Tūngia te uruuru kia tupu whakaritorito te tupu o te harakeke

This beautiful whakataukī encapsulates my thoughts about the value of counselling.

It speaks about the harakeke, and the importance of clearing away the undergrowth around the plant so that the new shoots can grow and flourish.

Just like the harakeke, sometimes in order to grow and flourish, we need to do some clearing away. There may be memories, thoughts, or habits that make it challenging to live your life the way you want to. Perhaps trauma or difficult relationships have had an impact on the way you connect with others and the world around you. Maybe it just feels as if it’s time for a change and in order to move forward, you need to have a bit of a shake up.

Just as the plants, scrub, and weeds around the harakeke affect how it will grow, our past experiences, relationships, ways of thinking, and ideas about ourselves affect the way we grow and live. Some of those things help us thrive; others, not so much.

Counselling can help to identify and examine the things that aren’t helping us and clear them away (or at least tidy them up so they’re more manageable) so that we can live richer, more fulfilling lives.