, experiencing trauma or following an emotional breakdown. Stanislav Grof recognised that such spiritual emergencies needed special care and recognition. Meditation and practices to awaken spirituality, also known as spiritual emergence, can be experienced in workshops and week-long Joe Dispenza programs.
Clarissa does not adhere to any particular religion or theosophy but does accept the philosophical tenets of many eastern and ancient wisdom traditions. This includes the belief that we have aspects of self that exist beyond the material realm (higher self and soul) and that we may have many lifetimes (reincarnation) and karma with people or things from past lives.
Clarissa is able to integrate your personal or religious beliefs around soul/spiritual life into the overall fabric of therapy and believes this can both enhance a sense of meaning and placate the basic existential anxiety that often pervades life.
Suggested Reading:
Spiritual Emergency: Stanislav Grof
Becoming Supernatural: Joe Dispenza
The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle
"Enlightenment is not a transcendental state but the process of lightening the density of the personal ego." (Adyashanti)
Biochemical disorders and imbalances that affect your mood - read more
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Your mind is connected to your body. In fact, your brain is just the peak of your nervous system connected to your entire history and fed by what you eat! If you are imbalanced it is likely your biochemistry is also. Pyrrole disorder, gut bacteria imbalances, methylation and biotoxin illness all effect your psychological state.
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