Specialised Counselling and Psychotherapy For Carers
As the carer of a person who has a disability, mental health challenges or is recovering from an accident or illness, the physical and emotional demands can be high.
When you’re a carer, your emotional and physical needs often take a backseat to the needs of your loved one. However, it’s vital that you look after your own emotional needs so that you can continue to care for others while maintaining your health and living your life to the fullest.
Sometimes, the most effective way to deal with the emotions and physical stress you’re dealing with is to consult with a professional who has experience supporting others in your situation, understands your position, and knows how to help you work through your challenges effectively.
The Emotional Challenges of Caring for a Person with a Disability
Being a carer can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but it can also be highly demanding and stressful. If you’re like many carers, you’re experiencing complex feelings related to your role. You’re feeling things like frustration, anger, guilt, and exhaustion. Rest assured, that these are all normal and to be expected.
Based on the fact that most of your day is spent looking after the needs of someone else, it’s common to feel lonely, isolated, and as if your needs are deprioritized. You may lack the time to catch up with friends and family or spend quality time doing the things you enjoy, which can lead to feelings of depression and despair.
But you don’t have to stay in those feelings, there is help available. You can get help for the emotions you’re feeling through specialised counselling and psychotherapy for carers. As a trained, specialised counselor and psychotherapist with no connection to your or the person you care for, I can help you to work through the mental and physical blocks that are holding you back from living your life to the fullest.
Who Can This Type of Counselling and Psychotherapy Help?
I also provide specialised help to carers or families who wish they could just relax, enjoy the moment, and dream freely about the future. I counsel and support those who feel drained and chained by the demands of lifelong caring. I help you to live the life you really want while supporting you to still provide exceptional care for your loved one.
Why Choose Sydney Strategic Therapy With Kim Shade?
With over 30 years of personal and professional experience, I am motivated to educate and support others through challenging situations relating to their disability or as a carer of someone with a disability.
When you work one-on-one with me, you’ll benefit from counselling and psychotherapy from someone who understands the specific challenges you’re faced with.
Counselling and psychotherapy is an investment in yourself that will reward you over and over again. By investing in your emotional wellness, you’re getting the help you need and deserve to help you to deal with the struggles and challenges that you’re facing at this moment.
The skills and strategies that you’ll learn from professional counselling and psychotherapy you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. I don’t simply help you to get through the struggles you’re facing right now, I set you up to ensure that you can confidently face other difficult times in the future with resilience and hope.
I believe that people with disabilities and their caregivers deserve to have their best life possible. My personal experience, knowledge of the services, counselling , psychotherapy and behavioural approaches can lead you to achieve a better life for yourself, family, or caregivers. I invite you to schedule a session with me. Let’s start to explore what’s possible for you.
My Personal Experience of Being a Carer and Assisting Carers
Supporting the Carer's Journey...
From my personal experience of supporting people with disabilities and their families or carers and from my own journey supporting a loved one with a disability, I know some days the loneliness, fatigue, and fear are so overwhelming that you start wondering if you are going to be able to get through what you’re facing. Experiencing a lack of hope or feeling there is no end in sight.
But you can trust and believe that you can and will get through it. Sometimes you just need someone to help you remember that and to provide you with a beacon of light and hope for the future. I’d love for you to allow me to walk with you through your struggles and help you build, or rebuild, a life that feels good to live. Get in touch today.
Parents of Children With Disabilities
When you’re a parent with a child with a disability, your life looks vastly different than those are not caring for a child who is different. Everyday can be a challenge. A fun outing to the park is not just a fun day with the kids there is a lot of planning and things to consider to create a safe enjoyable time.
It can be a day full of stress, anxiety, and worry for some parents while you are always scanning your child and the environment. Watching for things that might lead to a meltdown. Waiting for someone to say something unkind about your child’s appearance or behaviour.
There is never an outing where you’re not calculating an exit strategy or a Plan B. It’s tiring, and often isolating, because sometimes it’s easier to miss out than to go through the struggle.
There is a sense of loss and anguish especially when contemplating the future, it can feel like there is no reprieve. You ignore these feelings, stuffing them down, but secretly wondering how you will be able to carry on.
It is confronting to be honest with yourself as you know you can’t keep doing what you’ve been doing any more and there must be another way. Your wellbeing has not been the focus for years and the lack of time for yourself to exercise, sleep, and eat well are starting to show.
