Mina De Pasquale
"I came to Mina during a time in my life where I had begun to find that I couldn't cope with what life was dishing out to me anymore. Previously I had been a firm non-believer in counselling, but after a series of tragic events in my life I was finding that my feelings were starting to have an adverse affect on others, as well as myself.
I was constantly taking my feelings out on other people and feeling very resentful of certain people. I had tried alternative therapies but realised a year ago that I needed to talk to a bereavement counsellor. I have since read that you may have to try lots of counsellors before you find the right fit but Mina was great for me from the start. Through my sessions Mina helped me realise that I had every right to feel the way I did and made me recognise that I needed to reset boundaries with friends and family. She also gave me a gentle nudge to stop the sessions when it was becoming clear to both of us that I had turned a corner.
I am now a huge advocate of counselling and have been recommending it left, right and centre. Sometimes you need help to change your way of thinking and for me Mina was the right person to help me do this".
"Mina é un'ottima terapista. Mi ha seguito per circa nove mesi e mi ha aiutato molto in un momento difficile, dovuto a problemi di adattamento a Londra. La cosa che la rende particolarmente indicata in queste situazioni, é il fatto che é stata a Londra per molto tempo e ha avuto molta esperienza personale e professionale con altri expat. Quindi ha un vantaggio particolare rispetto agli terapisti, visto che conosce particolarmente bene certe tematiche. Un'altro aspetto positivo é l'approccio olistico e comunque orientato a pratiche di mindfulness, invece di fare come tanti terapisti che si concentrano su diagnosi psichiatriche più "incasellanti": mi sono reso conto che cerca di prestare più attenzione ad ascoltare problemi e cercare di capire la persona, piuttosto che attaccarti un'etichetta in fronte.
La consiglio vivamente a tutti gli italiani e non che hanno difficoltà ad adattarsi alla vita in una grande città straniera e sentono di essersi un po' persi."
"I went into therapy with Mina in March 2014 for a few months. I was having a very hard time and I thought it would have taken me ages to feel better. However the benefits of my sessions with her came out almost immediately, I soon started to feel better and better. Not only she helped me to come out from a very dark place but she also taught me how not to go back to it. I was able to interrupt the therapy after 9 months last December. Since then I still find myself remembering what she taught me and her words are still today a massive help to me even after all these months. I would definitely recommend Mina for help".
"The girl that moved to London in March 2013 was very different than the young woman writing now. I had left behind a comfortable life as newly graduated student, my family and many friends in Italy to start a career as manager, surely stimulating but also challenging.
The first period came and went quickly, almost unawarely. Anyway, the more months passed by, the more I felt I couldn't cope with all the duties and responsibilities my role required and all the emotions thereof. The managing task, which I was committed to for the first time, put me in a position of close contact, and sometimes conflict, with my employees and I didn't know how to manage it. Not having received by my Company an adequate training and the hoped support, I tried to coordinate the business by myself and that started to bring me great stress, anxiety and a sense of not being able to cope which then affected my lifestyle. Even daily conversations with my parents and my partner were becoming difficult, as I thought it was unjust to pour on them my worries, for which there wasn't an immediate solution. I thought I knew well my potentials and my limits but I always found myself dealing with my fragility."
"Understanding the need of an outer support I decided to start a counselling experience with Mina. Over the weekly sessions I could freely express doubts, positives and negatives emotions, gaining more awareness and clarity for reflection and introspection. Mina taught me to successfully program my plans, assessing the positive and negative sides and to give an appropriate and rational importance to the daily issues. We assessed our path on a periodical basis and after about twelve months we agreed that such experience could be considered completed.
Talking to a qualified Counsellor and not to a relative was certainly decisive to solve and overcome the impasse I was into. I can say that such process raised my awareness, independence and personal growth."
"I would like to thank you so much for helping me through my difficult period. You helped me to understand my mixed up emotions, to bring clarity to my thoughts and awareness of patterns of behaviour.
It was also difficult travelling back in time and uncovering hidden memories and emotional traumas which I had locked away or buried but I now I understand how important it was to go back in order for me to go forward. I still have a lot of work to do on myself but I now feel I have few more tools at my disposal to help me.
I don't know if you realise how important you have been for me. It was quite difficult for me a week after our last session, I felt very lost. I felt I'd lost a friend. Then I started to realise that this was part of the process, the universe had given me what I needed and what I needed was to work with you to work on me.
I thank you and I thank the universe for sending you!"
