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Dive into your core self and Thrive
SERVICES
Where I Come From and What Influences Me
Born on the coast of Holland, I enjoyed from an early age the feeling of sand between my toes and the fresh sea air in my lungs. Drawn away, aged twenty, from the Dutch seaboard to the rivers and lakes of Switzerland and again years later to the warmer shores of Perth WA, water has remained a constant and powerful influence in my life. I live with my darling husband of 29 years Andreas, and together we have been blessed with two wonderful children and a much loved grandson. We also share our lives and home with a Labrador, a Golden Retriever and 2 cats.
"When I met Christina in 2009 I felt immediately that she was the right person to talk to. I was absolutely ready to do some work and it took only several hours for me to feel much better. She is very professional and most importantly, a very insightful therapist. I loved every hour with her….(54 yr old female)“
For me, water is the symbol of life. It is the primordial source, life’s origin and its flow mirrors our own lives – sometimes tumultuous, sometimes calm. When life is in flux, energies flow freely and spontaneously. If life becomes blocked, say as if a dam had been built in its path, the force of the flow is inhibited: the river subsides, the river bed dries out.
“The force of the sea is powerful and resonant, and calls on us simply to be.”
Water however has the power to heal, to reinvent itself, forging new paths and navigating old ones and these are the benefits I try to pass on to my clients using various Gestalt Therapy techniques enabling them to address past issues and once again become reacquainted with their “inner self” or “core self” (see the Techniques page or the Gestalt Therapy page for a full explanation)
Professional History
A qualified Gestalt Psychotherapist I also have more than 10 years experience as a kindergarten/pre primary professional with a Bachelor of Education. Other background experience includes youth counsellor, refugee support counsellor, church support work, bereavement therapist, family therapist and personal counsellor. Business experience includes co-founding consulting firm BuerkiBroos GmbH as well as my own consultancy. Extensive expertise in counselling adults faced with life-changing decisions and challenges. Highly motivated therapist with integrity, drive and well-developed interpersonal skills. Languages: English, Dutch, German, Swiss German and French.
Gestalt
Gestalt Psychotherapy is an important branch of humanistic psychology derived from hermeneutics and phenomenology. It deals primarily with problems of perception and endeavours to make people more conscious of them and in turn refines and heightens their skills of perception.
The fundamental concept of Gestalt Therapy is the gestalt, more specifically the ‘incomplete gestalt’ – meaning that the psyche met with some resistance when trying to adapt to its environment, which prevented it from forming a ‘complete gestalt’. It is known that unresolved relationships or unsettled conflicts can rear their heads again and again (often subconsciously) with troubling effects. We talk about the unfinished business as an ‘open’ or ‘incomplete gestalt’.
By reactivating past emotional needs, as well as the perception of them in the here-and-now, the client’s self-healing powers can be revealed. Throughout the process, the therapist/counsellor engages with you on equal terms, entering into a ‘relationship’ with you in which he/she is willing to be (emotionally) affected. This encounter, which demands a high level of authenticity and honesty, is fundamental to Gestalt Psychotherapy.
Gestalt Psychotherapy heals through the acknowledgement of what is, in the here-and-now
For the healing and closure of open gestalts, it is crucial that hidden and forgotten elements should also be examined closely. It is enormously important to pay attention to not-so-prominent aspects. Mindfulness: to be aware! (For a deeper explanation please visit the Philosophy of Mindfulness page). Only when the gestalt is made whole can past problems and conflicts be put to rest – only then is peace and balance restored.
The Jewish philosopher of religion, Martin Buber, summed up the challenge and the mindset of Gestalt Therapy beautifully in this form: “Healing through the interpersonal encounter.”
QUALIFICATION DETAILS
Counselling, Psychotherapy
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