Coaching- both online and in-person
I have particular experience in helping people through crises, burnout, states of anxiety and moments of personal questioning. It is my belief that every crisis harbours a gift and that life invites us to search for it. This is your space to gain strength and clarity to follow your path.
In our one-on-one work, you’ll have the opportunity to explore how to change your circumstances and understand what created the problem you are dealing with in the first place. After explaining the issue you are dealing with, we can decide together what the best approach for you can be. We can first work with EFT (the Emotional Freedom Technique) to help you reduce the emotional intensity you are dealing with (stress/anxiety/overwhelm etc). Once that has been reduced and you feel more calm, safe and balanced you will have a better space within to start thinking about how to change your circumstances. A coaching session can also be different, in that you might want to do a short systemic constellation, to gain an insight into the situation you are currently dealing with. Based on that information, we can then continue by talking about it and helping you address which wants to be solved.
The main goal is to help you get a better understanding of who you really are, help you feel more whole so that you can fully connect to your purpose and create the life you want!
For me, coaching is about reconciling two sides within yourself, the one you are living with the one you are longing to live more. It is about providing a clear and safe bridge from one to the other. This is particularly important if you are faced by overwhelming emotions such as anxiety, tension and stress, perhaps even an onset of burnout. Together we can find ways in which you can overcome fear and inner conflict.
These changes can take different forms. You might seek clarity, want to gain deeper insight into the abilities you have or need to develop in order to take the next step in your life. You might find yourself in a life situation that no longer makes sense and you seek a way out. Perhaps you want to transform an aspect of your private or professional life and work on unattained dreams and goals. Conversely, you might be struggling with the changes you are undergoing and want to find a way to soften the blow. Our work together consists of helping you make safe changes.
Coaching can be particularly useful to tackle:
Fears – such as pervasive anxiety.
Clarity- you need to make a decision and want greater clarity on how to move forward.
Relationships – to talk through difficulties & how to handle them
Patterns – wish to change negative patterns into a positive lifestyle?
I offer a confidential, safe, non-judgemental and supportive environment to talk about the challenges you might face and the aims you would like to achieve.
If you want your coaching session can be combined with EFT or shiatsu.
If you would like to meet in person, you are welcomed in my two practices in Brussels (Centre Ovive in 1000 Brussels and Cabinet Félix Marchal in Schaerbeek).
If you prefer an online session please click here.
The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)- both online and in-person
The Emotional Freedom Technique is a first aid kit for present days. It is an extremely simple and safe technique that quite simply consists in tapping certain acupuncture points on the face and upper body with your fingertips, thereby removing emotional blockages caused by stress or other negative influences and memories. The fact of “tapping” on these points sends a calming signal to the amygdala, the part of the limbic brain which is responsible for processing and memorising emotional responses. By tapping these points the amygdala is calmed and deactivated, which means you no longer perceive certain situations (eg. public speaking, too much pressure at work, fear of going to sleep due to insomnia) as a threat. You now have greater freedom to choose in which way you want to act and react, hence the name. By now, there have been countless clinical studies and trials that show that EFT decidedly lowers cortisol levels, the fear hormone, when tapping.
EFT can be applied in all situations – to let go of heavy and painful memories and beliefs, thereby creating space for a new perspective, as well as in preparation for a stressful upcoming moment, such as an interview, a presentation.
Our past cannot be changed, but we can work on our emotional responses to it. EFT is a helpful tool in alleviating patterns and beliefs that keep us from moving forward in the present. Tapping helps you feel lighter and relieved, both emotionally and physically. It acts instantly and has lasting effects.
Because of its simplicity, it can be applied to just about anything, to reduce anxiety and stress levels, address the fear of public speaking, sleeping problems, agoraphobia, addiction to sweets, to all sorts of physical symptoms and discomfort, such as a headache or tension in the body.
Please find here my YouTube channel, where you can find a number of EFT videos, covering several themes, such as how to deal with sleeping problems, or with anxiety.
These are the EFT tapping points:
Please note:
EFT is neither a medical nor a psychotherapeutic treatment. I cannot make diagnoses, only a doctor or psychologist can. For all conditions please make sure consult a physician.
Next free EFT get-together is 24th November 21 at 20:00-21:00 CET! You can register via the signup form on the homepage or just send me an email.
Shiatsu
Shiatsu means “finger pressure” in Japanese. It is one of the oldest forms of healing. With touch it activates your body’s self-healing mechanisms, regenerating the source Qi, or vital life force.
Shiatsu is a therapeutic practice based on traditional Chinese medicine and Eastern philosophy. It is also called acupuncture without needles. By working the pressure points and meridians, it activates the body’s emotional, physical and spiritual energy pathways and tries to bring them back into balance.Shiatsu can be deeply relaxing and nourishing. It gives you the space to really let go, connecting the different parts that you may find difficult listening or attending to, offering deep healing.
It is ideal to address deep tension within the body. With simple stretches and rotations, a lot of stress held in the body can be released.
