Therapist Profile

Jan Williams –  Counsellor & Somatic Therapist

• Diploma of Psychosynthesis Counselling Auckland
• Diploma of Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy Auckland
• Certificate in Supervision
• MNZAC
• Registered Nurse, MNZNO

I enjoy people and this work. I am married, a mother of 3, have 2 step children and grandchildren.

My various life experiences have inspired me to work as a therapist.
I have also worked in nursing, business and I have trained in kinesiology.

I am passionate about empowering others to –

• find their way through, to recover from experiences which may have been difficult or traumatic
• develop their potential
• live their lives in ways that are meaningful and deeply fulfilling
• create resilience, vitality and a sense  ease and contentment in their inner life and in their relationships

I am particularly interested in working with people who have experienced  trauma as an adult or child and those who have long term anxiety and depression.

I have come to understand that the trauma or the event itself is one part of the issue only and that it is the inability to find resolution; for the effect of the trauma to be discharged from body and mind that results in the trauma being felt or experienced.

For this reason I have gone on to train in somatic based  therapy, finding this most effective for healing.

Feeling unsettled, stressed, unsure, struggling with decisions, completing things which are important to you, including unhelpful patterns of self care may indicate that there will be value in therapy.

In addition, the effects of trauma which include anxiety and depression can be ‘life robbing”,  have an effect on cognitive function, affect learning and impact on general day to day function and overall confidence.

I utilise a body / mind approach in my therapeutic work with clients including somatic therapies, EMDR, mindful body awareness, relaxation, breath and movement techniques, talk therapy.

Somatic therapy is a potent psychobiological method for resolving trauma symptoms and relieving chronic stress. It resets the nervous system, restores inner balance, enhances resilience to stress, and increases people’s vitality, equanimity and capacity to actively engage in life.

Developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine, a pioneering researcher and practitioner of trauma healing, author of Waking the Tiger, “trauma is about loss of connection – to ourselves, to our bodies, to our families, to others, and to the world around us.”

We are individuals but we are also part of a whole – family, community, workplaces.

Patterns of behaviour can, of course be be life enhancing but may also be limiting. They may affect mood, attitudes and relationships, impact on sense of self worth and on feeling successful in ones life.

The therapeutic work may include looking at how our young life experience and / or attachment with caregivers affects patterns of relating and wellbeing in adult life. It will also include strategies and approaches for healing.

We are then better placed to understand who we are, what we want and need and to be our authentic self,  to choose how we want to be in our lives and and in our relationships.

I work with women and men, with couples and with parents contemplating how to parent in difficult  circumstances.

Areas of skill and particular interest in my therapeutic approach

• Anxiety and Depression
• Trauma – Sexual, Emotional and Physical
• Trauma – Related to chronic childhood stress and hardship
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Pain
• Medical Trauma and preparation from accident, illness and surgery
• Sleep concerns
• Health Issues – Emotional and Physical ( including chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia)
• Parenting and Family Issues
• Pregnancy – stress and anxiety in pregnancy, preparing for birth and parenthood, post-natal depression and anxiety

Utilising somatic therapies; clients  are encouraged to tune into physical sensations, which creates the space for our bodies to reconnect with our innate healing response. This approach can resolve symptoms by gently discharging the high levels of nervous system arousal associated with trauma, chronic pain, states of shock and helping our bodies return to a more manageable level of functioning.

Our approach assists in understanding the long patterns such as addiction, behaviour, illness (in  self, within the family system and even intergenerationally) how and why they are expressed in body and mind and how this impacts on emotional and physical health.

Discharging the trauma restores equilibrium and gives a sense of empowerment – we can then be our true self.

“The factors that contributed to my growth were many – finding someone who understood me, exploring the unconscious, awakening to my self . . . but one star is brightest among all: the self. I found the source of livingness inside me, something I didn’t even know existed.”

Locations – Auckland (West and Central)