What is holistic counselling? Holistic counselling is a unique form of counselling, focusing on a person in their entirety; considering physiological and psychological disorders as parts of a greater whole, regarding the mind, body and spirit as fundamentally interconnected. This form of counselling is aimed at empowering the client to access & discover their own inner wisdom and capacity to heal. The services a holistic counsellor offers aims to facilitate your own self-discovery and, ultimately, self-healing by promoting greater awareness and acceptance of oneself, to achieve purpose, direction, and a sense of overall balance in life. Assisting a client in the process to maintain a greater level of physiological and psychological health / ‘wellbeing’ and developing improved coping mechanisms which is based upon heightened self-esteem. Why should I see a holistic counsellor? There are many reasons why someone might like to see a holistic counsellor, generally there is an issue of some sort that needs to be either solved or resolved. Stress is another factor, it is important to know when stress is chronic, continuous and is repeated for a prolonged period without treatment, it can have damaging effects that can cause serious illness both physically and psychologically as well as increase the likelihood of the individual developing some type of mental illness. Some of the more common physical illnesses can include ulcers, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, heart disease, asthma, allergies, acne etc. Chronic and severe stress, when acting through the central nervous system can also impair an individual’s immune responses, causing hormonal imbalances, decreasing their ability to fight off bacteria and viruses. By recognising this powerful mind-body connection and understanding the connection that if there is a negative mental process this can result in physical disease. Stress plays a significant role in some of the most common medical problems. It can also be beneficial when diagnosed with symptoms or an illness as holistic counselling techniques can assist when working in conjunction with western medicine as a complimentary therapy. How can a holistic counsellor help me? Holistic counselling techniques can include relaxation, life skills, social relationships, motivational counselling, in addition to psychotherapy, gestalt therapy, narrative therapy and many more. By exploring a wide range of tools for growth and self-discovery this will help to promote complete wellbeing, the various tools and techniques may be used in conjunction in various combinations. There are also many other tools used in holistic counselling which include areas such as numerology, tarot, colour therapy, dream therapy, crystal therapy, angel therapy, neurolinguistic programming, narrative therapy, meridian therapy, flower therapy, art therapy, chakra therapy, regression therapy, and journalism – amongst others. What is Reiki & how can I benefit from it? Reiki is a Japanese technique promoting relaxation and stress reduction by facilitating the flow of energy and balance to promote healing and well-being and may also assist in emotional balance. Reiki can also be beneficial if used as a complementary therapy alongside conventional medical treatments providing additional support and comfort. Reiki focuses on enhancing the body's natural healing abilities by increasing energy as we are more likely to experience illness or stress when there is an imbalance. What is sound healing & what are the benefits? Sound healing is another technique to promote stress reduction, relaxation and overall well-being. The vibrations stimulate various aspects of the body and mind. The vibrational effects can stimulate touch fibers that affect pain perception, triggers the relaxation response which can assist with stress related symptoms lowering stress hormones and blood pressure and synchronize brainwave frequencies which can induce a meditative state. It may also assist in physical and mental health by providing stress reduction, improved sleep, emotional balancing and pain relief. Sound healing is also beneficial as a complimentary therapy being used in conjunction with other conventional medical treatments. Clients must be 18 years or older. Client consent forms are to be completed and signed prior to each session.