Qualifications, Experience and Core Values
Here's the list of qualifications
BA, PGCE, Dip. Humanistic Psychology, Dip. Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Institute,(GPTI) Associate Teaching and Supervising Member, GPTI. Certificate in Creative Arts.
I was training in group work and gestalt psychotherapy throughout most of my 30's. In my early forties I trained in supervision, then I started learning more about creative writing. All these trainings were very meaningful for me, because of my deep commitment to my own self-development during these years.
I have been working in private practice as a therapist since 1986 and as a fully qualified Gestalt Psychotherapist since 1992. I am registered with the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapy (UKCP - to find out about this organisation CLICK HERE) and I adhere to the Code of Ethics of the Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Institute
I have undertaken further extensive supervision training and am a supervisor and trainer of other psychotherapists and counsellors
More about me and my work
I enjoy all aspects of my work. I work three days a week seeing more a less an equal amount of psychotherapy clients and supervisees.
I see a small number of individuals for coaching, facilitate a self development group for trainee psychologists, am a primary tutor on the Diploma in Gestalt Counselling and Birmingham Counselling Centre and am a visiting tutor on The Gestalt Counselling course in Devon.
I am also Chair of CAPPP (Counsellors and Psychotherapists in Private Practice) - a networking organisation based in Bristol.
Before qualifying as a psychotherapist I was a Visiting Lecturer at Bristol University running trainings in management skills and assertiveness throughout the country. At that time, when I was about 32, I learned to be more assertive myself by teaching the assertiveness courses. I've always believed it's good to teach what you want to learn!
In my mid twenties I taught in primary schools for several years, and previous to that (it almost feels like another life time) was a rather bad secretary, using a ton of tippex to erase my typing errors - hope you don't find any typos on this site!
What do I value in my work as a therapist?
In this society, people often feel that they have to be self-sufficient and manage on minimal support. A phrase that rang true for me recently was this: "Isolation is the new poverty". I believe many people lack meaningful connections with others. They feel deeply impoverished by superficial contact. Somehow, there is never the opportunity to talk about hopes and fears . Nobody will really listen or if they do are afraid to reveal themselves in response. Although life is so much more affluent than fifty years ago, recent studies have shown that people are not any happier. In fact, many more people experience depression and lack of purpose in their lives,
In therapy I believe in offering exactly the right amount of support to help people to make change in their lives, balanced by the right amount of challenge. I encourage people to express their deeply held hopes and fears and I listen very carefully to what they are saying and how they experience life.
I also respond with my feelings and thoughts if it seems appropriate and will help, rather than interfere with the therapeutic exploration.
One of the major premises in Gestalt therapy is the paradoxical theory of change- 'Change occurs if we become more of who we are.'(to read the full article on this theory CLICK HERE) This is one of my strongly held beliefs. I have discovered more of myself through my own experience of being in therapy, realised more of my creative potential, made better relationships and become more self-accepting. Over the years I have seen many people go through a process of self-discovery, make lasting changes, enjoy better connections with others, become more creative and feel happier with themselves as the unique human beings they are.
Support, creativity and kindness are three of the hallmarks of how I practice therapy. I love my work and I am interested in people and also learn a great deal myself from their very different perspectives on the world.
Some of my other interests
I like to write fiction. I have completed the first draft of a novel, set around a jazz cafe in a fictional Clevedon. I am currently working on the second draft. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. I know I need to be persistent.
I am also currently interested on how much we can learn about relationships and other people's lives and cultures from novels, short stories and poems. I think that reading and being affected by stories from other cultures and about people very different from me enhances my work as a therapist. Going to the cinema and being challenged there to think in different ways also helps me understand fresh perspectives and helps me challenge any prejudices I hold.
I like to grow vegetables and flowers. Well, digging around in the soil really keeps me in the present. As does going for walks. I believe in 'living'
the 'Gestalt Philosophy' as much as possible - staying aware, trying to look at how I affect my environment and how it affects me.
Tel:0117 9850391. mob. 07833 711931
Email jahiggins@bigfoot.com
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