Invercargill, Invercargill, New Zealand
Phone: 0.3 2.46 .8892
Website - Not Available
Email - Not Available
About Rene Frey-Jennings Depth Counselling Therapy, Yoga & Supervision, MNZAC, MTAAP, IYTANZ
Your vision will become
clear only when you look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who
looks inside, awakens. Carl G. Jung
Depth Counselling Therapy
Who am I? What is my purpose? What do I really want? Why am I here?... These are big questions, especially when you're not entirely certain of who you completely are. We are often confused by our own behaviour and unaware of many of the factors that influence our emotions and cause us to behave the way we do.
Depth therapy, also known as talk therapy, is a dialogue between two people. It is based on the belief that we are influenced by unconscious processes which affect our way of relating to the world around us. These unconscious processes affect us negatively by limiting our life choices, as well as limiting our ability to think and feel. Depth therapy helps us to take a closer look at ourselves so that we begin to understand why we behave the way we do and we begin to recognise the unconscious forces at play. As we work to bring what is unconscious into consciousness our awareness strengthens and we gradually come to know ourselves and our present situation. We also begin to see the significance of our way of relating to the world. When we become transformed through a process of self awareness our world becomes transformed.
My philosophy is that the purpose of therapy is not simply to attempt to restore someone to their former self but the aim is for a more “radical reformation of the psyche” and to achieve a sense of wellbeing beyond that which existed before. Jung considered psychotherapy healing of the soul and he believed healing came about through mutual commitment and care, and through the development of a true relationship between therapist and client.
If someone asks me to describe what I do with clients I say that it is not so much what I do with clients as it is how they feel when they are with me and as we are undertaking the work together. What I really aim to do with clients is to be. That is, to be curious, be affirming and be empathic. I also aim to be connected while encouraging clients to open out their story, to extend their thinking and to locate the feelings within themselves.
My approach to clients is through my own experience of being a human being and of living a human life. Since we share being human I have an understanding of the human experience of being judged, of being unaccepted, of being abused, of being greedy, of wanting to run away and of wanting to give up. Through this experience of myself I am able to be with people without moral judgement.
As I therapist my aim is to provide an environment of non-judgement, trust, acceptance and openness. Together with my client we agree to make a commitment to the relationship in working together to foster the exploration of the client’s inner world. Some of the methods I use to bring the unconscious to awareness is through using dreamwork, sandtrays and drawing.
Shadow Work
Shadow is a theory developed by Carl Jung who believed that we all have in our consciousness a part of ourselves which we like to show the world and share with others. Conversely, in the unconscious exists the opposite and the part which we keep in darkness. It’s in the dark because we don’t want others to know about it – and we don’t even want to know about it ourselves. This opposite is called Shadow and Jung aptly referred to it as the part of ourselves which "we do not wish to know”.
The Shadow within us develops because from the time we are born we have a natural inclination to be accepted into the world around us. The problem is that not all aspects within our character were acceptable to those around us, such as family, society and culture. So when we were still young we rejected these aspects within within ourselves so we could be accepted by others. We rejected them by hiding them in the unconscious. Though these rejected aspects appeared to be gone they were never forgotten because they lay in the unconscious, in the dark.
While we reject these aspects within ourselves we unconsciously project them onto others and accuse others of possessing that which we’ve disowned. People we project onto are those who irritate and frustrate us the most. These are the people we blame for making us “angry” or for being “jerks” and we make all sorts of harsh judgements about them. We can recognise when we are projecting when we have a strong emotional reaction to someone. Whether or not what we project is accurate is not important – what is important is that we primarily deal with our own inner world and our disowned aspects first rather than accusing others of possessing them. But in saying that even our negative characteristics aren’t negative if we use them con-structively, rather than de-structively. The key is in creating an awareness about the difference between the two. We can tell the difference through paying attention to our emotional state. If we look deep within our hearts and are honest with ourselves we can tell whether our emotions indicate destructive impulses –which want to destroy, annihilate or control – or constructive impulses – which want to build and learn from difficult experiences through human connection.
