Background

I was born in Canada to Scottish parents. When I was 6 my parents decided to return to Scotland. I thought I was Scottish until we went to Scotland where the children saw me as a foreigner.

As a young child I was often perplexed by the rules the other children lived by. Having been exposed to a different culture during my most formative years, I broke the rules on a regular basis and was met with loud disapproval.
The other children were foreign to me too, in that respect.

Many years later I discovered that some of the behaviour I didn’t understand was a result of stress at home; violence and alcoholism were common in Scotland when I was growing up.

Meditation, yoga, Gestalt Therapy

During my first pregnancy I learned to meditate at an ante-natal yoga class and began practising daily. Making time for “not doing” became a welcome addition to my life, and still is.

Wanting to know more I decided to train as a yoga and meditation teacher. By this time, I was a mother of two and was looking for a way to earn my living in a way that was meaningful to me and to others. Part of the training was learning how to support others in both psychological and spiritual processes during the classes.

After some time, I wanted to deepen my understanding and decided to follow a long-standing yearning to train as a Gestalt therapist.

My practice and unfinished business from adolescence

I set up my Gestalt Therapy practice in 2008, working first with individuals, in particular with adults who had unfinished business from adolescence. One of the prominent themes was that decisions made during adolescence were often clouded in shame and guilt. This inspired me later to offer therapy to adolescents too. I realised that what could have been an experimental, lively period of learning for my adult clients, had often turned into rigid ideas about themselves and a block to their later development. I recognised this from my own life too, where, the ideas I had formed during adolescence and the lack of adequate support had led to periods of depression.

When we, as parents and carers, don’t have the knowledge or tools to support the developmental tasks important to adolescence, communication can easily break down and contact become troubled. 

The Gestalt Approach; supporting development and growth

The dynamics of relationships is something that fascinates me, which means paying attention to what is happening in the therapeutic relationship too. Taking time for what is emerging, is what allows awareness to expand. Growth and development do not have to be forced but happen when there is support for what is present.