“A healer does not heal you. A healer is someone who holds space for you while you awaken your inner healer, so that you may heal yourself. “

- Maryam Hasnaa

The focus is on our relationship, which is key to our work together. It’s a collaborative relationship where I help guide you toward insight, healing, and personal growth.

Building Trust and Safety

At the start of therapy, one of the primary goals is to build a trusting and safe relationship. This means creating a space where you can be open without fear of judgment. I strive to ensure confidentiality and will encourage you to express your thoughts and emotions freely.

Exploration and Self-Reflection

A large part of therapy involves exploring your thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and past experiences. Through self-reflection, you might gain insight into patterns in your life, unresolved issues, or underlying causes of your current struggles. This process helps you understand why you feel or behave a certain way and can illuminate areas in need of change or healing.

Emotional Expression

Therapy provides a space where you can express emotions that might be difficult to process in everyday life. This can include feelings of sadness, anger, frustration, or even joy. I can help you navigate and understand these emotions rather than suppress or ignore them.

Learning New Skills

Together we can work out and learn new coping skills, strategies for managing emotions, and ways to address negative thinking patterns. These tools are often practical and can be applied to daily life, helping you deal with stress, anxiety, or relationship difficulties in healthier ways.

Goal Setting and Problem Solving

A significant part of therapy often involves setting goals and identifying areas you want to work on, whether it’s improving your mental health, handling stress, or improving your relationships. Where helpful, we can work together to break down these goals into manageable steps, using problem-solving techniques to make progress.

Insight and Personal Growth

Therapy can lead to deeper insight into your inner world. It’s a process of self-discovery where you may uncover unconscious beliefs or patterns that have been limiting your growth or causing distress. With this insight, you can begin to make healthier choices, change unhelpful behaviours, and develop a stronger sense of self.

Coping with Life Transitions

Therapy is often helpful when navigating life changes or challenges, such as dealing with a loss, relationship breakdowns, career changes, or personal trauma. Together we can help you process these changes, build resilience, and develop strategies for adjusting to new circumstances.

Continual Progress and Check-ins

Therapy is an ongoing process, and progress can be gradual. During each session, I encourage you to check on your progress, revisit any challenges, and reassess your goals. Some issues may take time to work through, and therapy is designed to support long-term healing and growth.

Closure and Reflection

Over time, as you make progress toward your goals and feel more equipped to handle challenges on your own, therapy may gradually come to a close. This process involves reflecting on how far you’ve come, discussing any remaining concerns, and ensuring that you have the tools you need to continue thriving independently.