But we don’t always disown and project our negative aspects. We can also disown our positive aspects, like joyfulness, warmth, playfulness, assertiveness, gentleness, generosity... What’s happened in this case is that just as we buried negative aspects that were not accepted by people around us when we were young, we’ve buried positive aspects of our nature in Shadow in the same way. If the culture we were raised in didn't appreciate assertiveness, our assertiveness gets buried in Shadow. If our father didn't like to hear our laughter, we would have had to bury our joy... We can recognise a positive projection when we have very strong feelings of love or admiration for someone. We wish we had the qualities they have but what we don’t realise is that just as our soul is complete, so is our human nature. As a human being we have access to all aspects of human nature, some are just buried in Shadow. So projecting positive aspects means we can’t recognise those aspects of being human within ourselves.
Shadow Work is a process involving the acceptance of our wholeness as a human being and the completeness of our human nature. In doing this we begin to understand that to be whole means along with accepting the characteristics we believe we possess, we must also accept the aspects we believe we don’t possess. In meeting the 'other' in ourselves we reclaim the disowned aspects within our human nature and become a whole and integrated human being. When we take back what we project onto others in the external world we release ourselves from emotional turmoil and find inner peace.
Shadow Work helps us to develop compassion for ourselves and for others through recognising our similarities and interconnectedness as human beings living a human life.
Supervision and Reflective Professional Development
Every work environment comes with its own challenges and sometimes you may have difficulty dealing with ethical matters, maintaining clear boundaries, managing stress, setting goals, recognising professional development opportunities or handling seemingly irresolvable work relationship issues. As a supervisor I work relationally and intersubjectively, which means the relationship is an equal partnership, and through each of us coming into the relationship with certain awarenesses we co-create new understandings of the issues we deal with.
As a professional relationship in which you can trust, supervision is a means to assist you to develop insight on a personal and professional level so you can see outside yourself and your behaviours. The supervisory relationship is one within which you can feel supported and accepted while you explore how your personal beliefs and your past experiences affect the way you relate to your work environment and to those you work with. Supervision also provides a safe space for you to download sensitive case material.
While supervision is not therapy even supervision can evoke extreme emotions for supervisees in relation to their work environment, especially when faced with recurrent behaviours brought from the past which combine with the struggle and anxiety of reassessing how you work as a professional. The exploration of thoughts and feelings related to the work environment is encouraged as an opportunity to reflect on how these may relate to personal patterns. Ultimately, supervision is a reflective process to develop “effective and ethical practice” and it includes “providing personal support, mentoring, professional identity development and reflection upon the associations between people, theory, practice, context and culture”.
As a practitioner, I myself have two mentor/supervisors with each working from very different models. I value the insight which each provides as being exposed to their different perspectives I am better able to support the differences within my supervisees and in turn offer my own supervisees a wide range of perspectives. Just as in therapy, I aim to be aware of my own process so I am not interfering with the supervisee’s process. This is helped by my ongoing commitment to undergoing my own personal therapy.
I use the same practical techniques in supervision as I do in therapy to bring the unconscious to awareness, such as dreamwork, sandtrays, drawing, written diaries, breathing and awareness exercises in the form of experimentation because we learn best by doing and observing.
Yoga Therapy
True yoga does not simply stretch the body – true yoga stretches the Western mind to meet the body. Traditional yoga offers a pathway of physical and psychological exploration which exposes you to the behaviours and beliefs you unconsciously adhere to that inhibit you and limit your life choices. Through the pathway of yoga -- which involves a re-education of your mind, your physical body and your breath as the lifeforce -- a greater awareness is developed. When your old self-concept is truly explored it becomes transformed by a consciousness which opens itself to the potentials that life holds.
As a practitioner I have adapted the theories of depth therapy as described above and the theories of Patanjali’s yoga. Patanjali was a holy man who developed a method of yoga practice in 300 B.C. which today is referred to as the “royal path” to developing awareness. The system consists of 196 short statements called sutras in the Sanskrit language, fifty-six of which comprise the eight limbs of yoga representing the eight phases the yogin must attain in order to master all areas of human functioning. The eight limbs are broken down into four inner practices and four outer practices.
