'If love comes and goes so easily It is not love we're dealing with.'

Relationship with ourselves, our partner's, family, friends and community present ongoing joy and challenges. At best, relationships are fulfilling, fun, deep, intimate and full of learning and bring happiness and benefit to ourselves and others. They can also bring conflict, hatred, anger, misuse of power, revenge and jealousy.

Process Oriented Psychology or Process Work was developed in the last 25 years, by Dr. Arnold Mindell, a physicist and Jungian analyst. He and Dr. Amy Mindell and colleagues combine Jungian psychology, spirituality, modern physics and social activism…

You Deserve It All

You deserve a life of joy and happiness. You deserve a life of abundance. You deserve freedom from fear and doubt. You deserve warm and loving relationships and doing what inspires you.
You deserve it all and you have within you the power to create your life, a life of warmth and connection, a life of excitement and vital energy, a life of creativity and exploration.
You deserve the unfolding of adventure into becomingness. You deserve it and you have the power to create it.

So begin here with belief. Begin with understanding that you have…

What we value in life really determines and dictates how far we will go and what we will accomplish in our magnificent lifetime on planet earth. We are all different for a reason, and thus we all have different values and value systems in place. For instance; if you enjoy the thrill of different adventures whether simple or exhilarating; then chances are one of your highest values is for traveling - whether travelling overseas and/or around Australia. And if you are a great saver and you also invest your money; one of your highest values would definitely be on wealth,…

Okay so you want to live abundantly and be successful in life. This is most definitely possible. To re-program your mind takes a lot of courage and hard work that not many people are willing to make those sacrifices short-term to reap the benefits in the medium to long-term. Isn’t it amazing (yet scary at the same time) to discover that only 5% of the world’s population actually write down their desires, goals and dreams in life? Something to definitely think about. Some people are all talk and no action. The truth is in the results.

Having attended many…

Have you ever noticed tapping of the foot, continual picking at the body, finger nail biting, fiddling with things, pacing up and down, starting something, then moving onto another project before the first is finished. Or cleaning something then going back to clean it again? Not you, someone you know or have experienced in others?

Well, this is anxiety!

Anxiety represents a constant flow of hot blood that disturbs the mind, starving it of rest and depriving it of valuable peace. Anxiety begins in the mind as a reaction to a fear. This fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) is a…

In Neuro Linguistic Programming, otherwise known as NLP, emphasises that within the first seven years of a person’s existence on planet earth our personalities are formed; of which is then verified later through tests and indicators such as Myers-Briggs; needless to say an individual can control and amend their personality through NLP. This then leads to the modeling phase and ultimately the socialisation period begins - the integral time of our lives between the ages of 7-14 where we want to fit into social situations, and be part of the ‘in’ crowd at parties and other social settings including school.

The recent publication of a study suggesting that the new generation of anti-depressant medication has its effect by way of a psychological mechanism supports the view of many that depression is not about chemical imbalances. The study, headed by Professor Irving Kirsch of the University of Hull in the UK was published in February 2008, looked at the results of thirty-five trials involving five thousand patients taking SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Re-Uptake Inhibitors).

It was shown that there was virtually no difference in the improvement scores for drug and placebo (an inactive substitute pill) in patients with moderate depression. Those…

If you observe newborn babies and young children, you realise that human beings are not born with judgments; rather we are born open, receptive, accepting and loving. A newborn baby or small child is present in the moment and is naturally in a state of love, gratitude, peace and joy. They have an amazing sense of wonder and awe which you can see in their eyes. They are so clear of obstructions in the mind that they seem to literally emanate light. This is why they are so attractive and unique.

So, what happens to us as we go…

Gestalt Therapy - Gestalt therapy, developed by Perls in the 1950’s, focuses on the power of holistic thinking, that is looks at main concepts, thoughts, feelings, rather than being too specific and pedantic - who said what etc. – which often leads to arguments, point scoring, and unhappiness. Gestalt philosophy suggests that the “Whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The two main therapeutic components are Here and Now (existentialism) and Unfinished Business.

Here and Now – The past no longer exists and the future is yet to exist. Therefore reality is found in the Here and…

When people ask me: - at what point shall I seek counselling? - I tell them: - if you feel like you are not as happy as you could be. - It really is that simple. All of us go through times in our lives when we encounter periods of stress causing us feelings of great discomfort. We can loose our support system in transitions such as relocation, parenthood, and general change in circumstances, accentuating feelings of loneliness and anxiety. Another reason for seeking counseling is recognizing patterns of behaviors that are not working, such as relationships ending badly in…

Have you ever found yourself driving up a one way street going in the wrong direction? It can be a dreadful feeling even if there are no cars coming towards you. You are racing against time, yourself and other just to get to the safety of the other end. Then when you get there, you are exhausted, disorientated and wondering why you keep doing that. Behaviour is like that one way street. When your behaviour is heading in the wrong direction it is disempowering you: it does not feel right; you seem to be pushing against what other want; it…

Divorce is a terribly stressful time for everyone involved, including the children of the marriage; the decision to divorce is not theirs and the reasons are often beyond their tender years.

