Individual and EFT Couples Counselling
Frances Brown, North Vancouver, BC
My Philosophy of Counselling and Healing
I work from the premise that our essential nature is loving and cooperative. We’re born with an unlimited amount of flexible intelligence and a natural ability to enjoy and share affection with others.
This means that we have the capacity to solve any challenges that come our way. We’ll get stuck at times, but it’s always possible to heal and overcome our problems to live a rewarding life. Therapy is designed to do precisely that.
People can take responsibility for their actions without judging themselves. Self-compassion is a critical element of healing.
Whatever your experiences or behaviours in the past, it’s important to understand that you did the best you could at the time, given the life experiences you’ve had.
You may have engaged in behaviours that hurt your partner, but you would have done things differently if you had the know-how and skills.
Healing in relationships begins with forgiveness of self and others and then re-building safety and trust.
What to Expect from Therapy
I’m experienced in working with a wide range of adults of all ages and backgrounds, including First Nations and members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+, African and Asian communities.
My first goal in individual or couples therapy is to build an empathic and respectful relationship with you so that you feel safe, heard, understood and validated.
The more secure and trusting you feel in our relationship, the easier it will be to share your deepest struggles and desires.
You’ll set the pace and goals for therapy. I’ll invite you to let me know if something isn’t working and we need to change direction or approach.
We’ll work collaboratively to explore the “negative cycles” that cause you pain and prevent you from moving towards more positive thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Step by step, we’ll unravel the self-protective walls that at one time were useful to you but are now getting in the way of your healing. Gently opening the doors in these walls and healing your pain leads to a happier and more fulfilling life.
Fran doesn’t try to fix you. She understands that you are the only one with the answers to yourself and that they will come naturally as part of the process.
Because when you have the opportunity to say and express out loud what you have been holding onto, the distress patterns are released. All of that energy that was tied up in protecting yourself by holding everything in place is now free for you to use to be all that you are in the world. Free to help you access that genius sized flexible intelligence you were born with.
It’s a testimony to who Fran is as a person and how she approaches the work that I was able to open up, not just to her but more importantly to myself, in a deeply profound way.
There isn’t a big enough word that could contain all of the gratitude I feel for this angel on earth.
– Former Client
Counselling Approaches
I’m trained in many effective counselling approaches that are described below. I combine these approaches as appropriate depending on your needs and goals.
Non-Violent Communication (NVC)
I use the principles of NVC, the natural state of compassion where no (verbal or physical) violence is present in the heart.
NVC is known to help people be more authentic in their communication and be more peaceful and collaborative in situations where there is conflict.
Re-evaluation Counselling
Re-evaluation counselling holds that we’re born with a natural zest, an inherent ability to be affectionate and cooperative, and an unlimited amount of flexible intelligence.
These innate abilities can become blocked by emotional and physical hurts that accumulate as we develop into adults.
The goal of counselling is to allow yourself to experience your natural healing processes (e.g., crying, trembling, laughing, yawning, etc.) in order to heal.
When this happens, you can recover your inherent nature and find solutions to your problems more easily.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT has over 5 decades of research showing its effectiveness. It’s one of the most widely used approaches in therapy. CBT holds that your thoughts, behaviours, and emotions are linked together.
It focuses on changing negative thoughts to more positive ones. When you change your thoughts, it changes the way you feel, which leads to changing your behaviour.
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT)
EFT is a leading method of couples therapy backed by over 40 years of research.
It is often considered the gold standard of treatment for married or non-married couples.
EFT focuses on couples’ emotions and how their emotions, thoughts, and behaviours are linked to impact their reactions.
The goal of EFT is to help couples create a stronger emotional bond with one another that lasts a lifetime.
Research shows that 90% of couples who complete EFT Couples Therapy experience a significant improvement in their relationship.
Imago Relationship Therapy
Imago Therapy looks for patterns from your early childhood experiences that negatively impact your adult relationships.
Through Imago Therapy, couples come to understand one another’s childhood wounds and develop greater compassion for each other. Ultimately, this leads to building a stronger connection with each other.
Family Systems Theory (FST)
I use family systems theory to help you understand your multigenerational family background and how it influences you.
I create a genogram (family map) during our initial sessions, which we can turn to when examining the origins of any beliefs, attitudes, behaviours or feelings.
Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy focuses on the problems and challenges you’re facing in your present life. It helps you become more aware of thoughts, feelings, and body sensations that accompany your feelings and reactions.
Greater insight leads to more freedom to choose how you respond to situations.
Transpersonal Therapy
Transpersonal therapy operates from the premise that we’re all connected. It focuses on your spiritual self however you uniquely define it.
Transpersonal therapy assists you in developing a deeper sense of yourself and your connectedness to the larger universe. This process provides a greater sense of wholeness.