Outer Practices
These begin with introducing methods to harness habits and behaviours through the first and second limbs – yamas as commandments for living and niyamas as rules for living. The yamas and niyamas as ethical practices deal with emotional disturbance within the yogin and introduce methods to harness habits and behaviours. In learning and employing the ethical practices the mind experiences less anxiety and tension. A calmer, less busy mind leads the body to carry less tension and to be more supple which clears the way for proceeding to the next two limbs – postures and the breath – as bodily practices. Postures as asanas build an awareness of the physical body, and the breath as pranayama builds an awareness of and our essential life force. Pranayama as the mediator between body and mind prepares the ground for the remaining four inner practices so that the last of the four limbs may be introduced.
Inner Practices
Withdrawal from the senses as pratyahara limits the influx of stimuli and also bridges the inner and outer practices to develop total concentration as dharana. Meditative abilities as dhyana are then developed so samadhi or complete and total awareness may be achieved as the final inner practice. The yogin dedicates their lives to the aim of reaching samadhi.
In the East yoga is viewed both a spiritual discipline and comprehensive system which provides the practitioner with the potential means to master all areas of human functioning concerned with mind and body, and beyond. In doing this yoga transcends human functioning to engage the essential nature of spirit and soul. This means yoga goes beyond the level of functionality to which depth therapy aims for and beyond human being. Yogic philosophy delves into the transpersonal–an expanse beyond human form–and into the realm of the spiritual.
In its totality Patanjali’s framework is as follows:
Level 1: Moral conduct as commandments (yama) for living to reduce disturbance within the mind
Level 2: Moral conduct as observances (niyama) for living to reduce disturbance within the mind
Level 3: Posture (asana) to create a supple body, free from tension which prepares it for the most important work of controlling the breath
Level 4: Breath (pranayama) as the mediator between body and mind
Level 5: Withdrawal from senses (Pratyahara) to be able to listen to and direct the subtler energies within the body
Level 6: Fixed concentration (Dharana) to observe the subtler functions of the mind
Level 7: Meditation (Dhyana) to deepen concentration
Level 8: Illumination or enlightenment (Samadhi) is complete freedom from ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and fear of death
Phone Therapy & Supervision
I have had extensive experience doing therapy and supervision via phone and will make it available to clients under certain conditions. What is missing, of course, is the visual communication and the certain type of energy present in a face-to-face relationship, not to mention the hands-on tools, such as a sandtray and a sketchpad. Nevertheless, I have found the experience of therapy and supervision by phone to be as powerful as the face-to-face method. Please contact me if you wish to discuss this further. SERVICE LOCATIONS
Invercargill & Gore -- Supervision
Otara (Rural Southland) -- Therapy & Supervision QUALIFICATIONS
MHP Advanced Psychotherapy & Clinical Supervision, AUT
D Depth Counselling, ATNZ
D Yoga Teaching, IYTANZ
GC Career Development, AUT MEMBERSHIPS
New Zealand Association of Counsellors (MNZAC)
The Association for Analytical Psychology (MTAAP)
International Yoga Teachers Association (IYTANZ) BACKGROUND INFO
Originally from Canada, I left in 1990 to live and work in Japan, then settled in New Zealand in 1994. I began undertaking a major journey of healing and self-discovery in 2000 which led me to formal studies in the Western tradition of psychotherapy and the psychological theories of Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, and in the Eastern tradition of the yogic philosophies of Patanjali.
I’d worked as a psychotherapist for a number of years and now practice as a depth therapist and yoga therapist, using the two disciplines to develop inner strength and resourcefulness within my clients to aid them on their pathway to health and healing. To me each person is unique so in working together we find a way to bring meaning and awareness into life and living in each individual’s own unique way.
My practice is suited to anyone wanting emotional support and/or those who are wanting to self-evolve. In working as a private therapist outside the main centres of Southland my practice is especially valuable to those looking for confidential, professional support, outside the local culture and/or outside public health system. As a supervisor I travel to Gore and Invercargill once or twice monthly.