Just as the two people directly involved in the divorce have to make big changes in their lives so usually do the children, such as, an absent parent, shared parenting, moving from the family home and moving between two new homes and changes in financial circumstances. There is a myriad of change that accompanies divorce and our children are capable - often more capable than adults - of…

Have you ever loaded up new software on your PC, only to have it crash and reboot in Safe Mode? Your PC has detected a conflict - and as B9 Robot from Lost in Space would exclaim, Warning! Warning! - only to leave you stranded and wondering what to do next!

This happened to me the other day, and I realised there is a good reason for Safe Mode. It allows you to discover the cause of the conflict and correct it before re-starting in normal mode. While you are in Safe Mode, the functionality of the PC is limited…

Have you ever wondered how it is that certain people seem to have everything they want, they sail through their careers, have incredible relationships, a circle of amazing friends, drive their dream car, live in their their dream home, travel when they choose, are spiritual, humble, confident, vibrant, energetic, they seem to constantly get what they want? Question is, are they really that different to you or I? If they can have that level of success, do you think maybe you and I could too? What are they doing that is different to what you are doing or moreso, what…

Restricting our Power of Choice.

There are nine Avoidance Behaviours which we use at different times in order to survive painful and stressful situations. Deeply set in our Brain is a section called the Central Integrative Area (CIA) whose main function it is to ensure our physical survival, regardless of our happiness. Ancient knowledge to understand ourselves better actually came from the Sufi Masters in Afghanistan about 2000 years ago. It is based on the ENNEAGRAM. Its purpose is to help us to see ourselves in the mirror of our own subconscious, to identify compulsions and most importantly to bring…

Looking at a separation as a positive experience maybe not possible while you are going through it as it is a very turbulent time for many people. Life as you know it has ceased and a new unknown lies ahead.

You may not know where to start and be unsure of the legal process and afraid of what the future holds. However, it can be a powerful learning and growing experience where you find renewed joy and happiness within yourself.

Going through a separation is the perfect opportunity to look at yourself and your life and decide what you…

Divorce is a sad and often agonising thing to go through but it can also be one of the greatest personal growth experiences of a persons life. With one in three marriages failing the need to know how to move on in a calm and optimistic way is essential.

While in a marriage it is possible to see the future without even knowing that is what we are doing. It begins with meeting the partner we think will be by our side for the rest of our lives In a marriage we can see our future, we can see a…

Divorce in Australia is a fact of life with one in three marriages breaking up. The people going through the divorce can be surrounded by well intentioned friends and family who will listen and be there emotionally.

Divorce can also be an extremely busy time organising all the practical matters that need to be sorted through so that both parties can move ahead. This side of divorce can also be difficult as homes are sold and new ways of living are structured.

Whilst in a marriage certain jobs may fall to one or the other partner. When people find…

The effective practice of group psychotherapy has been evidence based for many decades and it is gradually developing a public profile in Australia. You may have observed the existence of qualified group practitioners in our local community offering this modality of therapy. Many of us may have mistakenly considered that individual therapy is more intensive than Group Therapy. Recent research by leading authority on Group Psychotherapy, Irvin Yalom (Psychiatrist/ Psychotherapist), states that “25% of the time group therapy is more effective than individual therapy and 75% of the time is as effective as individual therapy”.

Advantages - One of…

Motivation is not commitment. Too often these concepts are confused.
Motivation is how much you want something. Commitment is what you are prepared to do or sacrifice in order to get the something you want.

‘Oh, I've just attended a seminar and I am feeling really motivated!' ‘I want to live an amazing life and tap my true potential!' Unless these statements are backed up by an equal dose of commitment, the best thing that can happen to the person making them is for the motivation to drain right out of their system. Motivation comes with hope and no one…

I have lost count of how many times I’ve heard those words over the years. Friends and relatives embroiled in disputes over children and the family home often followed this well meaning advice by sympathisers as the only solution to a marriage gone wrong. Huge legal bills and Court costs have sent many into unmanageable debt and eventually nervous breakdowns because there seemed to be no other way for families to resolve their separation issues. Unfortunately this mentality is still very much entrenched in our country despite recent Federal Government changes to Family Law since June 30th 2007. New legislation…

Well being of an individual involves many different levels. Life Coaching has been shown to be an effective tool to make a significant contribution on a number of levels to the well being of a person. We shall examine some of the areas below:-

o Emotional

o Physical

o Organisational

o Career

o Purpose

o Relational

Emotional Our emotions govern so much of our life. Emotions can be so closely linked to our circumstances. If we are not happy in for example our job or family life, negative emotions can dominate. Coaching can address those circumstances so we are not…