Ines Astrug

Web: astrugcounselling.uk  Hi! I am Ines. I am a BACP Accredited Counsellor. IT'S HARD to imagine what to expect exactly, especially without prior experience. Let’s see some examples of counselling work with me specifically: - Prioritise: often, when we feel overwhelmed, there are a number of topics / areas / feelings - let’s break them down, take one at a time. - Filter: Separate bigger issues or long-term problems from what we can deal with today. Start with what we can focus on in the present to make a difference and then look at broader principles, or patterns, for the future. - Look at attitudes: how do I see personal responsibility? Am I taking responsibility for other people or do I avoid responsibility? Do I know my boundaries? What is my relationship to myself? How does it differ from my relationship to other people? How do I communicate with myself and with others? - Reprogram: look at what I am telling myself - blame, labels, guilt, judgements. We will redefine those thoughts to include self-empathy, self-awareness, understanding of personal needs, conflicting needs or mixed feelings, and ways to balance and/or reconcile those. - Investigate: What are the sources of my anxiety or low mood? Did I always have those beliefs / attitudes / feelings? How do I process difficult / traumatic experiences? How do I move on? - Recharge: How do I care for myself? What self-care is best for me? I am flexible in my approach, however I work mostly with short, solution-focused therapy, which can then be extended ad-hoc as and when necessary with occasional sessions.  In the confidentiality between us you can speak about your experience, discover thoughts and feelings, and we can explore together the causes as to why you feel the way you do. The trust that we develop in our therapeutic relationship will be the foundation of healing and change.  Over the past 40+ years, I have lived in five different countries, including eastern-Europe, Israel and Germany - I am able to speak several languages. Each country, each experience, each community, has taught me something valuable outside the security and comfort-zone of the familiar environment, whether it's about people, personal growth, mentality or culture. I am especially aware of the differences between how we approach life, living and relating in the east and the west of Europe and the challenges they bring with them. I have experience especially working with bereavement and grief, loss, difficult childhood, trauma. Additionally I work with anxiety & depression, identity and self-esteem, guilt, assertiveness, healthy boundaries.  Having experienced a variety of challenges myself, I don’t judge a person’s choices and situations. I am acutely aware of how difficult it is sometimes to find the best coping strategy, healthy boundaries, self-confidence and the right measure of assertiveness. We will work together to gain more insight into how to improve your well-being and ultimately feel better. Counselling is a process, one step at a time. As a counsellor I will support you in finding clarity and the best solutions for what you need. I work with every person to empower them in their lives.