To the work of wellness and healing I bring a combination of a wide range of life experience, extensive training and education, professionalism, personal integrity and complete confidentiality. I also have an ongoing commitment to undergoing my own personal therapy to ensure my own unconscious processes do not interfere with that of my client’s.
Depth Counselling Therapy
Who am I? What is my purpose? What do I really want? Why am I here?... These are big questions, especially when you're not entirely certain of who you completely are. We are often confused by our own behaviour and unaware of many of the factors that influence our emotions and cause us to behave the way we do.
Depth therapy, also known as talk therapy, is a dialogue between two people. It is based on the belief that we are influenced by unconscious processes which affect our way of relating to the world around us. These unconscious processes affect us negatively by limiting our life choices, as well as limiting our ability to think and feel. Depth therapy helps us to take a closer look at ourselves so that we begin to understand why we behave the way we do and we begin to recognise the unconscious forces at play. As we work to bring what is unconscious into consciousness our awareness strengthens and we gradually come to know ourselves and our present situation. We also begin to see the significance of our way of relating to the world. When we become transformed through a process of self awareness our world becomes transformed.
My philosophy is that the purpose of therapy is not simply to attempt to restore someone to their former self but the aim is for a more “radical reformation of the psyche” and to achieve a sense of wellbeing beyond that which existed before. Jung considered psychotherapy healing of the soul and he believed healing came about through mutual commitment and care, and through the development of a true relationship between therapist and client.
If someone asks me to describe what I do with clients I say that it is not so much what I do with clients as it is how they feel when they are with me and as we are undertaking the work together. What I really aim to do with clients is to be. That is, to be curious, be affirming and be empathic. I also aim to be connected while encouraging clients to open out their story, to extend their thinking and to locate the feelings within themselves.
My approach to clients is through my own experience of being a human being and of living a human life. Since we share being human I have an understanding of the human experience of being judged, of being unaccepted, of being abused, of being greedy, of wanting to run away and of wanting to give up. Through this experience of myself I am able to be with people without moral judgement.
As I therapist my aim is to provide an environment of non-judgement, trust, acceptance and openness. Together with my client we agree to make a commitment to the relationship in working together to foster the exploration of the client’s inner world. Some of the methods I use to bring the unconscious to awareness is through using dreamwork, sandtrays and drawing.
Shadow Work
Shadow is a theory developed by Carl Jung who believed that we all have in our consciousness a part of ourselves which we like to show the world and share with others. Conversely, in the unconscious exists the opposite and the part which we keep in darkness. It’s in the dark because we don’t want others to know about it – and we don’t even want to know about it ourselves. This opposite is called Shadow and Jung aptly referred to it as the part of ourselves which "we do not wish to know”.
The Shadow within us develops because from the time we are born we have a natural inclination to be accepted into the world around us. The problem is that not all aspects within our character were acceptable to those around us, such as family, society and culture. So when we were still young we rejected these aspects within within ourselves so we could be accepted by others. We rejected them by hiding them in the unconscious. Though these rejected aspects appeared to be gone they were never forgotten because they lay in the unconscious, in the dark.
While we reject these aspects within ourselves we unconsciously project them onto others and accuse others of possessing that which we’ve disowned. People we project onto are those who irritate and frustrate us the most. These are the people we blame for making us “angry” or for being “jerks” and we make all sorts of harsh judgements about them. We can recognise when we are projecting when we have a strong emotional reaction to someone. Whether or not what we project is accurate is not important – what is important is that we primarily deal with our own inner world and our disowned aspects first rather than accusing others of possessing them. But in saying that even our negative characteristics aren’t negative if we use them con-structively, rather than de-structively. The key is in creating an awareness about the difference between the two. We can tell the difference through paying attention to our emotional state. If we look deep within our hearts and are honest with ourselves we can tell whether our emotions indicate destructive impulses –which want to destroy, annihilate or control – or constructive impulses – which want to build and learn from difficult experiences through human connection.
