Spirituality, religion & meaning counselling in Norwich
What do I believe? What gives my life meaning? Who am I, really? And what on earth is all of this about?
These are pretty big questions, and they don't always come with straightforward answers.
Sometimes they emerge through grief, a difficult experience or a major change in our lives. Sometimes they've been bubbling away beneath the surface for years. And sometimes we find ourselves questioning things we once felt absolutely certain about.
Whether you're religious, spiritual, agnostic, atheist or simply trying to make sense of being alive, I offer somewhere we can explore these questions openly, without judgement or any expectation that we arrive at a particular answer.
When beliefs and experiences become complicated
Our beliefs can be an enormous source of comfort, connection and belonging. They can help us understand ourselves and our place in the world.
But they can also become a source of conflict, confusion, guilt or fear.
Perhaps you're questioning beliefs you've held for years, or finding that the values of your family or community no longer fit comfortably with who you are.
Maybe you've experienced something that has fundamentally challenged how you understand yourself or the world around you.
Or perhaps you're struggling with questions about death, existence, purpose or what it means to live a meaningful life.
There are all sorts of things we might explore together, including:
Faith, belief, doubt and religious identity
Questioning, changing or leaving a religion
Tensions between personal beliefs and family or community expectations
Guilt, shame or fear connected to religion or spirituality
Finding meaning following grief, loss or major life changes
Spiritual experiences that feel profound, confusing or difficult to explain
Existential questions about life, death, freedom and purpose
Feeling disconnected from your values or sense of self
You don't have to identify with any of these experiences to bring questions about spirituality or meaning to counselling.
Somewhere you don't need to have the answers
I think one of the difficulties with these sorts of questions is that they can feel deeply personal, and sometimes pretty risky to talk about.
Perhaps sharing your doubts might upset someone you love. Maybe you've had experiences that other people would struggle to understand, or you're worried about being dismissed, judged or told what to believe.
I want counselling to be somewhere you don't have to worry about any of that.
Somewhere you can question things, contradict yourself, explore unfamiliar ideas or simply admit that you haven't got a clue what you believe anymore.
I'm not interested in deciding whether your beliefs are right or wrong. I'm interested in understanding what they mean to you, how they've shaped your life and how you're experiencing them now.
How I work
I'm a person-centred counsellor, and questions of spirituality, religion and meaning are areas that matter to me personally.
But my beliefs aren't what we're here to explore. Yours are.
I won't try to steer you towards or away from religion, spirituality or any particular understanding of the world. Nor will I claim to have answers to life's bigger questions.
Instead, I'll work to understand your experiences from where you're sitting, and give you room to discover what feels meaningful and authentic to you.
Sometimes that involves coming to a clearer understanding of what you believe. Sometimes it means learning to live with uncertainty. And sometimes the questions themselves change as we explore them.
There's no particular destination we have to reach.
Counselling in Norwich, outdoors or online
I offer one-to-one counselling for adults in several ways:
In person: At my counselling room in central Norwich (NR2).
Walk and talk: Outdoors at Mousehold Heath, Norwich.
Online: Throughout the UK.
Sessions last a full 60 minutes and cost £60. There's no fixed number of sessions.
Thinking about counselling?
You don't need to know exactly what you want to explore, or have the words to explain it before getting in touch.
I offer a free 15-minute introductory call so we can have a chat, you can ask questions and we can get a feel for whether working together might be right.
There's no obligation to go ahead.