“I was brought up by parents who were workaholics. I was prevented from socializing and became very depressed and withdrew from people for a year.
A friend recommended Patrick Connolly and I arranged to see him. With a course of analytical treatment, he got me to stop reliving the past and blaming my parents. I confronted my problems and dealt with them. I eventually came to realize that it makes more sense to live in the present.
I am now able to socialize and enjoy life.
I am working full-time, and am contented and happy.”
John, 27 (not his real name)
Personal Development Counselling
Personal Development Counselling / Co Sligo.
“Know thyself” were the words over the doorway of The Temple of Dionysus. To really know oneself, both the good and the not so good aspects of self is a huge advantage to a person. Knowing ones strengths and weaknesses allows a person to lead a fulfilled life. He / she can use these strengths to progress in life and can deal with any perceived weakness by various means. Reading self-help books, talking to other people with similar problems, or employing a councillor or psychotherapist to help them deal with those issues. I have had clients come to me seeking more confidence, to stop smoking, weight problems or alcohol abuse problems and many other problems. Sessions are of fifty minutes duration and consist primarily of cognitive behaviour therapy strategies and techniques using psychology, mindfulness, psychotherapy and hypnosis when it is pertinent.
You can meet with me for an initial consultation, where we can explore the challenges you are facing. At the end of that consultation I shall be in a position to tell you how many sessions are recommended and the various strategies and techniques that will become your treatment plan.
CBT – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (C.B.T) is an evidence based psychological therapy. It is effective in changing negative thoughts and maladaptive behaviours. By changing a client’s negative thoughts, the client embraces a much more positive attitude to life. His/ her behaviour changes from maladaptive to adaptive. I am a Psychologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist based in Enniscrone, Co. Sligo. I offer Cognitive Behaviour Therapy sessions to clients based in Enniscrone, Ballina and the wider Sligo and Mayo hinterland. I also use Hypnotherapy in conjunction with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Research has shown that by combining the two therapies, there is a more effective outcome than just using one of the therapies.
Counselling
Counselling, Enniscrone, Co. Sligo.
I am a Psychologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist based in Enniscrone, Co. Sligo, offering counselling services to clients all over Sligo and its hinterland. You may be unsure of what exactly you require right now. We can have an initial consultation where I will outline the different range of treatments and we can come to an agreement to what is the correct type of therapy for you.
Counselling Services
The role of the counsellor is to listen, guide and support. Educating and empowering the client is of utmost importance. This allows the client to gain control of his / her life, and this results in a positive impact or his / her health and to psychological resilience. I train my clients in relaxation techniques, self-hypnosis and mindfulness.
Those techniques are based on years of research resulting in positive outcomes for clients.
“My daughter, Susan (not her real name) started to stammer at 4 years of age. After bringing her to several doctors and speech therapists, with no success, I brought her to Patrick when Susan was 10 years old. She was very anxious and had a pronounced stammer. In the space of 8 sessions, my 10 year old daughter was completely free of her stammer and her anxiety had almost disappeared. It was like a miracle!”
Mary, 41 (not her real name)
Anxiety
In the treatment of anxiety C.B.T. and applied relaxation has been recommended as the most effective therapies by the British Medical Journal. Tailoring a treatment plan by combining those two treatments for the client results in an effective outcome.
What were once challenging situations that aroused high levels of stress, can be changed, by lowering the levels of tension in the client. As he / she learns the skills to alter and reduce the levels of stress and tension, the client begins to experience a better way of living. Events that before were highly stressful are now handled with greatly reduced levels of stress. By combining cognitive therapy and hypnotherapy, research has shown that they are highly effective therapies. Cognitive Behaviour Hypnotherapy has been found to be most effective in the treatment of stress, panic attacks, anxiety and social anxiety.
Training a client in Mindfulness is also very beneficial in allowing the client to be more in the present, than fearing the future.
Panic Attacks
Many people suffer from panic attacks.
