About | All Seasons | Counselling and Psychotherapy

ABOUT ME

SEASONS OF LIFE

Mark Burke holds a BA (Hons) Counselling and Psychotherapy, holds a Professional Certificate in working with Adolescents and is qualified to work online. He embraces an Integrative approach, believing that when working with clients the utilisation of person-centred, psychodynamic and CBT modals promotes significant insight and enhances the chance of issue resolution.

Mark recognises the courage it takes to make that initial appointment so always aims to create an environment in which the client feels safe, fully heard and understood. He believes every client’s experience of therapy should be one of non-judgement, empathy, collaboration, genuineness and compassion. Through gaining an increased awareness of current or historical distresses the hope is to promote understanding, personal growth and develop healthier relationships.

Mark has experience in addressing issues such as anxiety, depression, grief and loss, stress, conflict and trauma in working with both adults and adolescents.

Mark is passionate about bringing understanding, developing resilience, promoting self-kindness, self-esteem and instilling hope into each and every client’s life.

Autumn

Autumn is synonymous with harvest: what has been planted in the month previous comes to full ripeness and maturity. The leaves begin to turn and carpet the ground below, and the temporary nature of everything around comes into light. It is a time to savour the fruits of our labour and acknowledge what has come before. The Autumn of our lives offers us a place to reconnect with ourselves, permitting us to recognise the life events and situations which have ended well. It also provides us with time and space to contemplate where we have struggled to grow in the seasons past, and how we might rectify this and prepare for the period of transition ahead.

Winter

Winter is rarely looked upon in a positive light. The days are short and the nights long, the temperatures drop and it’s often associated with a sense of challenge and struggle. The winters of our lives can be perceived this way too, as a time when our resolve may be tested and we are asked to dig deep to get through these sometimes dark and bleak days. However, this slow, quiet season can often prove valuable as a time to create space, to sit back, take stock, look inward, reflect and plan for the future. This can be an opportunity to work on changing perspectives and attitudes, to set your sights on spring and plant the seeds of new beginnings.

Spring

Spring is a time of new life, awakening and fresh growth as the earth bursts back into life. A time to plant seeds for the year ahead, some which provide us with vibrant colours and others which supply us with food for the months that follow. In the spring of our lives we may choose to look at the areas in which we are growing and thriving, which can motivate us to keep going forward. The spring also affords us the opportunity to create new beginnings, change old behaviours/habits. It can be a time to discover who we are and who we want to be, what needs to change and how we can achieve it.

Summer

Summer is a season we associate with energy, excitement, passion, achieving goals and objectives and acknowledging what has come to bloom in life. In the summer of life we can find ourselves getting caught up, striving for more and more to “make hay while the sun shines”, working harder to attain some level of personal fulfilment. Just as the earth becomes scorched, and barren in the prolonged heat of a dry summer, so may we do as individuals. An attempt to keep up an unrealistic pace of life can eventually result in a state of burnout.