COUNSELLING with LYDIA
I studied a Master of counselling (at Victoria University) and I am ACA (Australian Counselling Association) registered counsellor.
I studied a Master of counselling (at Victoria University) and I am ACA (Australian Counselling Association) registered counsellor.
What does counselling mean?
According to the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), “Counselling is a professional activity that utilise an interpersonal relationship to enable people to develop self understanding and to make changes in their lives.”
My counselling style
Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy)
I identify myself as a Person-centred counsellor acknowledging the importance of Carl Rogers’ core conditions of therapeutic change (unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy). This is, in my opinion, fundamental to the counselling process and central to the establishment and maintenance of the therapeutic relationship. I have experience using trauma-informed interventions and working with people from diverse backgrounds.
My counselling therapeutic approaches:
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
As part of my Master I specialized in CBT as it is the most researched form of psychotherapy (David, Cristea, & Hofmann, 2018). It includes a group of interventions which essential principle is that the thoughts contribute to the emotional distress and these feelings influence behaviours and actions (Beck, 2011).
If we decide to use CBT, I will give you tools to help you to identify, evaluate and respond to your unhelpful thoughts and beliefs by:
- Focusing on a specific problem/ specific situation
- Identifying your Automatic Thought (called dysfunctional thinking)
- Evaluating the validity and/or utility of the Thought, and
- Examining the evidence for and against the Thought
- Changing the Thought for a more helpful, self-compassionate and empowering one
You will also gain a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others. And, in order to change behavioral patterns, we could use role playing to prepare you for potentially challenging interactions with others so you can face your fears instead of avoiding them.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is a mindfulness-based behavioral therapy which aims to create a rich and meaningful life, while accepting the pain that inevitably goes with it. As defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.”
I have been practising mindfulness since 2011 and I have attended several mindfulness meditation retreats and different Mindfulness and self-compassion (MSC) courses with the Spanish Mindfulness Association, Asociación Mindfulness y Salud (AMYS). I can share with you some techniques that you can incorporate to your daily life. These have helped me a lot to be more present, more aware, more focused and to boost my memory. I have assisted clients using ACT to reduce stress, anxiety, to achieve greater cognitive flexibility by being less reactive emotionally, to increase memory and attention by decreasing rumination, etc.
Art Therapy
As part of my Master, my thesis focused on developing a program based on Art Therapy to assist migrants and refugees who experienced trauma. I facilitated the program with a group of migrant students. In my opinion Art Therapy is a suitable intervention which enables us to communicate in the universal language of colour, music and movement. I like to use some techniques especially with children and young people such as:
The Two self-portraits:
‘Who I am now’ and ‘Who I would like to be’,
Inner/Outer Self-Portrait,
The Thankful Tree
Creation of a Safe Place
Family drawing with animals
The Collage of Your Life
I could use art therapy techniques to help you explore emotions, develop self-awareness, cope with stress, improve self-esteem, and work on your social skills.
Meet Lydia Gomez,
Founder of Light to Fly
I genuinely believe that we all have the ability to heal ourselves and to show up in life with our best version. There are moments when we just need support and additional tools to accept, address and overcome our traumas or challenging experiences from the past, to fully immerse ourselves and be mindful in our present, and to set up exciting and meaningful goals for our future.
I provide counselling and coaching in Spanish, French and English.
Please get in touch and we will decide how I can better support you.