Nonviolent Communication (NVC), which I have been working with individuals and groups for more than ten years, has given me practical tools for rediscovering trust in relationships, as well as a valuable framework for exploring how our ways of thinking and communicating can either reinforce alienating social patterns or contribute to relationships and societies that are more fulfilling, connected and liberating.
With Relational Intelligence®, I have been able to put words and light on the places within my own system that were still operating from the past, maintaining fragmentation in my sense of self and holding back some of my deeper aspirations in the present.
The support I have received — and continue to receive through supervision — never ceases to amaze me in what it reveals about the human capacity to update itself, when sufficient safety and support are available. I have had the opportunity to experience neuroplasticity directly in my own body: the capacity of my system to reorganise itself and heal.
Today, I feel honoured to accompany people who want to better understand what may be getting in the way of their unfolding, and who wish to cultivate a more peaceful and nourishing relationship with themselves, as well as a simple and secure appreciation of their relationships with others and with the world.
Relational Intelligence® is the primary approach I use as a therapist. At its heart is a trust in the movement of every human system towards greater unity, coherence and inner integration.
My practice is also informed by two other fields of inquiry.
A spiritual inquiry
I have been practising meditation since 2004, and have been a student of the Diamond Approach since 2009 — a teaching that combines spiritual practices, primarily inquiry, with a modern psychological understanding of human experience. This approach is concerned with discovering and realising our identity in its deeper dimensions.
This experience can be particularly valuable in therapy when people I accompany encounter a spiritual dimension of their experience or a quality of their essential nature. I can recognise these experiences, welcome them, and support their integration into everyday life.
A systemic, sociological and political inquiry
I am also interested in the ways in which the systems we live within affect our psychological, relational and spiritual wellbeing.
How does understanding our circumstances in terms of systemic oppression or privilege, socialisation, and our relationship to societal norms and expectations contribute to the process of healing? To what extent can becoming aware of these wider contexts help us understand both what supports our wellbeing and what may stand in its way?
These are questions I continue to explore with humility and curiosity. They, too, inform the way I accompany people.
What else can I tell you about me?
My first trade was as a traditional carpenter.
I’m a parent of 2 wonderful young people.
I’m learning to dance the salsa!