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Counselling, Coaching & Retreats
Retreats with Counselling & Coaching Sessions
Sometimes we need a safe place, a place of refuge or respite to retreat to, where we can just "be" without having to put on a face for the world. At other times, we may want to actively work at restoring a healthy balance into our lives. "Stop The World" Retreats provide such a place along with Counselling or Coaching to help you do both.
A Retreat is not just a holiday - it is taking time out to reflect on your life. Taking that time out helps you to get in touch with what really matters to you, restore balance in your life and find direction. We can put together a package for you to suit your own particular needs, which can include Counselling, Life-coaching, Meditation and Accompanied Walks in a safe, confidential and relaxing environment. Other types of therapies can also be incorporated into your Retreat.
Balancing our personal needs with the pressures and stresses of work or family can be very difficult. However, attending to our own emotional, physical and spiritual needs is essential if we want to maintain good health. It is not selfish to take time out for working on this. On the contrary, if we are more balanced in ourselves, this can have a positive effect on all of our relationships. We are more able to cope with the pressures and demands of work and more able to support our family and friends.
You might want to focus on one of the following areas in your life:
Emotional & Mental Health - Counselling
Counselling Sessions normally last for 1 hour and all our Counsellors are member of the British Association for Counsellors & Psychotherapists (BACP). We work within their Ethical Framework and are required to have regular Counselling Supervision. This is necessary to monitor the work of Counsellors and to ensure the safety of Clients. Clients' identities are not revealed during Supervision but some Client issues may be discussed, in order to find the best possible way of helping them. If you are on a Retreat you can have one to two Counselling Sessions per day. If you are a local client then Counselling Sessions are usually on a weekly basis but this is negotiable and may be more or less frequent as required.
Counselling promotes good emotional and mental health in the following ways. It can help us to develop our self-awareness and to understand why we react to certain people and situations in the ways we do. Working with a Counsellor who is non-judgmental enables us to safely explore those areas of our lives where we would like to see changes take place. Counselling also helps to bring things which are out of, or on the edge of, our awareness into full awareness, which can then be explored in more depth.
 By exploring the things we have difficulty with and any underlying issues, our self-awareness grows and is usually accompanied by a greater acceptance of self and others. Examining our values and beliefs, thoughts and emotions with a Counsellor helps us to develop a deeper understanding of why we are the way we are and our ability to express ourselves honestly and assertively also grows. In short, we become more fully ourselves.
Personal Fulfillment & Development - Establishing Goals & Strategies For Reaching Them.
Both Counselling and Life-Coaching can be helpful when making decisions about many areas of our lives. Life-Coaching is simply Coaching with the focus on whatever area of your life you feel needs worked on. It is particularly useful for setting realistic goals and working towards them. A Life-Coach will encourage and help motivate you to get where you want to be, whether you want help with work or personal issues. It has been said that a person is four times more likely to give up smoking if they access support and help with that. Similarly, that's why many people join organisations like Weight Watchers when they want to lose weight. There is something about having an "encourager" alongside you as you work or train, which makes it easier to stay motivated and to keep on going till you reach your goal. It increases your chances of success - that's why athletes, sports personalities, successful businesses, ex-smokers, slimmers who reach their target weight and their like all use professional coaches. Why not you too?
Physical Health - Exercise & Healthy Eating
Maintaining good physical health and keeping fit and supple has a beneficial effect on our Mental and Spiritual health and vice versa. Isn't it strange that, in general, many people don't pay as much attention to the latter two? Physical exercise is also one of the few tested and proven methods of increasing our happiness levels. Our brains produce more endorphins (the feel good hormones) when we exercise, thereby lifting our mood - particularly useful to know when working with depression.
Photo of Skelbo Forest Walk:
On a "Stop The World Retreat" you can easily take a different walk or jogging route each day for two weeks without leaving the Dornoch area, or if you feel like more strenuous walking, there are many more walks within 15-40 minutes driving distance. If you enjoy serious hill-walking or climbing, then the mountains of North-West Sutherland and Ross-shire are within 1-2 hours travelling distance. There are also swimming pools and gym facilities nearby.
Photo of the Old Railway walking from Dornoch to Embo:
Click on the "Location & Surrounding Area" page on the menu for more photos of local scenery and attractions.
 Spiritual Health, Meditation & Prayer:
More and more nowadays we hear people talking about their Spiritual needs and many do take time out to attend specific types of Spiritual Retreats.
If you want to use some time to explore your spirituality, this can
easily be incorporated in
a way designed to meet your particular needs.
 Christian Meditation, Bible Study and Prayer Times can be included as part of your Retreat and a Counsellor who is willing and open to exploring your personal beliefs with you can be available on a daily basis. What you choose to believe is very personal to you and you will not be under pressure from anyone at "Stop The World" to adhere to any particular faith or belief system.
Various other alternative therapies can also be included in your Retreat time locally, but these will be charged as "extras" and added to our standard costs. For example, therapists offering Reiki, Aromatherapy, Massage and Beauty Treatments can be accessed on site or locally.
Your Retreat will be put together to suit your needs and the cost will depend on what is incorporated into your personal plan. Call us on 01862 811711 to enquire about availability or use the contact form on the menu.
For Counselling, Life Coaching & Retreats in Dornoch, call Margaret at "Stop The World". |
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