I offer one-to-one therapeutic sessions in-person and online
Psychotherapy Poetry Therapy Creative Contact
If you’re not sure what your preferences are, I offer a free 30 minute call to talk things through. Here are some details about each of the therapies I offer . . .
I see therapy as holistic, involving all of you - mind, body, spirit, and soul.
I am qualified in Integrative Psychotherapy, which enables me to adapt my approach to suit your unique needs, and trained in Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) which provides ways to know and help the hurt and protective parts of our psyche which influence us daily. I also draw on wisdom traditions, depth psychology, and family constellations. My aim always is to help you reconnect with your own innate qualities for bringing healing and change, which we can so easily lose contact with.
Using images or objects, and/or writing intuitively, may assist the therapeutic process for you, allowing exiled and vulnerable parts to be seen and heard in safe and gentle ways, and revealing what is trying to come into view.
Whichever methods work best for you, deep and caring attention is at the heart of my practice. This enables me to provide the acceptance and compassion that you may be struggling to give to yourself, allowing you to explore your inner landscape more freely. In the therapeutic relationship the usual human judgements are not relevant, allowing interaction on a different level. This quote from Rumi sums up my approach,
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
Since qualifying in 2016 I have been registered with the BACP, which ensures ethical practice. You can find out more about how I practice, and reach me, by going to Psychology Today, or make an enquiry by emailing hazel@thegreeningedge.co.uk
Psychotherapy
Poetry Therapy is a specific way of using poems to bring insight, relief, and expression. It provides many ways of engaging with words (both reading and writing them) to gently bring realisations and open up new and surprising perspectives. The term ‘poetry’ is used very loosely, including anything made of words which holds some emotional charge or crystallises some meaning. I provide words and images which can open up gentle explorations, and ways to use them as springboards for your own written responses. Poems give form to feelings and experiences which can otherwise be difficult to get hold of, and provide containers for them. A poem can be very simple, yet very profound; expressing something beyond the usual linear limitations of language, and with the depths metaphor can offer. This can bring great relief, whether the words are your own or someone else's.
I create a safe space for you, where you can write and share what you choose to, and I explore the experience with you, supporting you through the process. I am a qualified Poetry Therapy Practitioner through the International Academy of Poetry Therapy.
You do not need any special writing skills or experience of poetry; this is not about writing in a particular way, it is about you. Writing can be very much a process of discovery. I love this quote from James Baldwin,
"When you’re writing, you’re trying to find out something which you don’t know".
Sessions may last one hour or 90 minutes, and can take place in-person or on zoom. You can book a one-off session or return for more to see what unfolds.
If you think you might be interested in one-to-one poetry therapy sessions please contact me for an initial chat on hazel@thegreeningedge.co.uk
Poetry Therapy
Creative Contact is a one-to-one therapeutic conversation, using creative and expressive writing which is carried out over email.
In Creative Contact, you and I enter into a written dialogue. It is a one-to-one therapeutic conversation using creative, reflective, and expressive writing
I provide you with writing invitations designed to help you gently explore aspects of your life, including those which are challenging, and suggest ways to use writing freely and creatively for discovery, expression, and release. You are then free to send the parts of your writing you choose to share with me, so I can respond with observations, support, and suggestions for further exploration. I respond to what I see of you through your writing; there is no focus on the style of the writing. I am interested only in you, and what you are showing me through your words.
This dialogue is carried out over email, meaning you can engage at whatever time suits you, and from your choice of location. The timescale is flexible so the dialogue can unfold at a pace that suits you. You might like a weekly rhythm to keep the momentum going, or prefer to take more time to engage with the invitations and your own writing.
A face to face session (on zoom) is required before the written dialogue begins. This is to help you feel at ease with me, to talk through anything you might want to focus on, and to identify anything it would be helpful for me to be aware of.
Creative Contact
The fee is £60 for a one hour session of psychotherapy or poetry therapy, or for one set of responses and invitations in creative contact.