Therapy
As a Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist, Lisa offers different forms of therapy to adults and adolescents with a wide range of emotional, mental and psychological problems and concerns.
Therapy sessions can take place in person in Lisa's Clonakilty clinic or online via video call. Sessions usually last 60 min.
Psychotherapy
In Psychotherapy, the therapist and the client engage into a therapeutic relationship with each other, which helps the client to feel safe and trusting enough, to embrace, name, un-pack and understand the difficulties or challenges they are facing. The therapist helps and supports the client in understanding the underlying stories, wounds and conditionings of the past that contribute to the current challenges and helps to find and develop safer and more serving coping strategies and behaviours. This leads to more self-compassion, self-trust and healing over time.
Psychotherapy is offered for wide range of challenges and problems such as
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Any form of trauma (sexual, physical, emotional)
- Eating Disorders
- Addictions
- Burn out & Life stress
- Bipolar disorder / Psychosis
- Grief
- Difficult Life Situations
Psychotherapy sessions last 60 minutes and cost 90 Euro per session and are offered in-person and online. Psychotherapy sessions are most beneficial when regular (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly) over a longer period of time.
Sex Therapy and Couple Counselling
Sex Therapy addresses difficulties or challenges that are experienced in the context of physical and emotional intimacy that negatively impact one's sexual relationship with oneself or with a partner, such as
- Low Libido (in men and women)
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Premature Ejaculation
- Vaginism / Pain during intercourse
- Difficulties reaching climax and/or sexual satisfaction
- Sex/Porn addiction
- Emotional and/or physical pain due to past sexual trauma
Sex Therapy can be individual or as a couple. Sessions last 60 minutes and are 90 euros for an individual session and 120 Euros for a couple session.
Couple Counselling is for any couple that is experiencing challenges or disruption in their relationship that they cant overcome on their own. Couple Counselling offers a safe and guided space for both sides to express their feelings and experiences without tension or conflict and to learn new and better forms of communication and relating to each other. This leads to more understanding and compassion towards each other and can create deeper emotional intimacy.
In circumstances where the relationship is beyond repair, couple counselling can help support and navigate the difficult transition into separation and minimise negative fall-out and hostility towards each other.
Possible (but not extensive reasons) people seek couple counselling:
- Changes in quality of relationship after becoming parents
- negative influence or conflict from family of origin
- Infidelity / Betrayal of trust
- Changes of Life circumstances/ Life Stress
- Sexual and Intimacy problems
Couple Counselling take place with both partners. Sessions last 1 hour and cost 120 Euro.
Depending on the circumstances and specific challenges, sometimes individual sessions with each partner are also suggested.
Grof Breathwork
As part of her involvement in the Grof Legacy Training program (GLT), Lisa co-facilitates breathwork retreat days and weekends alongside fellow trainees and trainers of the course.
Grof Breathwork is an incredible tool to access and release deep seated pain, unprocessed unconscious material and trauma (especially very early trauma). The safe re-living of these experiences and the cathartic release of stored emotions associated with these experiences are experienced as being profoundly healing.
Holotropic states of consciousness can also give us access to material from the collective and universal consciousness, bringing us in touch with primal, archetypal and spiritual aspects of being, which often lead to an increased feeling of personal growth
Grof Breathwork is distinctively different to many other forms of breathwork and is deeply therapeutic. The breathwork sessions last approx 3 hours and are only conducted with specifically trained facilitators that can offer support and specific bodywork to help the cathartic release of emotions and trauma out of the body.
Grof Breatwork (formerly known as holotropic breathwork) was developed by Stand Grof and his wife Christina Grof after the therapeutic use of psychedlics was banned in the 1950ies and Stan could no longer continue his research and clinical work with LSD Psychotherapy.
Grof breathwork very safely brings us into altered stated of consciousness without any of the risks or legal issues that psychedelic therapy involves.
Psychedelic Integration Therapy
Psychedelic assisted therapy is scientifically proven to be profoundly beneficial for many clients, specifically people struggling with long term depression, anxiety and PTSD. Currently there are clinical trials all over the world with very promising outcomes and in many countries it is possible to access legal treatment.
This has led to a surge and "renaissance" of the use of psychedelics, within and outside of therapeutic settings.
In Ireland it is currently not legal to offer psychedelic therapy outside of the very few clinical trials that are ongoing at present. However, many people take psychedelics either on their own privately, or during shamanic or "healing" retreats. These modalities dont always offer the required therapeutic aftercare and integration that is needed for these experiences to be beneficial and helpful. In fact, in the wrong "set" and "setting", psychedelic experiences can be experienced as overwhelming, anxiety inducing and destabelising.
Lisa does not offer psychedelic assisted therapy in Ireland. However, she offers integration therapy to anyone who has had psychedelic experiences (or empathiogenic experiences) they wish to understand or integrate further.
This can be in regards to experiences that were very rich and full and positive in nature, experiences that were difficult to understand or make sense of due to their level of symbolism and abstraction, spiritual or transpersonal experiences or insights, or experiences that were very difficult and challenging.
Psychedelic Integration Therapy sessions last 60 minutes and cost 90 Euros per session and can be online or in person.
Spiritual Emergence & Spiritual Emergency
The term "Spiritual Emergency" was coined by Stan and Christina Grof, the 2 main pioneers of working with altered states of consciousness (or so called "holotropic states") for healing purposes and personal development.
In their many years of work, they found that some people experience very big and profound spiritual "openings" and expansions that can be experienced as incredibly enriching and purposeful ("spiritual emergence"), but when too intense, sudden or without any supporting context, can also be experienced as overwhelming and lead to crisis and mental health problems (spiritual emergency).
Spiritual emergence or emergency can be brought on or triggered by strong and deep spiritual practice, the use of psychedelics or other holotropic states of consciousness, Kundalini activation and opening, traumatic or very stressful events, very intense experiences (e.g. child birth), certain embodiment therapies and practices, but can also appear completely spontaneously.
In our western culture, we often lack a framework or understanding for these experiences and label them as mental health disorders or "breakdowns". While a strong and unsupported spiritual opening can of course take the shape and form of crisis and distress, it also holds the potential for great personal development and transformation when guided and supported in the right way.
Lisa offers support and counselling for anyone in a process of spiritual emergence or emergency.
Sessions can be online and in person and cost 90 Euros per 60 min session.
If someone is in acute emergency, a tailored support plan (potentially including other suggested support systems) may be put into place