Art Therapy, Counselling & Psychotherapy

In addition to a long-standing career in the corporate world, along with being an artist, Kit Somers is educated in psychology, arts psychotherapy and counselling. Her practice includes ongoing supervision and development. Here, in brief, are her main influences: 

Counselling

Counselling is known as talk-therapy. The main aim of counselling is to support another person to talk through their problem or aspirations. When a client told me her sessions felt like she was talking to herself, I knew I was giving her effective counselling. The counsellor reflects back the clients thoughts and feelings through a varierty of techniques. It is important the counsellor does not advise the client. 

Psychotherapeutic Modalities 

Counselling can go deeper through being informed through psychotherapeutic theory and approaches. Kit's work is based on training and influence drawn from the following modalities. 

Jungian Psychology

Kit's work draws on the work of Carl Jung - Jungian Psychology - in relation to his interest in the soul. Particular influences are Jung's work on archetypes, mandalas and the idea of self-hood (drawn from Nietschke), which is we each have a self-actualised, soul-filled self we can aim to be in this lifetime. 

Rogerian Person-centred Therapy

Kit's work is heavily influenced by Rogerian Psychotherapy. Carl Rogers was an American therapist who developed person-centred therapy in the 1950s. Rogers' work was radical in placing the client, and the client's agenda, and current consciousness, utterly at the centre of work. Prior to Rogerian Psychotherapy, therapists took charge. Roger's work has radically changed therapy globally. 

Gestalt

Kit employs many Gestalt techniques in her work with clients. Gelstalt is a German word for wholeness. Gestalt Therapy was developed by Fritz Perls in the 1950s. It has become a worldwide movement because it honours the body's experience of life, and in particular, an individual - or group's - contact with their world. Therapeutic work involves 'experiments' devised by the therapist to help the client perceive changing contact with their world, with emphasis on completing 'unfinished business' from the past to be whole in this present moment. 

Post-modern Therapies

Kit's overall philosophy in practice is post-modern. Post-modern therapies see the client as perfectly in charge of their own progress, rather than having a medical problem. The two therapies influencing Kit's work are: Solution Focused Therapy and Narrative Therapy. 

Solutions Focused Therapy assumed the client already has the answer. It may be small but it is there to be cultivated. 

Narrative Therapy radically moves beyong many 'meta-narratives' we are given to live by - such as, 'When you grow up you will take a same sex partner and have children.' We now know there are myriad unique paths to take in life. Narrative Therapy honours the client's unique narrative and work supports achieving this. In essence, narrative therapy supports living true to one's truest nature. 

Please go here to book a session or a complimentary chat. 

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