Individual Counselling
“I love helping people help themselves.”
People become distressed or conflicted in many ways. The issue may be within him or herself or in relation to someone else – intimate partner, boss, co-worker, parent, sibling, friend or other. The issue may be with some area of life such as work, family or spiritual life.
When people are disturbed they experience stress.
Symptoms of stress can be emotional – depression, anxiety, panic attacks, difficulties concentrating, nightmares, sense of detachment, grief and loss, etc.
Symptoms of stress can be physical – such as hives, headaches, urinary tract infections, psoriasis, asthma, tension, pain, high blood pressure, etc.
Dr. Mackay’s role in individual counselling is to:
- provide a safe non-judgemental environment.
- validate and understand a client’s point of view.
- help clients access and express deeper underlying thoughts and feelings.
- provide support and encouragement.
- help clients resolve inner conflicts.
- help clients access their own resources.
- provide positive feedback.
In many cases clients are aware of what their issues or conflicts are about. Psychotherapy involves working through issues by helping clients to re-examine them in depth and by resolving conflict. Without judgement I help clients to access their own resources, develop deeper awareness of their thoughts and feelings and gain an objectivity and clarity of the issues involved. When clients think and feel differently, new solutions emerge.
Some clients have repressed or “buried’ their conflicts. Or, they may have trauma from an earlier time in their lives that is interfering with how they want to live their lives. They may not even know that they are depressed. They may be focused on their physical symptoms. Some clients have a vague sense that something is wrong but do not know what it is or how to deal with it. In this case psychotherapy involves bringing the conflicts back into awareness. It involves healing any trauma that comes to the foreground.
With empathy and understanding Dr. Mackay supports clients in facing problems that they may have difficulty facing. She helps them deal with conflicts that they may have given up ever resolving. It is much easier to address issues when you do not have to do it alone. In this way, by making positive productive changes, people are able to enhance their lives.
