Taking the step to go for counselling is a courageous movement towards taking care of yourself and nurturing your relationships. Counselling and therapy have far too long carried the negative stigma that only those who have problems, seek therapy. While it is true that you will seek a counsellor or therapist when you find that your problems become overwhelming or relationships are in trouble, it is only those who are determined to work on their lives who will take the courage to make a phone call and seek help. It is also true that some couples seek relationship counselling at the moment when the damage in the relationship is beyond repair, only to prove to themselves that staying in the marriage or relationship won’t work. Yet, most of the couples I see in my practice are committed to each other and dedicated to the process in order to overcome the challenges they are dealing with in their relationship. It takes enormous courage to come to the point to acknowledge: “I need help!” and I honour my clients for taking this step.
If we would view counselling as a process of self-reflection, gaining insight in internal and relational dynamics as well as taking care of our relationships, it could change the “problem-focused” stigma surrounding counselling into a process of growth and self-development. I have the greatest respect for the often young clients that have engaged in a counselling journey with me who had clear insight into the often destructive relationship dynamics they witnessed from their parents, and adamant that they wanted to break the pattern and not repeat the same mistakes in their relationships.
I approach counselling from a disposition that I learned in Narrative Therapy: the client is always the expert. I don’t follow a particular model, but my focus is holistic, therefore taking every aspect of a client’s life into consideration, while allowing the flow of the therapeutic conversation to guide the process forward. I offer individual- and couple counselling in my practice. I am also qualified as a Mandala Assessment Research Instrument (MARI®) Practitioner, an intuitive process that falls in the domain of art therapy, and I will sometimes offer a MARI® reading to clients if I sense it could benefit them. It is also applicable to couples. The process definitely opens exciting and creative avenues for the counselling process. You can visit my website at https://johannvangreunen.co.za for more information and booking details.