The Spaces Between Counselling
The Power of Perception
The greatest area of growth my clients experience from our work together is the discovery that their problems are not what they thought they were. Struggle is a place of transition and can be your power spot.
You are on the “threshold” of creating and learning something new in your life.
Although this can be difficult, anxiety and struggle act as a motivator to create change. That is its job. You are at a place where all the possibilities and richness of life are yours to be found. What will you choose to do?
“Different perspectives create different choices and different choices create different results!“
Liz Coleman
“Know that what you do in the time of your greatest trial can be your greatest triumph.”
Neale Donald Walsch
Updates Regarding Counselling & Life During COVID-19
“I used to think it was weak to do this (counselling) but now I see the benefits.
Negative energy used to stay with me constantly and I’d push people away by yelling and getting angry. Now I notice the feelings bubbling up and I take an extra minute before I talk or not. I have awareness of my feelings now and can see what’s most important to me.
I never realized my yelling and anger was a problem and now I see it’s not necessary. I still have moments that I revert back but it’s not as often.”
“Liz has an uncanny knack for getting straight to the heart of the matter, to carve out new ways of seeing things I never had before.”
Counselling Services
Your struggles can be the tool to transform your life. Take the opportunity to become clear about what derails your efforts and what gets you back on track to living your life purpose.
I can help. I’m a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (RTC) with a general practice in Surrey, BC, dedicated to working with people to help create change that positively impacts their life.
Couples Therapy & Relationship Counselling
Couples in distress can feel chaotic, affecting not only their own lives, but also those around them. Whether you are at the beginning of your relationship, in the middle, or questioning if this is the end, Couples Counselling can help.
Anger Management & Communication Counselling
Is your anger or silence pushing people away? Are you afraid of losing those closest to you? Good or bad, your ability to manage your anger and communicate effectively with others touches all areas of your life.
Stress & Anxiety Counselling
Are stress and anxiety running your life? Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, exhausted or stuck, know you are not alone! Also know that a different experience is possible. That is the goal of counselling — to identify and make even small changes that will create a positive difference.
Self Esteem Counselling
Low self-esteem is the main reason people seek counselling. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has found 1 out of 4 adults suffer from a psychological disorder and low self-esteem is the underlying factor for the majority of them.
The Spaces Between
Definition
- Where there is a sense of Something but No Thing
- The felt sense or thought that is often fleeting and hard to put words to—ineffable and ephemeral
When I first heard the phrase “The Spaces Between” I instantly knew it was the name for my business. After all, the spaces between things and people is where all the sparks, growth, shifts in perspective and thinking—essentially all the good stuff—happen!
A Variety of Interpretations
“The Spaces Between” can be interpreted as the space between a client and their counsellor, a parent and their child, between significant partners or in other relationships. “The Spaces Between” may also be those calm spaces within the chatter of your mind. And taken a bit further, “The Spaces Between” can be between who you are and who you want to become.
I believe you have all the information you need to live the life you want, if you’re willing to pay attention.
“The Spaces Between” the daily mind chatter are those important subconscious thoughts that can be hard to catch and easily overlooked or avoided. Our habitual distraction with media, success, appearance and the outside world makes them impossible to recognize.
To hear them we simply need to listen, by practicing awareness and being mindful. The results of not doing that is Panic or Anxiety Attacks, Aggression, Conflict or cut off as the thoughts and feelings explode out to get your attention. Or implode in as depression, physical illness or overall unhappiness. At that point, you’re forced to make a change.
That’s where counselling comes in to help you deal with and learn from what’s coming up for you in “The Spaces Between.”
The Power of Perception
An optical illusion was an obvious choice to me for my business logo once I’d picked the name. To me, this particular optical illusion represents new perceptions and growth in the space between the faces. Plus, it perfectly explains how counselling works.
With an optical illusion, you know there’s another picture or another way of seeing what your eyes are telling you is there. The four skills needed to see the other picture are trust, willingness, curiosity, and determination. It’s the same with counselling through a problem.
When we’re in pain, struggling, stuck or frustrated with a situation, choosing to talk to someone means you know there’s got to be a better way, but nothing you’ve tried has worked. We can’t see through these things alone because the struggle is like a blind spot, something we haven’t learned yet (a new picture) so we can’t see it.
Four Key Skills
- Trust — that there is another way of seeing it.
- Willingness — to surrender the ‘truth’ of what your eyes are telling you, to see what is not yet visible.
- Curiosity — to stay open and available to anything. Opening your mind to any possibility.
- Determination — looking at the picture or issue for as long as it takes, determined to have a different experience and see something new.
It’s a relief to remember there’s always a bigger picture that you’re not seeing
Once you’ve seen the other picture in an optical illusion, you can’t un-see it. Like getting to know yourself, once you see the light at the end of the tunnel you never lose the knowledge of its existence. You may forget, but it comes back easily.
Unlike how we try to understand most things in life you can’t “figure,” out or “fix” an optical illusion. Only curiosity and openness will get you there which means you have to surrender or let go of what you think you know is true (what your eyes are telling you)
Like the hidden picture in an optical illusion, the truth or solution is in you. It doesn’t need to be “found,” created or arrived at. It’s already there. It just needs the space to be revealed.
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