“What if” thinking and “catastrophizing” thinking can bring on a panic attack. The person focuses on a worst case scenario. The “fight or flight” scenario kicks in and the person is flooded with emotions, mostly negative ones.
Because the person imagines a danger, real or imagined, his / her heart rate increases. This in turn increases the threat resulting in a panic attack.
By learning to relax, to take some deep breaths, to recognise that this feeling will pass can help to control the panic attack. Training people to better cope with situations also has a beneficial effect on the person.
Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety, Building Self-Esteem, Social Anxiety Therapy, Confidence Building Therapy.
Many people feel self-conscious or nervous in social situations. Most people can handle the feeling of nervousness that can appear at certain times in social interactions. However, for some people, it becomes a problem. It can manifest itself in many ways. From a fear of public speaking to complete withdrawal from society.
With a course of therapy which consists of a number of sessions of fifty minute duration, the client can learn to deal with the anxiety and be able to interact and speak with confidence.
Life has a habit of presenting us with many challenges. A confident person can deal with those challenges and learn from them. After all, what is life but a learning experience? From the moment we are born to the moment we die, we are constantly processing information. How we handle this information makes all the difference to the quality of our lives.
Confidence-Building Therapy
Confidence-building therapy is especially suited for people with low self-esteem. To accept who you are, warts and all, is very important in helping you to become more confident and self-assured. Because we are human beings we can, and do, make mistakes.
“To err is human, to forgive divine.”
To be able to forgive ourselves and others is the road to happiness, to contentment, and the ability to live fully, freely and without regrets. To be compassionate to ourselves and others.
To realise that every one of us can make a difference. We can decide that our time on this earth is limited, that we have the ability to help others. And when you help others, you help yourself as well. We CAN change the world! We CAN make a difference!
Sleep Difficulties
A lot of people have trouble sleeping. A good night’s sleep is essential for physical and mental health. We are all aware of the sleep deprivation techniques carried out by various governments as torture. The impact on the person being tortured is devastating. Likewise for the person who suffers from insomnia or other forms of sleep difficulty. Paradoxically, if you try to fall asleep, you will fail. The conscious mind has to step aside to allow sleep to occur.
Hypnosis is very effective in dealing with sleep difficulties. Under hypnosis the conscious mind is temporarily moved to the side and suitable suggestions are implanted in the subconscious. The client can be taught self-hypnosis, and this can help him/her to get to sleep. Learning to relax, to allow the cares of the day to pass, to think “tomorrow is another day, and I shall now get a good night’s sleep, and will awake refreshed tomorrow morning.”
Techniques to quieten the chatter of the mind, such as mindfulness, can help.
Mindfulness Therapy
Mindfulness therapy involves being in the “now”. Most humans are constantly going from the past event to the imagined events in the future and spend very little time in the present. The present is the only reality we have. The past is a memory and the future is whatever our imagination comes up with. While there are times when we need to access the past and also imagine the future, many people are stuck in the past, constantly bringing up memories, usually unpleasant, and dwelling on them. Conversely, many humans are fearful of the future and dream up terrible scenarios about their future. The reality is that whatever happened in the past is over and cannot be changed and the future is just an image that may or may not happen.
Mindfulness is a method that helps to bring us into the present. Research has shown that it is effective in the treatment of anxiety, stress, overeating, low mood, pain and numerous other conditions. Research has shown that mindfulness increases brain function in positive ways. By practising mindfulness, research has shown that it improves the immune system. It activates changes in the prefrontal cortex. This is associated with an increase in emotions, positive feelings, physiological sensations and faster recovery time from exposure to negative experiences. By being in the present, we experience life more fully. We are more alive, more responsive, more open to whatever life throws at us.
Our self-awareness increases. By practising mindfulness on a daily basis, we can experience life more fully. We become more involved in the process of living, in how we interact with other people, how we focus our attentions to what is going on around us. If we are having a walk, we become more aware of our surroundings, the colours of the leaves, the colour of the sea, the snow on the mountains. We feel alive and a part of nature and all its wonder.