Ingrid Owens - B.A. HDE, M.A. Clinical Psychology

I am a Clinical Psychologist and have been in private practice for 12 years. I completed my initial degree in languages (French and English) and teaching. I worked in development work for 10 years in the fields of education and mental health, before going back to University (University of Cape Town) to complete my Masters Degree in Psychology.

Influences on my work as a therapist:
Theoretically, I have a background in psychodynamic / psychoanalytic psychology, chiefly in the fields of Self Psychology and Relational theory. Simply put, this involves understanding how our unconscious and early experiences influences our behaviour and experiences today.

A key part of this is looking at ihow we relate to others and how this helps us to understand ourselves.

More recently I have been influenced by therapy models which focus on our present experience of a situation and how to move forward into new, more constructive possibilities:  

I have practised mindfulness meditation for many years.

Mindfulness involves bringing your attention to your present experience and approaching issues with a non-judgemental and curious stance. This assists us to see past the ‘clutter’, bringing clarity and new awareness.

In 2008, I completed the Focusing Oriented Relational Psychotherapy Training through the New York Focusing Institute. Focusing (www.focusing.org) is a beautiful practice which stems from a highly researched philosophy. Focusing Oriented Therapy, opens up new perspectives and forward movements for a client by tapping into bodily felt responses to an issue.

I am a mother of two children and parenting is experiential learning at its best. I am passionate about bringing this into my practice and enjoy working with people who are grappling with the challenges of parenthood, on both an emotional and a skills-based level.

My children are adopted and so adoption is a specific area I have much interest in and passion for. I counsel people who are considering adoption, who are going through the process and who face the particular issues it brings to parenting.