Amanda Dounis is a Psychotherapist : Professional Counsellor, Clinical Hypnotherapist, NLP Master and Early Childhood Teacher. She uses a professional and interpersonal relationship with her clients, in order to develop an understanding about them to help make changes in their lives.
There are many different styles of treatment. During initial consultation, Amanda will decide what is suitable for the client.
Therapy is usually offered face to face but can also be available by email, telephone, mobile or video conferencing. Amanda offers services both Face to Face in Clinic, as well as Distance Professional Services (also known as Telehealth, Teletherapy, E-Counselling, E-Therapy, Online Counselling, and Online Therapy, and Online Conferencing).
Amanda generally focuses on specific problems /patterns or life changes.
Amanda prefers to use brief therapy as it is strategic, exploratory, and solution based rather than problem oriented. It does not look for meaning into the past (so it doesn’t explore WHY). This therapy assumes the client will change with insight. Amanda looks for patterns and processes in the “now” (and asks “HOW”) and shows the client where different choices can be made so that they can change.
She focuses on the client’s current experience holistically (not just their internal state and thinking, but their external interactions with other people and the world around them). Sharing elements of CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) by looking for ‘triggers’ of thoughts and behaviours, she seeks to challenge and disrupt the client’s usual patterns.
Counselling and Psychotherapy is helpful in treating any crisis situation, management of stress, grief and trauma, relationship or family problems and any emotional or psychological problems.
Therapy sessions may be for an individual, couple, group, family, or as needed.
Consultations are confidential, professional and may take up to an hour or more in duration. Times and amount of sessions will be discussed with clients.
The Bachelor of Counselling provides a comprehensive grounding in counselling frameworks and skills, ethical practice and cultural diversity.
The Bachelor of Counselling provides training with a strong focus on contemporary techniques, counselling and psychology theory, research and practice.
Strategic Psychotherapy looks at the client resources to maximise potential.
Modern Clinical Hypnotherapy is a dynamic form of Psychotherapy which combines cognitive therapeutic counselling techniques with unconscious (subconscious) healing techniques.
People are not treated with hypnosis, rather they are treated “in” hypnosis.
Being hypnotised feels just like being very relaxed. The unconscious (subconscious) mind is accessed, and the therapist’s positive suggestions are taken and applied, to the patient’s psyche in the most efficient way.
The hypnotherapist assists the client to become so deeply relaxed, that with little guidance and strategic suggestions, the client can begin to make changes that he or she wants to make (towards automatic behaviours and /or emotional reactions) leading towards a more positive outcome.
Change occurs when the client is open and accepting and committed to goals.
The critical and judgemental conscious mind will quieten to allow these new behavioural changes to take place.
Clinical Hypnotherapy can assist the client come into conscious awareness of his or her unconscious (subconscious) beliefs thus enabling an understanding and redress of any existing imbalance. This should result in reduced feelings of stress and anxiety, and increased feelings of peace and positive energy.
During hypnosis, the conscious, rational part of the brain is temporarily bypassed, making the unconscious (subconscious) part, which influences mental and physical functions, receptive to suggestive therapy. During a trance state, there is heightened concentration for the specific purpose of maximising potential, changing limiting beliefs and behaviours, and gaining insight and wisdom.
Hypnosis is an altered state of awareness, where the client can become more absorbed in relaxing thoughts, ideas, and feelings, while being distracted from negative or painful ones. Those who benefit from hypnosis respond well to suggestions about feeling less pain, more comfort, increased energy, better sleep, and rapid healing outcomes.
It is important that the client complies with everything the therapist asks during sessions and between sessions.
Clinical hypnosis is usually considered an aid to strategic psychotherapy because the hypnotic state allows people to become more suggestible and thus listen to the requests /guidance of the therapist who will be strategically looking for and implementing solutions using the persons existing resources, challenging the way they think. Clients are led into a solution focused approach while considering client choices to make changes to the way they think and behave.
By dealing with problems in the emotional mind, we are targeting the problems at their source. This is done by addressing the conflict between the unconscious and the conscious process, bringing about a positive change. This is what makes hypnotherapy so effective.
Hypnosis is focused attention. It has been demonstrated to benefit in areas such as;
When using hypnosis, we are dealing with the unconscious, emotional mind, rather than the analytical, rationalising mind. Often, peoples problems do not make rational sense, even to themselves – they respond emotionally even though their analytical mind may be aware that their response is to rationalise.
The client has a particular role to play if he or she wishes hypnosis (and any form of treatment) is to be successful.
To achieve a successful hypnotic trance;
THERE ARE HOWEVER LIMITATIONS TO HYPNOTHERAPY
It is best to consult with your doctor when contemplating hypnotherapy or self-hypnosis, especially if you are being treated for any mental disorder.
Please note:
NLP is an approach that is used for communication, personal development, and psychotherapy. NLP works to change cognitive beliefs and patterns. It gives us tools to run our own brain and manage our states, emotions and behaviours. Techniques are used to improve how we think, behave and feel. NLP is used to change thoughts and feelings, to run your own life more successfully, and to communicate with other people more effectively. Basically, NLP is a way of precisely understanding how you do the things you do – so that you can improve your good methods and replace your not-so-good ones.
The above therapies are effective, safe, & drug free. In todays terms…organic our therapies focus on solutions and the client.