You feel selfish for wishing that things were different, but you get up every day and face the challenges one step at a time regardless of what you have to manage. I want you to know that the feelings you’re feeling are normal and that you are not alone.
Emotional Unrest and Physical Stress Associated With Caring For a Child With A Disability
The research indicates that parents raising children with disabilities re-live the grief cycle each time their child approaches new developmental stages or life transitions. It can be easy to get overwhelmed by thoughts of where they should be. For many parents, this leads them to feel shame and guilt.
Research also tells us that carers of people with disabilities are more likely than others to experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. This emotional unrest can have a tremendous effect on your physical health.
Symptoms of emotional unrest can include the following:
Fatigue
Irritability
Difficulty Sleeping
Inability to concentrate
Digestive issues
Chest pains
Trouble breathing
Using Counselling and Psychotherapy To Take Back Control Of Your Life
If you’re struggling right now as a carer, it’s time that you focus on improving your mental health. Doing so is not selfish. In fact, you’ll likely be a much calmer, patient, happy, and relaxed carer when you do the work to heal your emotions and traumas. Counselling and psychotherapy can help you to take back control of your life in many ways, including:
Life Balance
The life balance that you desire is possible. You don’t need to live in a constant state of overwhelm. You can achieve this by getting the support and encouragement you need to take care of yourself.
I take an individualised approach to counselling each of my clients, evaluating your needs based on your unique challenges. Then, we’ll map out some practical action steps to support you on your way to a balanced life.
A Renewed Focus on Self-Care
It is human nature to hang on in anticipation that things will get better. But the reality is that you need to focus on yourself first for lasting change and improvement to your life.
When you work with me, we will explore coming to terms with the realisation that the future is not predictable, which will help you to focus on the present and work toward developing the skills you need to sustain you.
I understand that you prioritise other things out of the necessity to get through day-to-day but prioritising self-care routines will improve your mental wellbeing, physical health, and resilience whilst care-giving.
Communication and Advocating
You may find that well-meaning teachers, health professionals, friends, or family have not given you the opportunity to explain your situation fully or they don’t fully understand the needs of the person you are caring for.
Sometimes, you may have found that the person with a disability didn’t get the consideration they needed, and this caused challenges. You may have wished you had the words and the courage to stand up for what you believed.
I help you prepare for the hard conversations and the teachable moments while still maintaining relationships. I encourage you to consider your fears and non-negotiables in each situation. This way you can ensure that both the disabled person and yourself are fully supported.
“I Just Don’t Have the Time For Counselling and Psychotherapy Right Now”
I understand that you’re busy, overwhelmed, and struggling to keep up with the day-to-day so the thought of adding something additional to your to-do list feels daunting and downright impossible.
Maybe you have fallen into the thought process of ‘taking things one day at a time’. Usually, this feels more like living crisis to crisis. Your bucket already feels too full but you know that things only change when you’re willing to make real changes.
Only you can decide if counselling and psychotherapy is an investment of time that you’re willing to make. Many carers say that counselling and psychotherapy helps them develop the communication, time management, and emotional coping skills that they need to effectively advocate for the disabled person’s needs and for their own.
I have an intimate understanding of the challenges you face on a daily basis because I have been where you are and I can empathise with how you feel.
Get In Touch Today
You’ll find that my style of counselling and psychotherapy is a blend of sharing knowledge, strategies, and resources to help you change the things that aren’t working and replace them with ideas, concepts, and tools that will help improve your life. I’ll also give you warm, empathic understanding as I join with you in grieving and accepting the things you cannot change.
Call or SMS me today and I will get back to you ASAP to help you get things on a new and better track.
Testimonials
I will be back for more treatments as I found her to be very warm, welcoming and trusting.
I have felt so relaxed & trusting in her presence & abilities...and have achieved fantastic results with weight loss & behaviour modification through sessions with her.
That said, although working with somebody as skilled/compassionate as Kim is really effective, clinical hypnotherapy (like other therapies) is an ongoing process so it’s awesome to have someone like Kim on your side/backing you.
Thanks Kim - you’re amazing!
I found the hypnotherapy recordings very helpful. Will definitely recommend her services to everyone looking for a holistic approach to their health problems.