Karen March Counselling & Therapy Services

KAREN MARCH
M.Soc.Sc.(Counselling),
MACA(Professional)

I do not subscribe to a "one size fits all" approach and prefer to draw upon a number of therapy options. The direction of counselling sessions is decided through consultation with you the client.

This page provides an easy to understand explanation of the counselling methods and approaches I may use, depending on the individual client and the nature of the issue.

Narrative Therapy

All of us have personal stories based on our life experiences. These stories guide how we act, think, feel and make sense of the world. Our stories tend to organise and interpret what we have experienced. For some people, the stories they have absorbed or constructed are causing them difficulty and are an integral part of the problem they are experiencing.

The stories that people have about themselves can be likened to using the lens of a camera. Like photos, we often filter our experiences, choosing what information gets focused in or out. In other words, we choose what elements of a personal experience are significant, and ignore or forget other elements we feel are unimportant or irrelevant. The story shapes personal identity and for some people it is this story that is keeping them enmeshed in their problem.

Narrative therapy proposes that "the person is never the problem; the problem is the problem". This counselling approach is interested in the stories that the client is living by, that they carry with them about who they are and what is important to them. Sessions provide an opportunity to identify these stories, understand them and unearth the hidden and ignored elements of a story.

In doing so, it is possible for the client to open up other possibilities for themselves that they had not previously seen.


Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

CBT help clients understand how their thoughts and feelings directly influence their behaviour. During the course of treatment, clients learn how to identify and change unhelpful or destructive thought patterns that are perpetuating unwanted behaviours. This type of therapy is highly structured and generally short term. It is particularly useful for very specific problems.


PhotoTherapy

PhotoTherapy uses client's photos, either taken by themselves or others, and can be incorporated with other counselling approaches. People often choose to take photos or keep pictures without really pausing to think about why. However, these personal snapshots or kept pictures are often associated with emotions, values and beliefs that are unconsciously embedded within them. Personal photos or valued pictures can act as catalysts to deepen insight and open up communication in counselling sessions, in ways that may not be possible with just talking.


Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness and Meditation techniques are learned skills that can be used to consciously relax the body and calm the mind. This enables you to be free from emotional conflict and turmoil and be at ease with yourself. There is no religious or philosophical context attached to these techniques. They have been adapted for use in our Australian lifestyle and provide a means to gaining significant personal insight, growth and healing.

The Mindfulness techniques taught can be easily incorporated into our daily life and short "Spot Meditations" can be learnt and used in any situation at will, particularly where feelings of stress, anxiety and anger are involved.

Mindfulness techniques can also combine effectively with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, as they promote awareness of the here and now rather than automatic pilot mode. It is then more possible to weaken and change ingrained and automatic unhelpful thinking and open the way to develop more functional ways of thinking and responding.