Case #170 - Yes, I am not listening

Bethany asked a question about how to deal with conflict with her mother. She said her mother would not listen to her - rearranged her personal items, even though she had told her many times not to do it.

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Case #171 - Peaceful warrior

Belinda had a lot of energy. I acknowledged that in this moment of contact with her, feeling my own experience of high energy, as well as my feelings of solidity, openness, interest, and feeling grounded. She said she felt those things as well, and acknowledged the connection between us in this place.

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Case #172 - Playing father

Nancy was wearing an outfit I really liked. It was made of soft, natural looking materials; the design was muted, complex and unusual. The style was a little bit traditional Chinese. So thats the first thing I noticed about her.

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Case #173 - Awareness: the leaping off point

Bruce was nervous. So I invited him to ask me a question. He wanted to know how I came to be a therapist. I gave an answer on a number of levels; some of the details of when and how I became interested in therapy, how I into Gestalt, and then became a professional.

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Case #174 - Non material success

John was a young man; he raised the issue of his first girlfriend, who left him. He met her at University. Subsequently, he started a business, and invested some money that he had saved up from working.

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Case #175 - Anxiety, options, contact

Frank was nervous, so I invited him to ask me a question. I often prefer to take the focus off of the client, and put it onto myself. A good way to do this is to stop asking the client questions, and ask them to question me.

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Case #176 - Acknowledging stopping, and meeting longing

Liila talked about a previous relationship she had 12 years ago. But before she continued sharing, she turned to the group and asked people to not take any photos of her.

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Case #177 - An exquisite moment of shyness and connection

Alexis spoke of being shy. She said 'I am often in my world, others in theirs'. As we conversed about this, she described how even her husband talked about her not letting him in. I asked about her daughter, who was 20 months old. Alexis said her daughter was very similar to her, very shy.

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Case #178 - An exquisite moment of shyness and connection

Alexis spoke of being shy. She said 'I am often in my world, others in theirs'. As we conversed about this, she described how even her husband talked about her not letting him in.

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Case #179 - 0% present = zero intimacy

As Chanelle sat down, she commented on being distracted by something in the room which was out of place. She talked about how her attention often wandered; it was hard for her to stay focused on something.

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Case #180 - Colourful beauty

Wendy came up enthusiastically. She seemed very nervous, and asked me what she was supposed to do. I explained that I was not going to direct her. She mentioned that her parents had many strong ideas of what she should do.

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Case #181 - Love fixes an abnormal knee

Jane asked about working with body symptoms. She talked about her knees - one knee felt 'normal', the other 'abnormal'. She explained this meant her right knee felt fine, the left one she felt pain in, a 'lack of power', and that she didnt 'get enough support' from it.

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Case #182 - Rejection in the imagination only

Barry was a conservative man, quiet, and unused to sharing his feelings. We had some discussion about this. He said that one of his issues was fear of rejection, and his sense of alienation from others.

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Case #183 - Guardian angel Ninjas

Lucinda brought the issue of pleasing her mother. She described the situation as a bottleneck - how she would force herself not to feel emotions.

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Case #184 - Isolation, awareness, resistance

Trisha's issue was that her teenage son refused to go to school. As she spoke, I could see a great deal of emotion on her face. Her eyes were teary, her forehead wrinkled, her mouth shook a little, and she also seemed very timid and scared.

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Case #185 - A heart to heart connection

Trisha's husband, Mac, was in the group. They were a couple in their late 50's. After Trisha's personal work, the group gave feedback.

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Case #186 - Doubts about marriage

Wanda had some doubts about getting married. She definitely wanted children. She loved the man she was with, and wanted to get married to him.

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Case #187 - You should die

Jeremy spoke about the issue of bullying. He had been bullied as a child, and it was an issue for him still. He referred to a phrase which had been spoken to him during the bullying: 'you should die'. This had stuck with him, and he now sometimes repeated it to himself.

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Case #188 - Difference without rejection

Yuri sat in front of me. I remarked that he seemed very serious. He said he was nervous. So I engaged him in conversation - I commented that we both wore glasses.

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Case #189 - The skillful blast

Cynthia wanted to do some therapy work, but was not clear on just what to choose. I asked about her background - she was a social worker.

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