Little Box Counselling
My Approach
My methods...
In my opinion, most of our problems come from our internal thoughts and interpretations of the world around us, along with our response to them. This could mean what we think doesn’t match the reality of the situation, the box and tools we're using don't fit the situation as well as expected, or we make a mistake gauging what something is supposed to mean or what response to provide. If we can find a way to recognize when we are looking at the world through an off-colored lens, we can adjust and find a better way to approach things. To do this, we need to understand why we think the way we do and what made us come to those conclusions. Why did that make me upset? Why do I always react a certain way? What can I do to avoid problems in the future? It is these sorts of questions that we are hoping to find answers to. If we can find ways to become more self-aware and notice when we are using unhelpful thinking patterns, we can live a more fulfilling life.
People come to counselling for many different reasons, often looking for many different things. In my practice, I believe that people experience a change in their mental distress when they gain the ability to notice notice negative frames of mind and maldadaptive boxes. For example, instead of saying “I can’t do math, so I can’t do anything right,” making the change to say, “I can’t do math and that’s okay. I can do other things well," or trying to brush up on our skillsets to grow in these areas. When we become more aware of our conscious and unconscious thoughts, we gain a deeper understanding of both who we are and why we act in the ways that we do. Using this insight, we can work to figure out better ways to react to situations, look into past events we may be hung up on, and find more healthy ways to express ourselves and our emotions. The more we are willing to change what isn’t working and get to know ourselves, the more we can make new plans on how to cope and hopefully live happier in the future.
Why integrate?
Our world is full of people with different thoughts, beliefs and backgrounds. I think it is safe to say there is no “one-size-fits-all” way to interact with another person without neglecting an important part of their identity. I like to work with my clients for a client-centered approach that puts them in the driver's seat. My approach to counselling mixes cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and parts of psychodynamic therapy (PT). By using PT, I am better able to explore the past events that led my client to this point in their life, then together, use PT, ACT, and CBT work with them to confront the issues they are facing now, and collaborate with them to make goals and plans for how they wish for things to proceed in the future. CBT itself is a mix of cognitive therapy and behaviour therapy, allowing me a wider, but still scientifically-based approach to counselling.
Use of these three approaches allows for more in-depth exploration of intrinsic processes (emotions, thoughts, perceptions, etc.) along with the behaviours and relationships that occur because of them. Research indicates integration of counselling approaches allows for more personalized treatment, and that can be harnessed to better meet the ever growing and diversifying needs in our globalizing world.