We all want to feel happily and securely connected to ourselves and our loved ones. But attachment injuries and other adverse childhood experiences, as well as traumas in adulthood, can make it hard to feel safe and at peace in our own skin.
Building and maintaining close relationships requires emotional vulnerability and trust, which can feel impossible when we have been hurt, let down, or even abused by relationships in the past, as far back as infancy. Such experiences may have left us disconnected from our own emotions and bodily sensations or, conversely, hypersensitive and vigilant.
So we may experience relationships as dangerous or harmful, leaving us anxious, depressed, or alone, without consciously understanding why.
As a registered Counsellor with over twenty years’ experience, I know that there is a way back to a fuller, more connected way of being, where we are not held hostage by the past.
I am passionate about creating safe and supportive spaces for the difficult conversations, that lead to fuller, happier lives.
My trauma informed counselling approach is evidence-based and underpinned by A Single Step’s Vision, Mission and Values.
When the hurts, traumas and attachment injuries of our past are allowed to continue running our lives, they make it hard for us to feel truly relaxed and at peace. And even harder to be open and emotionally available to those we love. Is your primary relationship showing any of the signs of dysfunction listed below?
Nine signs of relationship dysfunction:
- You bury your feelings and avoid conflict, convinced it won't go well
- You fight about the same issues, getting no closer to resolution
- Your physical and emotional intimacy have dwindled
- You spend more time with family or friends, to avoid each other
- Your conversations are minimal and you feel you have little in common
- Your conflicts quickly descend into criticism, blame and defensiveness
- You're losing respect for one another, as resentment grows
- Misunderstandings increase, as neither of you truly listen to the other
- Your relationship no longer feels like a place of comfort and nurture
Every Journey Begins With A Single Step
Step 1: Stop Just Surviving
The first step is to acknowledge that you’ve had enough of just surviving. For too long, ‘soldiering on’ has short-changed not only you, but the loved ones around you. You all deserve better.
Step 2: Start Living
The next step is to choose to do something about it. Taking back control of your life means confronting the defensive parts of you that say “I haven’t got time”, “I can’t afford it”, and “it won’t help”.
Somewhere inside you, there is a part that knows there is a better way and is determined to find it.
Book a complimentary 20-minute ‘first-step-conversation’ by Zoom or phone, right here, to find out how trauma informed counselling can help you to start living fully, right now.
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Chris Pye from A Single Step is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA).
PACFA is a leading national peak body for the counselling and psychotherapy profession. Practising members of PACFA are listed on PACFA’s National Register. Registrants have demonstrated an approved level of training, experience and competence, complying with PACFA’s ethical standards and meeting PACFA’s Training Standards, which are the highest for the profession in Australia.
Start your free First-Step Conversation with me:
Qualifications / Affiliations
Click here for a full description of my experience and qualifications.
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