Authenticity creates healing  We are all doing our best on any day, in any moment with the knowledge we have at the time. Sometimes our thought processes or behaviours produce unexpected or unwanted results. Exploring our motivations, self talk, beliefs and patterns can help create a more satisfying life now and in the future. Some people like to explore the past to understand how situations have come about; some like to change their life from the next moment onwards - both approaches can be covered in counselling. For more information on the counselling process with Suzi Wallis, click here. To find out your love language (this is not just for couples) click here. Frequently Asked Questions Below are some additional questions that you may have about counselling. I will add to these over time. If there are enough I will create a new page.Do I need to write things down?You are welcome to bring a journal or paper with you to your counselling appointments. Often you will make plans and create goals that you may forget in the every day busyness of your life.How many times will I need to come?This question is answered on these pages: Counselling Auckland - what is counselling? What is Family Therapy? and Couple/Couples Counselling Auckland.Are our sessions confidential?Information about supervision and confidentiality is on this page Counselling with Suzi Wallis (including hours & cost). A brief summary is that everything we discuss is confidential with a couple of exceptions: if you give me permission to share information, professional supervision, if you or someone else is at serious risk of imminent harm. This is explained more fully on the page above under "confidentiality" and "supervision".I take notes during the session, which are kept in a confidential location and no-one but me sees them. What sort of things will we talk about?I generally start with asking you a bit of information about your family tree to build a fuller picture of you. We will then talk about what brings you to counselling and what goals you would like to work towards. More information is on this page Counselling Auckland - what is counselling? under "What if I don't want to talk about some topics?"Generally, whatever you are comfortable discussing can be covered in counselling. It is not my practice to ever re-traumatise someone by making them discuss an issue that they're not comfortable exploring. Will I have to talk about my childhood?As I mention above, I like to get some general information about whether your parents are still alive, together and how many siblings you have. Beyond that, you don't need to give any details about your childhood unless you think it's significant to what you are trying to achieve. Some people don't like to 'rummage' around in the past. I am happy to work with present day issues and changing thought patterns from today to create a different future.Can I bring my kids or significant other to my appointments?You are welcome to bring a support person, partner or friend to your counselling appointments. They can be part of the counselling process or merely there for moral support - it's entirely up to you, the client.As I work with children aged 16 or over, you would need to make childcare arrangements for younger children. Will I have to do role plays?Some therapeutic modalities utilise role plays/acting/rehearsing. My style is to work with whatever the client is comfortable with. I don't use psychodrama (role playing is included with this modality). I do sometimes, if the client is comfortable, utilise visualisation techniques, which can be very powerful and freeing.A healthy counselling experience involves informed consent - checking in with the client about their own comfort levels and boundaries and never pushing them into something they are unwilling to explore. |
