I’m not an olive
Life can be extremely challenging at times. We live in a very pressurised world, and we hear conflicting messages. Be still, detach, contemplate and meditate and everything will be fine. Be strong, be efficient, conquer and win, you can have it all. It is not surprising we get confused, stressed, distracted. distressed. 
We are not olives, that can just fall off the tree when they are ripe. We are not superhumans, preprogrammed to win it all. We laugh, we cry, we scream, we sing, we jump, we fall, we stand, we walk, we run, we achieve, we fail, we make mistakes, we succeed, we suffer, we rejoice. And we feel all of that, maybe in the same day, in the same hour. Complex, wonderful beings we are. If we accept the complexities of what it means to be human, then life becomes easier. We struggle less and we accept more. We are less defensive and more open. We become more empathic towards ourselves and the world. There is no fight to win, just a journey of discovery, but it is up to us to make sure that the journey is meaningful and fulfilling, a journey to discover the wonderful potentialities each of us has in themselves. Not an olive, not superhuman, just human.
I feel very passionately about helping my clients reconnect to their own strengths and resources. I aim to offer them a safe and non-judgemental space where they feel supported in sharing their difficulty and where they can understand what is going on in their life. In my work, I use an integrative and humanistic approach. Depending on your needs, I may be drawing from a variety of theoretical approaches, including Psychodynamic, Gestalt, Psychosynthesis, Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
What does that translate in more practical terms and how is that going to shape our work together? You may want to engage in long-term psychotherapy, to weave a more meaningful narrative around your own life and to understand the impact of past and current events into your present life. Or you may want to focus on more immediate issues. Or you may not have the faintest idea where to start. You may merely have a strong, unbearable sense that something is not “right”. And that is fine, we will find out together. The strong foundation behind all this is the safe and non-judgemental space I will offer where the therapeutic relationship we will create together will help you reconnect to your own strengths and skills.
I work through Italian and English. After more than 30 years in Ireland I have a very strong sense of the meaning of being bicultural and bilingual, especially in the multicultural world we live today. I am hugely aware of how this has shaped the person I am today and all my relationships. I regard it as a great opportunity that has widened my horizons immensely. 
Some of the skills I use in my work as a counsellor and psychotherapist come from my previous experience in a big multinational company where I became hugely attuned to the complex multicultural and multifaceted dynamics of office relationships. I did my psychotherapy training in Dublin and I am fully accredited with two Irish associations, IACP (Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and IAHIP (Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy), and I fully abide to their ethical and professional codes. I work in private practice, as a seasonal student counsellor for Dublin City University and for Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers.
I have a very extensive experience in the area of acute mental health and I have worked with a very wide variety of issues. Some of the issues I can help you with are listed below:
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Anger management
- Cultural identity and multicultural issues
- Stress
- Bereavement and Loss
- Trauma
- Depression
- Low self-esteem
- Personal development
- Eating disorders
- Relationship difficulties