Transpersonal Counselling

The focus of transpersonal counselling centres around helping the client integrate their spiritual experiences into their daily life and to find meaning and purpose amidst their challenges and struggles. Transpersonal counselling offers clients a spiritually-informed approach to therapy that draws its strength from the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the human experience. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of the body, mind, and spirit, and seeks to promote balance, contentment and awe in the client’s life. It is introspective and contemplative in its approach yet exceedingly practical. The transpersonal counselling process utilises meditation practice, integral life practices, visualisations, mask work, spiritual mapping, artistic expression, journaling, nature, active imagination and many more interventions to help contemplate life’s challenges as well as the great existential questions and mysteries we catch glimpses of during our journey on this earth. Transpersonal counselling seeks to help clients explore their connection to that “something more” as they seek meaning and purpose for their lives.

Our personal mythology are made up of the stories that we tell ourselves about who we really are & how we fit into the world. Through the holistic counselling process, clients may explore and revise their personal mythology to create a more empowering narrative for their lives. By exploring and understanding our personal myths we can gain insight into our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. In my counselling practice, I use the modality of Personal Mythology to help clients explore and understand the stories and beliefs that shape their lives through visualisations, journaling, creative writing and artistic expression. Our personal myths are the stories we tell ourselves about who we really are and what our lives mean. Cultural myths and archetypes shape our personal myths as well. Through our work together, we examine the power of narrative, the role of culture, symbols & imagery, the power of ritual, and the importance of the unconscious. By exploring these elements, clients can gain insight into their personal myths and create new narratives that better serve their lives. Once we uncover the defining stories of our past, we are then free to rewrite & change them, creating something new and life-giving.

The Hero's Journey is a universal narrative structure that describes the typical path that heroes take in stories and myths. It was first identified by Joseph Campbell, a famous mythologist, who observed that many of the world's ancient myths and legends followed a similar pattern. The Hero's Journey consists of several stages, including the call to adventure, crossing the threshold, facing challenges and obstacles, slaying dragons, meeting mentors and allies, facing the ultimate test or ordeal, and finally, returning home as a transformed person. It an invaluable coaching framework for helping clients navigate major life changes and transitions. Drawing upon the different stages of the journey, I support my clients in identifying their goals, overcoming obstacles, and ultimately moving toward their desired outcome. I help them integrate their experiences and insights into their daily lives. Overall, the Hero's Journey can be a powerful tool to help clients achieve their goals and navigate major life transitions.

The unique blend of spiritual direction I offer draws upon an eclectic array of ancient wisdom and modern contemplative practices. My approach is founded in the Jungian/Christian Mystic tradition yet I am very comfortable working with people from different faiths and spiritual perspectives. My goal is to create a safe and supportive space for the directee to explore their own spiritual journey. I strive to be empathetic and supportive, creating an environment where the directee feels free to share their deepest questions, concerns, and aspirations. Themes that clients may see me for include; deepening their spiritual practice and relationship with the Divine, career exploration, existential crisis, midlife unravellings, contemplating the meaning and purpose of life, coping with life transitions and challenges, cultivating compassion, finding solace & hope in the face of grief and loss, as well as working through spiritual crises & doubts and more. Drawing on the rich tradition of Jung and the mystics, I offer a variety of tools and practices to help you go deeper into your own spiritual journey, & supporting you as you discern the path you are called to journey.

This approach to Transpersonal Counselling is based on the theories of Carl Jung, who believed that the human psyche contains archetypes, or universal patterns of thought and behaviour that are expressed through symbols and images. By working with archetypes and symbols, individuals are able to gain a greater understanding of their unconscious motivations and patterns of behaviour and explore new insights and strategies for life. Utilising archetype cards and symbol cards can be incorporated into Transpersonal Counselling as tools to aid in this exploration. The client may be asked to choose a card that resonates with them or that represents a particular issue or person they are struggling with. The client can then explore the symbolism of the card and how it relates to the client's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Clients may engage in artistic expression, journaling or dialogue with archetypal figures or symbols that are representative of unlived/unrealised potentials within themselves, creating new possibilities for change and growth.

Here, the focus is around creating personalized rituals or ceremonies that help clients connect with their spirituality and move toward their therapeutic goals in a meaningful way. A ritual or ceremony can be defined as any intentional action that is performed in a symbolic or symbolic-physical way to help foster a connection between the inner and outer worlds. Examples of rituals and ceremonies that we might use include; lighting candles or incense, creating altars or sacred spaces, practicing mindfulness or meditation, engaging in contemplative prayer, walking a labyrinth, or performing more elaborate ceremonies or rituals to honour specific life transitions or defining events in the life of the client.

Utilising the great stories of mythology, folklore and fairytales, clients examine some of the universal themes of struggle, challenge or suffering they are currently experiencing through the lens of ancient wisdom tales of long ago. We do this to sift for clues around how to create meaningful change and design practical strategies through finding themselves in one or more of these stories which centuries ago were the adult wisdom literature of the time. These stories were designed originally not as children’s bed time rituals, but rather to provide a window into one’s inner world. These archetypal stories have been passed down through generations and have the benefit of being deeply ingrained in our cultural consciousness. These universal themes and symbols can resonate with individuals on a deep level and provide insight and wisdom into their own lives. A client who is struggling with feelings of powerlessness and victimhood may use the story of Cinderella as a starting point for exploring their own experiences of oppression and untapped resilience. Through a creative framework, clients are invited to write, paint, draw, compose their own version of the story using the characters and symbols in the story to unlock one’s inner wisdom & strategies for moving forward.

Jung referred to the shadow as that thing a person has, “no wish to be”. In Jungian coaching, shadow work refers to the process of exploring and tending to the unconscious repressed, denied, or disowned aspects of the psyche. These components, come together to form our shadow and are an accumulation of the unlived parts of who we are that have been forbidden by cultural & societal expectations. The shadow can be likened to a monster we lock in the basement for fear they might one day escape. Any disowned aspect of our psyche if not tended to and brought into balance will try and express itself and break free in destructive and chaotic ways. We experience this when we self sabotage or when we catch ourselves saying, “I don’t know what came over me”. Through shadow work a client can better understand themselves, their motivations, and behaviours, which can lead to greater self-awareness and personal growth. In addition to personal growth, shadow work can also help clients to improve their relationships and communication skills. By acknowledging and integrating their shadow aspects, clients can restore a balance to their emotional regulation and become more accepting and compassionate toward themselves and others, which can lead to healthier and more fulfilling relationships.