Maria Harvey Counselling

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it just my problem?

You may be thinking that you are solely responsible for your difficulties, or that you have to know what has caused a particular problem in order to find a solution. However the problem may occur in the system in which you live.

What are the benefits of counselling?

I work as a systemic practitioner and the benefit of this approach is that you will learn how you can change aspects of your life that have become problematic and, with my help, to find a better outcome.

What is the systemic approach?

The systemic approach identifies and explores the patterns of belief and behaviours in relationships that seem to have become stuck over time, and enables you to decide where change would be desirable.
You will explore the wider systems of influence with me, rather than looking at the presenting problem in isolation. This means if you see an experience as problematic, we will together look at the way the wider system consisting of your family and other relationships has influenced the problem. We will connect your experiences, beliefs and actions with those held by this wider system.

I cannot change my past, can you still help me?

As part of the desired change process, you learn to reflect on how the problematic experience connects with your personal history in the wider system, and how it has affected your self perception and your relationships with others. Using those skills of reflecting and connecting, the systemic approach allows you to develop alternative ways of "storying" those past experiences with the possibility of living that alternative as a new story and bringing the desired change.