Prevail Counselling Therapy
For a Renewed Mind leading to a Transformed Life
A counselling service for Clondalkin and Dublin South West
Hello, and thank you for coming to Prevail Counselling Therapy.
I hope that as you explore this website, you will find helpful information for your current circumstances. If you wish to ask any questions about Prevail or to make an immediate booking, please click Contact Prevail
Hello and welcome to Prevail Counselling Therapy.
This is a counselling service for Clondalkin, South West Dublin and Bray, Co. Wicklow.
I provide sessions in person, by video or by phone.
Prevail is managed by me, James Foley, and I provide the counselling service of Prevail.
I provide a structured approach while still facilitating the client to decide their own pace and content to work with.
I aim to work with you to restore your self-resilience to live in your present circumstances.
Let me personally welcome you to Prevail Counselling Therapy, where I aim to help you transform your life through a renewed mind.
What is Counselling Therapy?
Counselling is a professional therapeutic relationship.
It is a private, safe space for people to seek help from a professional trained in psychological care.
A counsellor will help you find the tools for you to work with to improve your self-awareness so you can resolve your own issues.
Ultimately, counselling helps you to know what you can hope for, build towards, and believe in for your future.
At Prevail, I endeavour to walk that road with you.
Is Counselling for Me?
Many people struggle with the decision, “Do I need counselling? …. What will counselling do for me?”…..
Following are some considerations regarding the choice to have counselling.
This website aims to provide you with the information you need to decide if Prevail is the right choice for you.
The areas of information are: (Click on the links below for further info)
Services Provided by Prevail Counselling Therapy
Addiction Therapy
Addiction is not defined by how much or often a person engages in a destructive behaviour.
With Prevail, addiction is defined by the degree of dependence the person has on that behaviour.
I will work with clients who want to reduce their dependency.
I find, ultimately, the client has to commit themselves to being truly addiction-free.
.I encourage clients with addiction issues to seek long-term, openly accessible support apart from the one hour a week they get with me.
Bereavement and Loss Counselling
Bereavement counselling may take more time than other counselling. The more tragic and the deeper the relationship is that the client has with the deceased, the more complicated this process is.
My approach is simply to support and walk the road with the client as they go through the stages and tasks of grief.
Bereavement can also refer to loss in a relationship, a job, children moving away, grieving pets, etc.
Suicide Prevention
Two client groups are worked with in suicide prevention.
The actively suicidal person and the people who care for them.
In Prevail, I work with both of them.
For the person contemplating suicide, I validate their reasons for being suicidal and try to put a suicide prevention plan in place.
I encourage them to identify the positive factors, such as good friendships, even work, that have given them a reason to live so far.
For the loved ones of suicidal people, I listen to their fears and anger over what their loved one is doing or threatening to do.
Anger Management
Anger management is a key feature of the work in Prevail.
It is common for people, both men and women, to feel frustrated, under pressure re work and family commitments.
It seems that modern life has expectations of what we should be able to do, how long it should take, and standards that we should attain.
I always point out that anger, in itself, is not wrong.
Anger can motivate you to do the right thing in a bad situation.
Anger is problematic when it transfers into aggression or rage.
Therapy for Negativity
It is my belief in Prevail that our thoughts are what control our emotions, behaviours and sensations in our body.
If our thoughts go astray, then our lives suffer.
The most common thought issue dealt with by me is negative self-thoughts. This does not usually require medical intervention unless there is a strong negative emotional reaction.
Grounding the person without aggressively challenging them is a key approach.
For long-term symptom reduction,
I help the client identify triggers to their behaviour and develop coping skills.
Anxiety and Depression Therapy
Anxiety and depression are classed as mood disorders.
A person can have both together. In many ways, deciding if a client has anxiety or depression is a matter of opinion.
Depression is mostly associated with sadness and feeling unmotivated in life.
Anxiety is more so when a person is physically or mentally agitated and can not settle to complete tasks.
Mood disorders generally come from two sources.
Lived experience from the life the client grew up with and the client’s brain chemistry.
Self Esteem Counselling
The lower we value ourselves and others, the less we believe we can manage stress in our lives.
As time goes on, our threshold for managing stressors in our lives spirals downwards.
Our thoughts and emotions exaggerate our inabilities and past failures. Our abilities and past successes are, for the most part, ignored and forgotten.
My work in Prevail aims to gently challenge the false self-beliefs clients hold.
Approaches to Counselling at Prevail Counselling Therapy
Approaches to counselling refer to the style or clinical model of counselling that is used.
Prevail holds a casual view on this. In any given session, many different clinical approaches are used. The priority is that the best approach is being used for the client at the appropriate time.
The client’s moods and needs differ over the course of the session. Therefore, it is right to adjust the therapeutic approach I use.
The approaches outlined below are a selection of the approaches I use. I primarily work from the belief that our thoughts are what dictate our emotions and behaviours.
Please do use the links if you want more information on each approach.
Choice Theory (CT)
CT emphasises that problems are the product of our choices. CT encourages developing personal accountability for our unhelpful choices and to start making positive choices. Positive choices result in positive relationships and the achievement of our basic needs.
I use choice theory when a client requires a direct style of intervention.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
(CBT)
CBT focuses on the thoughts that have brought about the problems the client is experiencing. The belief is that our thoughts predetermine our emotions and behaviours. Practising alternative thoughts through supportive behaviours is a key part of CBT work.
A lot of the material I use is CBT-based.
Person Centred Therapy
(PCT)
PCT is the primary means of interaction used in counselling. PCT means that the client is the expert of the session. Through active listening, the therapist reflects with the client on the content and meaning of what they discuss in the session. This enables the client to resolve their issues using their resources.
PCT is the primary way I relate to clients in session work.
Solution Focused Therapy
(SFT)
SFT centres on the solutions to problems. The counselling discussion is not an investigation of the problem but a process of identifying solutions.
Coping strategies are identified, applied through practice outside of the session and reviewed in session afterwards.
SFT is best suited to short-term counselling.
Blogs at Prevail
Click below for the most recent blogs at Prevail.
Blogs at Prevail discuss how counselling works, the various issues that James Works with in Prevail and reflections on therapeutic needs in society. Click below for the full menu of blogs.
This is the story of a Scarlet Firethorn bush.
Why write such a story?
It is a memorial plant for me of a life story.
A story that I want to remember.
A story that teaches me how dreams don’t always work out.
A story that I need to live by the life lessons it represents.
The shrub is also a tool for showing clients that beauty and pain are often intermixed. The Firtehorn has long, sharp thorns,
It will remind me to handle clients gently. Their pain may not be visible under the display of the nice life they show to the world.