Do you feel like you are constantly running? Is work causing you anxiety and sleepless nights? Have you achieved so much, yet cannot slow down to enjoy what you have?
We get caught in patterns that at once helped us to achieve our goals, but now rather put stress and pressure on us. But old habits die hard, even if they no longer serve us well.
Therapy can help us to recognise and shift these patterns, so we can live happier, more fulfilled lives.
Our first step together will be a thorough assessment! We will do an in-depth exploration of five core parts of you: your schemas, your inner critic, your inner child, your maladaptive coping styles, and your healthy adult. This forms our roadmap to guide us toward achieving your goals. You will receive an overview specific to you similar to this one:
Your schemas are thoughts and beliefs you formed about the world growing up. Being one of the first things we learn, these are anchored strongly in our brain, and can be triggered by events and people around us even as adults When these schemas are triggered, they can activate our inner critic or inner child.
Your inner critic is the demanding or mean voice that runs in the background. You should try harder. You’re not good enough. I would have expected more from you. This is a voice we have internalized from people we looked up to from when we were young. These can be parents, teachers, siblings, friends or acquaintances.
Your inner child is the raw emotion that you experience: anxiety, anger, sadness, guilt, despair. This emotion is intense and can drive us to fly into rage, have panic attacks, or lose motivation and excitement about life.
Your maladaptive coping style is a way of dealing with our inner critic and inner child. We may want to please the inner critic by working harder and longer. We may want to attack the inner critic by throwing in the towel. We may want to soothe the inner child with alcohol or protect them with over-controlling or avoidance. We may want to unleash the inner child with temper tantrums and fury. Whatever our maladaptive coping style is, it hurts us more than it helps us.
When schemas are triggered, one of three things tend to happen:
Your healthy adult is the one we want to hand the reins over to. Often, there are barriers in the way that will keep you from being the best version of yourself. Using your roadmap, we will remove these barriers one by one. Which part of you is holding you back from happiness?
To get your personalized assessment, book a consultation today with psychologist in Hong Kong Dr. Terrighena on e.terrighena@mind-balance.org or (852) 2715 4577.