Why would I consider counselling at all?
There are many reasons why people have counselling. For some it is a good way to maintain clarity and balance in their life, for others it can be helpful during times of pain and uncertainly. Here are just a few of the areas where counselling may be helpful for you ...
→ To support anxiety and depression and their related symptoms
→ Feeling overwhelmed, alone, stressed and out of balance
→ If you feel stuck and are lacking direction in your life
→ To work through relationship challenges
→ Wanting to change negative habits and move beyond past hurts
→ Tired of not feeling heard and feeling emotionally depleted
→ To build a more positive outlook and manage your inner critic
→ To learn, practice and incorporate mindfulness into your life
→ To learn to analyse your own dreams to assist in your self care practice
→ Feeling misunderstood, unhappy and confused about who can help you.
What will personal counselling be like?
Counselling is all about sharing with someone who has the ability to listen to you from a non-judgemental view point. Even though it can be helpful to share with friends and family, sometimes you can end up feeling like you have to hold some feelings back, or you may be concerned about what they will think or how they will react.
Kindred Self counselling is a dynamic process where you can openly 'workshop' alongside someone who is completely neutral in your life. Together we explore your needs in detail and develop new and practical ways to help you to authentically move forward with confidence, emotional resilience and clarity. Our goal is to help you feel supported, truly heard and validated, while guiding you to a place where you start to experience an abundance of positivity and motivation stir from deep within.
The Kindred Self experience is relaxed and friendly (non-clinical - yet professional) and you will be guided to work at a pace that feels right for you, incorporating little challenges along the way. That's right, this will take some work, and may also feel uncomfortable at times, but hey, I gather you are here reading this because you are already feeling that way. I encourage you to imagine finally clearing these uncomfortable feelings - how good that will feel to you to step forward feeling so much lighter. Please trust that the work we do will reveal many hidden gifts and blessings!
Do you offer a counselling support service for children / adolescence?
Our standard therapy practice and services offered are currently designed and modeled around supporting adults (+17 years). Please contact us to discuss you and your child's situation so we can guide you towards some options for the best help available within the Adelaide area.
How long and how frequent are the appointments?
Generally counselling appointments run for 60 minutes, and 75 or 90 minute appointments are also available. Please allow 90 minutes for your first appointment so we have a little extra time to discuss your needs moving forward.
The frequency of your appointments will depend a lot on your individual situation. As an example, I may initially suggest we meet three weekly for 2-3 appointments, then extended to monthly or quarterly. There is no obligation to commit to multiple sessions, and you can stop at any time.
Do I pay before or after the appointment?
That is up to you. We accept payments at the time of booking online, or you can also pay on the day of your appointment, and can be made at the end of the session. We accept Visa, Mastercard and cash payments.
Is your counselling service eligible for health fund or medicare rebates?
Unfortunately at present professional counselling is not covered by Medicare or Health Insurance providers. At this stage only Psychologists or Psychiatrists can provide rebates and this is a process that is normally arranged via a referral from your GP. With this in mind, you may find that our fees are quite comparable after the relevant rebates anyway.
What is your cancellation policy?
Please respect that Kindred Self is a small business and we wish to help as many people as we can. With this in mind, it is important that you provide at least 24 hours notice via text, phone or email if you need to cancel your appointment. This will then provide us enough time to make alternative arrangements to fill your appointment.
Failing to turn up, or cancelling on the day will incur a cancellation fee of 50% of your appointment cost. This fee will be automatically added to the cost of your next appointment. For example, if your appointment was $100, then your cancellation fee will be $50
Do you record any information about me?
After each counselling appointment Kyrie will make some brief notes for her own client records. These notes will help her to track your progress as you work together. All session notes are securely stored electronically using password protection, and you can have access to this information upon request.
Does everything we talk about remain confidential?
Yes, all communication will remain private and confidential. This means that Kyrie will not discuss your case or any information about you verbally or in writing without your expressed written permission (with some exceptions as explained below under Therapist Supervision and Mandatory Reporting).
Therapist Supervision
As part of ongoing professional membership, the Counsellor (Kyrie) is required to participate in regular supervision. This means that your counsellor may discuss some cases, challenges, and counselling techniques and tools with a supervisor. Names of clients aren’t necessarily disclosed, however, in order to continue ongoing professional education and self care, some information may need to be placed in context or examples given regarding content from counselling sessions.
What is mandatory reporting?
If in the course of the counselling appointment you disclose information that clearly indicates that there is a risk of imminent danger to yourself or to another person, Kyrie Kohlhagen is legally bound to take the necessary steps to prevent danger. This may include, but is not limited to notifying the proper authorities, and may involve cooperation with the authorities by disclosing content of the counselling session that specifically relates to the perceived danger.
Will you make contact with my previous treatment providers?
Generally no, but if a situation were to arise that could benefit our work, then this would be openly discussed with you first prior to contacting any other practitioners.
How do you view human suffering?
Some therapists are overly positive, some are pessimistic, others are balanced in their view of life. Kyrie believes she has a more balanced view of life, culture and belief systems. Kyrie takes a holistic approach with her counselling practice, and she views human suffering as an inevitable part of all of our lives.
Spirituality, religion, culture, community, self-care, changing your thoughts, challenging your perceptions, journalling, and persevering are all things that can ease our suffering, build acceptance and resilience, and help us to choose how we perceive and respond to suffering overall.
Do you work with or support any religious belief systems?
Kyrie respects all belief systems and religions no matter what that happens to be. They are an important framework that can provide individuals security and support, often influencing important life decisions, and therefore can be helpful to draw from during times of suffering.
What is Integrative Counselling?
Integrative Counselling includes a range of processes and therapy tools that help us to explore you as a 'whole' person - mind, body and spirit. Each process is completely safe and implemented with care - and you will feel completely supported and aware throughout the process. Kyrie may introduce an integrative process to your counselling session if she feels it could be helpful to allow you to go deeper or to simply help you to feel more relaxed.
These processes can provide an additional layer of information, and are also quite helpful for those who feel stuck and cannot articulate into words what is going on for them. The kind of information that can surface during an integrative process include symbols, images, words, and body sensations. We curiously look at this information as an additional set of clues to help us to work out the best approach for deep healing.
What does it mean to work in a relaxed state?
Working in a relaxed state is to shift your state of mind from being busy and fully alert to being more relaxed and at ease. When the mind is settled and quiet we have the opportunity to explore more deeply, look for clues as to what might be at the core of your concern/s. While in this state of relaxation, we take note of and explore any symbols, memories, images, words and body sensations that come up for you. This approach is also very effective if you generally find it difficult to express yourself verbally.
While relaxed, will I still be aware of what I am doing and saying, and is it safe?
Yes, you will be fully aware of your surroundings, and what you do and say throughout the relaxation process. It is completely safe and you are aware throughout the conversation.
What is your social media policy regarding communicating with you there?
Please be aware that Kyrie will always maintain professional and ethical boundaries by not entering into any other personal relationships with you. This will include not responding to friend requests on Social Media sites such as Facebook. This is simply to protect the ethical boundaries to prohibit the formation of a dual relationship between practitioner and client, a situation that could lead to a conflict of interest. If you simply wish to contact Kindred Self then we suggest contacting us via the contact page on this website or via email.
If you would like to keep up-to-date with other future products and services offered by Kindred Self, such as future workshops and events, then you are welcome to follow the Kindred Self Facebook page for updates.
Who should I contact in an emergency or crisis situation?
In the case of a crisis or emergency please contact Crisis Care on 13 16 11 or Police or Ambulance on 000.