Shiatsu takes place fully dressed on a comfortable futon mat and lasts approximately 40 minutes to one hour. At the end of the session, I can give you dietary advice (Macrobiotics) and show you simple exercises (stretches, breathing exercises) that you can integrate into your day-to-day life.
I offer shiatsu in particular for:
Fatigue
Stress
Anxiety
Back pain
Tension
Relaxation
I am a fully qualified shiatsu practitioner (three years training) and registered with the Belgian shiatsu federation. I am also the vice president of the European Shiatsu Federation.
A short history of Shiatsu
Shiatsu was developed in Japan during the first half of the 20th Century. Newer forms of Western medical knowledge, such as anatomy and physiology, were integrated into older forms of healing, such as traditional Anma massage and diagnosis according to Oriental medicine.
Chinese medicine was introduced to Japan by a Buddhist Monk in the 6th Century. It constitutes a combination of manipulative massage, breathing techniques and healing meditations, known collectively as “Tao Yin”, which formed the basis of what later became shiatsu in Japan.
Systemic constellations
“The part can never be well unless the whole is well.” Plato
Systemic constellations provide an opportunity to explore the dynamics behind personal difficulties in a fresh way. A constellation creates a kind of living map of a personal, family or other relational issue and provides a new perspective on complex, enduring or apparently intractable challenges.
The map (made up of ‘representatives’ – people in the workshop or papers with names in individual coachings) which a constellation creates, allows the coach and client to access the wider system, see the hidden forces at play and identify new paths to a lasting resolution.
Our happiness, we are told, depends above all on our hard work, our intentions and thoughts. In short, everyone is “the maker of his own fate” and the responsibility for it rests on our own shoulders.
But what if it weren’t entirely this way? What if, despite trying with clear intent and hard work, some old unsatisfactory patterns keep on occurring over and over again with no solution in sight? Both in the professional or private life.
Again you come across a choleric boss, or again you were left by your partner. Again the family reunion ends in a quarrel.
A systemic constellation can be helpful here. Through a constellation, it is possible to uncover underlying motives for your thoughts and actions and help you gain insights into how you can change patterns of interactions. Furthermore, and decisively, a constellation offers an understanding of the inner posture that can lead to a lasting solution.
Systemic constellation work is based on the assumption that all members of a family are interconnected over generations, regardless of whether these ties are reflected on the outside or not.
In this way, positive but also negative patterns of life and behaviours in families are often passed on unconsciously over generations and can be perpetuated. In particular, severe fates and tragic events (e. g. accidents, suicide, war) often have an effect over generations. It is, however, rarely apparent at first glance that a current, burdensome condition is linked to this.
Present-day issues that you’d like to work on can be:
-family issues
-relationships (or the lack thereof)
-difficulties in the workplace
-aspects of illnesses
The procedure of a constellation
First of all, the request of the client is clarified. The facilitator will ask the client, what the issue is that they would like to understand and, if possible, shift. For this, the client is invited to specifically name difficult events in his/her family system. Given what she hears, the facilitator will then direct the client to select members of the group to represent people or other elements important to the question the client asks about. The client then constellates his issue with the help of representatives, by positioning them in the room. Here often the representatives have distinct sensations and symptoms. Through eliciting information from representatives, the facilitator aims to uncover the deeper dynamics that hold the entanglements in place. With the help of the representatives, things can be unveiled and put into place, following a systemic order that conveys respect for everyone involved.
During a collective workshop, I work in a group of about 5-10 people.
No previous knowledge is required for these seminars.
How does it work- what is systemic perception?
Systemic perception is an ability that all humans are born with, but that has been by and large ignored and minimized by many western, euro-centric cultures. It is our ability to recognize energy, connection, and information outside of the five traditional senses. It comes in different forms for different people. Extrasensory perception (ESP) is one form of systemic perception, however in the western culture that has been relegated to the purview of a few at the margins. In this work, participants are encouraged to trust and listen to their bodies and intuitions as this information appears.
Where does the information come from?
In 1995, Albrecht Mahr, M.D., coined the term, ‘the knowing field’ to describe the flow of energy and information that appears in the space occupied by representatives in a constellation, once a question has been asked. When we tune in using our systemic perception, we can sense information coming from this field. We say that we experience it phenomenologically, which means that we pay attention to the phenomena – the sensations, emotions, physical feelings and bits of information that emerge once we are representing an element in a constellation – without judging or analyzing it. Instead, we offer the information we receive in order to move the constellation forward. Other terms to describe the field from other disciplines are the unconscious or the collective unconscious.
Disclaimer: Please note that this approach does not provide medical or psychotherapeutic treatment. I can’t make a diagnosis, only a doctor or a psychologist can. For all complaints, please also consult a doctor.
A free tapping technique to improve your day!
Would you like to improve your day today by learning a simple technique that will help you get rid of stress and possible tension?
Here is a simple approach that can quickly help you get rid of emotional and physical tension.
In this free video I will show you a very simple holistic technique that can help you find peace and relaxation within minutes.
The technique is based on the basics of Chinese medicine as well as insights from Western psychology and thereby offers a holistic approach.
With love,
Irene