But we don’t always disown and project our negative aspects. We can also disown our positive aspects, like joyfulness, warmth, playfulness, assertiveness, gentleness, generosity... What’s happened in this case is that just as we buried negative aspects that were not accepted by people around us when we were young, we’ve buried positive aspects of our nature in Shadow in the same way. If the culture we were raised in didn't appreciate assertiveness, our assertiveness gets buried in Shadow. If our father didn't like to hear our laughter, we would have had to bury our joy... We can recognise a positive projection when we have very strong feelings of love or admiration for someone. We wish we had the qualities they have but what we don’t realise is that just as our soul is complete, so is our human nature. As a human being we have access to all aspects of human nature, some are just buried in Shadow. So projecting positive aspects means we can’t recognise those aspects of being human within ourselves.
Shadow Work is a process involving the acceptance of our wholeness as a human being and the completeness of our human nature. In doing this we begin to understand that to be whole means along with accepting the characteristics we believe we possess, we must also accept the aspects we believe we don’t possess. In meeting the 'other' in ourselves we reclaim the disowned aspects within our human nature and become a whole and integrated human being. When we take back what we project onto others in the external world we release ourselves from emotional turmoil and find inner peace.
Shadow Work helps us to develop compassion for ourselves and for others through recognising our similarities and interconnectedness as human beings living a human life.
Supervision and Reflective Professional Development
Every work environment comes with its own challenges and sometimes you may have difficulty dealing with ethical matters, maintaining clear boundaries, managing stress, setting goals, recognising professional development opportunities or handling seemingly irresolvable work relationship issues. As a supervisor I work relationally and intersubjectively, which means the relationship is an equal partnership, and through each of us coming into the relationship with certain awarenesses we co-create new understandings of the issues we deal with.
As a professional relationship in which you can trust, supervision is a means to assist you to develop insight on a personal and professional level so you can see outside yourself and your behaviours. The supervisory relationship is one within which you can feel supported and accepted while you explore how your personal beliefs and your past experiences affect the way you relate to your work environment and to those you work with. Supervision also provides a safe space for you to download sensitive case material.
While supervision is not therapy even supervision can evoke extreme emotions for supervisees in relation to their work environment, especially when faced with recurrent behaviours brought from the past which combine with the struggle and anxiety of reassessing how you work as a professional. The exploration of thoughts and feelings related to the work environment is encouraged as an opportunity to reflect on how these may relate to personal patterns. Ultimately, supervision is a reflective process to develop “effective and ethical practice” and it includes “providing personal support, mentoring, professional identity development and reflection upon the associations between people, theory, practice, context and culture”.
As a practitioner, I myself have two mentor/supervisors with each working from very different models. I value the insight which each provides as being exposed to their different perspectives I am better able to support the differences within my supervisees and in turn offer my own supervisees a wide range of perspectives. Just as in therapy, I aim to be aware of my own process so I am not interfering with the supervisee’s process. This is helped by my ongoing commitment to undergoing my own personal therapy.
I use the same practical techniques in supervision as I do in therapy to bring the unconscious to awareness, such as dreamwork, sandtrays, drawing, written diaries, breathing and awareness exercises in the form of experimentation because we learn best by doing and observing.
Yoga Therapy
True yoga does not simply stretch the body – true yoga stretches the Western mind to meet the body. Traditional yoga offers a pathway of physical and psychological exploration which exposes you to the behaviours and beliefs you unconsciously adhere to that inhibit you and limit your life choices. Through the pathway of yoga -- which involves a re-education of your mind, your physical body and your breath as the lifeforce -- a greater awareness is developed. When your old self-concept is truly explored it becomes transformed by a consciousness which opens itself to the potentials that life holds.
As a practitioner I have adapted the theories of depth therapy as described above and the theories of Patanjali’s yoga. Patanjali was a holy man who developed a method of yoga practice in 300 B.C. which today is referred to as the “royal path” to developing awareness. The system consists of 196 short statements called sutras in the Sanskrit language, fifty-six of which comprise the eight limbs of yoga representing the eight phases the yogin must attain in order to master all areas of human functioning. The eight limbs are broken down into four inner practices and four outer practices.
