The only certainty in life is change - Anon
Extreme life changes
may be disorienting and sometimes lead to depression,
anxiety, stress and a variety of other challenges. This
is by no means inevitable and not all people experience
such reactions. But people whose basic psychological
needs are compromised or who have had difficult or traumatic
experiences tend to be more at risk. Fortunately coping
strategies can quite quickly be developed with the help
of a skilled therapist.
Life
changes may arise through
(for example)
•
physical changes
•
ageing processes
•
accidents and injuries
•
illness
•
marriage and relationship
break up
•
bereavement
•
financial difficulties
•
job loss
•
career change
•
moving house and locality
•
natural disasters
The
Therapy
People experience change
in different ways. HG counsellors seek to understand
your unique circumstances and personal experience, as
well as to find new ways to fulfil basic needs and make
use of innate capacities for meeting them. Sessions
could include any of these as appropriate:
•
ways to relax and develop a sense of self security and
calm
•
objective advice as necessary
•
reframing of personal experience as necessary
•
de-traumatising techniques to deal with troubling past
experience
•
solution-focused counselling to establish positive new
patterns
•
realistic goal setting with agreement
•
guided imagery to suggest and rehearse new possibilities
and draw on unconscious resources
Sessions
dealing solely with life changes may begin as therapy
and become life coaching. You
should expect to notice immediate improvements.
It is less usual to require more than three sessions
unless life changes are related to multiple issues,
though some clients choose to return at intervals of
one to six months to monitor progress.
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