What Happens in a Transactional Analysis Session with Sara?

Having a goal: she will ask you to describe what you have come to see her about. She may say to you “how do you want to be when the counselling/therapy is all finished? Once you know how you want to be at the end of the counselling then she will help you set some small steps towards reaching that goal. She will support you to take these steps.

Enquiry and reflection: during counselling she will help you to notice, accept and express any feelings or thoughts that are related to what you have come to see her about.

Tools to practice: Sara will suggest strategies for you to take away from the session to practice such as mind/body awareness techniques and cognitive behavioural techniques. She finds that practising with a tool helps people to achieve the goal.

The Benefits of Counseling and Psychotherapy

As we grow up we are “socialized” by our parents, extended family, teachers and friends. Socialization helps us to learn helpful ways of being with others. For example, we learn to share, to have manners, to study and practice so that we can get proficient at what we do.

The socialization process can also be unhelpful. For example, we might learn to inhibit our creativity. Normal feelings, such as anger, love, fear, confidence can get repressed, as can our desires to be close to others and to have fun. When this happens, we grow up with a way of being in the world that does not fully express our true selves. Rather we express who we have come to believe others want us to be.

Psychotherapy (and counselling) can undo some of these less helpful effects of socialization. Psychotherapy is a journey into our unconscious; that part of ourselves that is hidden from both ourselves and others.

Nonetheless, the unconscious is present; it shows itself in our dream images, in our awake impulses and gestures, and slips of the tongue. It is there in our beliefs and expectations that underlie our relationships with others.

As your psychotherapist I will provide a relationship in which the unconscious can manifest and be welcomed. You will be encouraged to be present with all of who you are when you are in the therapeutic space. To do this I may draw on meditative and gestalt approaches. From time to time I may suggest gestalt action methods to help bring psychological material into the present. I may also use diagrams from Transactional Analysis to develop and integrate your understanding of what we are doing.

Culture and Spirituality

Sara is comfortable and experienced working with people from different cultural and spiritual backgrounds. Sara embraces a spiritual approach based on many years of training and practice in meditation.

Safety and Support

Sara offers a service that is confidential and professional. She creates professional safety where people feel supported to relax and reflect on their experience. Sara uses the Code of Ethics of the NZ Association of Counsellors (NZAC) and the NZ Association of Psychotherapists (NZAP). She has regular supervision for her work and is committed to ongoing professional development.

Sara's counselling room in Wellington.