Jean Gamble

A conversation with Jean Gamble

• What led you to choose psychotherapy or counselling as a profession?

  I found such understanding and relief during my own therapy and was able to change unhelpful patterns of behaviour and find more harmony, joy and purpose in life. This success led me to train and work in the field of psychotherapy and couples counselling.
  
  Every one is whole at their core and "healing" involves letting go of what is not you and reconnecting to the true you underneath the hurt, protection and adaptation that you have used to get through life.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional development?

  I have always had a great interest in the body and have been searching most of life for a place of belonging - both within my own body and soul and in the temporal world. I found that somatic psychotherapy supported me to connect with my own body and the divinity I found therein. This gave me a strong foundation which supports me to sit in the unknown and tolerate the mystery of life.
  The works of Wilfred Bion, Donald Winnicott, Julie Henderson, Serge Benhayon and Neville Symington have influenced the way I work.

• Which particular aspects of health or the human journey are you interested in?

  I am passionate about reconnecting to the felt sense of the body and energetically reinhabiting the body. Trauma often causes us to disassociate from the body and it is extremely beneficial to rebuild this connection so that we have a foundation from which to live life. Our body is our perceiving instrument which can guide us through life and having a strong connection to this felt sense is most beneficial.
  When we can understand how our life experiences have caused us to adapt, we can begin to let go of the unhelpful adaptations and return to the essence of who we are and begin to live from this. This journey of reconnecting to our true self can be helped if we are able to care for ourselves and take responsibility for how we are eating, drinking, sleeping, exercising and the quality of energy we bring to all aspects of our life.

• What methods do you use?

  Psychodynamic (Talking) Therapy, Bodywork (light energetic touch) to help to restore our connection with our feelings and sensations felt in the body, Body Awareness Meditation to assist with bringing our focus from outside of ourselves to within ourselves, Meditation, Biodynamic Massage, Relational Psychotherapy, Intersubjective Psychotherapy, Systems Theory, Esoteric Therapies including Healing, Massage, Connective Tissue Therapy and Chakra-puncture (dry needling), Exercises from Zapchen Somatics to help maintain ground and presence - even when provoked.

• When do you think the client will start to feel that progress is being made?

  Clients often experience relief after the first session as they feel understood and that they have support and holding during their exploration of their symptoms. I help clients to accept that they are not their symptom or label - they are capable of connecting deeply to the truth of who they are when they can let go of the adaptive patterns they adopted to survive in childhood. The discarding of the old unhelpful beliefs and patterns takes place at the same time as building reconnection to the true foundation within the body, heart and soul so psychotherapy is a complex process. Changing entrenched patterns of reacting and relating can take time and it differs for each client.

• How has therapy made a difference in your life?

  As a result of my own healing journey I have much more compassion and understanding for others, am less I-centred, I work with purpose and seldom feel exhausted or overwhelmed as I have much better boundaries since undertaking psychotherapy. I have learned to really look after myself and make loving choices around how I live. I seldom react to people or events and am generally aware and connected with my thoughts and feelings. I feel so much more joy and purpose in life and appreciate all that the world around me offers - in the city, the country, the night sky and the ocean.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

  I enjoy having deep and meaningful relationships with clients who are wanting to evolve and learn to understand themselves. There is a meaning, purpose and intensity to the work that makes it feel worthwhile. It is gratifying when I see clients beginning to enjoy their lives and relationships because they have worked to change outdated dynamics and ways of relating.

• Do you ever have 'bad hair' days?

  When I let my boundaries and self-care slip I can become tired and feel a bit jaded about my work. I know that this is a signal for me to return to the level of self-loving choices and behaviours that support me to do great work with my clients. This can happen when I eat badly, watch TV or films that provoke me, fail to move with gentleness and awareness or stay up late. Generally, I avoid such things and am able to sustain a positive approach to life.

• What do you think is the most significant problem we face, in the world today?

  One of the significant problems we face today is that we have accepted as normal, the lifestyle we have willingly ascribed to and this lifestyle is responsible for the burgeoning rates of ill mental and physical health. We have lost touch with the innate sense of guiding love that abides in our inner heart and instead we are impulsed by the world outside of ourselves. We live in the tension that this disconnection causes and then we, as society, collude in the "medications" we use to ease this tension. These medications include behaviours like addiction, fighting, pornography, alcohol, drugs, excessive consumerism, overeating and choosing the quick thrill or numbing activity over the carefully thought out responsible self-loving choice.

• Can you share the name of a book, film, song, event or work of art that inspires you?

  Neville Symington - the Making of a Psychotherapist
  Julie Henderson - How to feel as Good as Possible despite Everything
  Serge Benhayon - The Way it Is
  Tina Kopa & Catherine Wood "Sounds of Soul"