10 Questions with Carolyn Choy

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

• I've always been interested in listening to different people's life stories: how they've endured and overcome challenging times, as well as what drives them, what is their passion, what is it that they love about their life. My initial field of IT was just a job, one I knew I wasn't going to stay in forever. I'm so grateful to have taken this other path which enables me to offer all of my experience (life and training) to others. I am enriched in return by each client I work with.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional/personal development?

• I hold a respect and appreciation for difference and always try to look at the world with a loving heart. I feel life wouldn't be as rich an experience if everything were always smooth-going - even when I wish it were just that little bit easier at times!

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

• I find all aspects of the human journey interesting. Our resilience, our fight for life, our want to make things better for ourselves and for others - I've seen all of these qualities in each of my clients, no matter what specific issue(s) they bring or who they are. In so many ways we're so different and at the same time in so many ways, so much the same.

• What method/s do you use?

• My predominant training is in the Gestalt approach, however that in itself encompasses a great deal (dialogic, phenomenological, here-and-now, creative experimentation)! I have a real passion for collaboration, body work, and the dynamic between me and a client. I work holistically - working with the whole of who you are (mind, body and environment/context), not just with what/how you think! Integrated influences that I work with include existential, systemic, attachment and somatic.

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

• 'Progress' is a difficult measure as self-learning/awareness can come quickly or take a bit more time depending on each person. I'd say that if you're not feeling positive towards your therapeutic experience within 4-6 sessions, discuss what you're unhappy about with your therapist (just blurt it out!). If you're still don't feel any change in how you feel within the next few sessions, you may find a better fit with someone else. Not all therapists are going to suit everyone, so don't be scared to talk about it with them or try someone else.

• How has therapy made you a better person?

• I get to know myself better: my strengths and my weaknesses. Together we grow.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

• Therapy is a very personal and intimate experience. Being able to offer a non-judgemental and supportive space to a client where they can really get to know themselves and grow is a wonderful experience. It's a very particular relationship.

• Do you ever have 'bad hair' days?

• Of course! It's the love and support of family and good friends that gets me through them.

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

• The pressure and expectations we put on ourselves and onto others.
  

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

• A poem that inspires me is Desiderata by Max Erhmann [https://www.cchoy.com.au/desiderata/] and the poem Wild Geese by Mary Oliver [https://www.cchoy.com.au/mary-oliver-poetry/]