Psychotherapy
Talking therapy (counselling, psychotherapy and nature therapy) can help by giving you the safe space you need to explore your feelings, reconnect with yourself and make changes to the way you live your life to find a way forward. The therapeutic relationship models 'good enough' connections, without any ulterior motive or viewpoint, so that you discover your own authenticity.
A good therapist should provide you with a confidential, non-judgemental space in which to explore and reflect upon your issues, working through them in a way that is adaptive, collaborative and comfortable for you.
Psychotherapy gives you the opportunity to talk about anything, even the unspeakable, about the parts of you that you can't share with others and helps you to learn to let go of the burden of carrying that around on your own.
Here at Safe Haven I work in a holistic and pluralistic way. This means that I use a range of scientific, research based types of therapy, rather than one specific model allowing me to tailor your therapy to your needs, and adjust it as you grow and develop.
However, no therapy offers a magic cure! Talking therapy takes effort, commitment and can sometimes feel worse before it feels better, but it can also change your life, increase your self-esteem and confidence, help you set boundaries and move you forward from what feels like an impossible situation right now.
Indoors or Outside?
Research has demonstrated time and time again the importance of our connectedness with nature. We evolved to interact on a biological level with nature and when in woods and forests - trees release chemicals into the air that activate the production of reward hormones such as dopamine and serotonin in our brains! Even just being able to see plants, pictures of plants or natural spaces increases our mental wellbeing!
Indoor therapy offers a quiet, discrete location, which offers confidentiality and can be extremely comforting.
Outdoor therapy offers the physical benefits of gentle exercise and being in nature, it can help with exploring issues using natural metaphors and can be encourage communication if holding eye contact or being in a smaller space feels to difficult.
Both therapy options offer the ability to use art and symbolism in the therapy process, which can be extremely helpful for connecting to and recognising emotions especially with neurodivergency or dissociation.