Outer Practices
These begin with introducing methods to harness habits and behaviours through the first and second limbs – yamas as commandments for living and niyamas as rules for living. The yamas and niyamas as ethical practices deal with emotional disturbance within the yogin and introduce methods to harness habits and behaviours. In learning and employing the ethical practices the mind experiences less anxiety and tension. A calmer, less busy mind leads the body to carry less tension and to be more supple which clears the way for proceeding to the next two limbs – postures and the breath – as bodily practices. Postures as asanas build an awareness of the physical body, and the breath as pranayama builds an awareness of and our essential life force. Pranayama as the mediator between body and mind prepares the ground for the remaining four inner practices so that the last of the four limbs may be introduced.
Inner Practices
Withdrawal from the senses as pratyahara limits the influx of stimuli and also bridges the inner and outer practices to develop total concentration as dharana. Meditative abilities as dhyana are then developed so samadhi or complete and total awareness may be achieved as the final inner practice. The yogin dedicates their lives to the aim of reaching samadhi.
In the East yoga is viewed both a spiritual discipline and comprehensive system which provides the practitioner with the potential means to master all areas of human functioning concerned with mind and body, and beyond. In doing this yoga transcends human functioning to engage the essential nature of spirit and soul. This means yoga goes beyond the level of functionality to which depth therapy aims for and beyond human being. Yogic philosophy delves into the transpersonal–an expanse beyond human form–and into the realm of the spiritual.
In its totality Patanjali’s framework is as follows:
Level 1: Moral conduct as commandments (yama) for living to reduce disturbance within the mind
Level 2: Moral conduct as observances (niyama) for living to reduce disturbance within the mind
Level 3: Posture (asana) to create a supple body, free from tension which prepares it for the most important work of controlling the breath
Level 4: Breath (pranayama) as the mediator between body and mind
Level 5: Withdrawal from senses (Pratyahara) to be able to listen to and direct the subtler energies within the body
Level 6: Fixed concentration (Dharana) to observe the subtler functions of the mind
Level 7: Meditation (Dhyana) to deepen concentration
Level 8: Illumination or enlightenment (Samadhi) is complete freedom from ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and fear of death
Phone Therapy & Supervision
I have had extensive experience doing therapy and supervision via phone and will make it available to clients under certain conditions. What is missing, of course, is the visual communication and the certain type of energy present in a face-to-face relationship, not to mention the hands-on tools, such as a sandtray and a sketchpad. Nevertheless, I have found the experience of therapy and supervision by phone to be as powerful as the face-to-face method. Please contact me if you wish to discuss this further. SERVICE LOCATIONS
Invercargill & Gore -- Supervision
Otara (Rural Southland) -- Therapy & Supervision QUALIFICATIONS
MHP Advanced Psychotherapy & Clinical Supervision, AUT
D Depth Counselling, ATNZ
D Yoga Teaching, IYTANZ
GC Career Development, AUT MEMBERSHIPS
New Zealand Association of Counsellors (MNZAC)
The Association for Analytical Psychology (MTAAP)
International Yoga Teachers Association (IYTANZ) BACKGROUND INFO
Originally from Canada, I left in 1990 to live and work in Japan, then settled in New Zealand in 1994. I began undertaking a major journey of healing and self-discovery in 2000 which led me to formal studies in the Western tradition of psychotherapy and the psychological theories of Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, and in the Eastern tradition of the yogic philosophies of Patanjali.
I’d worked as a psychotherapist for a number of years and now practice as a depth therapist and yoga therapist, using the two disciplines to develop inner strength and resourcefulness within my clients to aid them on their pathway to health and healing. To me each person is unique so in working together we find a way to bring meaning and awareness into life and living in each individual’s own unique way.
My practice is suited to anyone wanting emotional support and/or those who are wanting to self-evolve. In working as a private therapist outside the main centres of Southland my practice is especially valuable to those looking for confidential, professional support, outside the local culture and/or outside public health system. As a supervisor I travel to Gore and Invercargill once or twice monthly.
To the work of wellness and healing I bring a combination of a wide range of life experience, extensive training and education, professionalism, personal integrity and complete confidentiality. I also have an ongoing commitment to undergoing my own personal therapy to ensure my own unconscious processes do not interfere with that of my client’s.
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