Feeling Stuck?

When I started with Estela, I had spent several years suffering a lot from a relationship that was not what I was looking for, without being able to leave it. At first, the sessions helped me better cope with the suffering I was experiencing at that time in my life. I left the sessions feeling more positive, with a clearer (objective) view of my situation and the options I had. Over time, I stopped feeling and acting like a victim and began to take responsibility. Little by little, we peeled back layers and worked on deeper issues. Thanks to the work I did with Estela, I learned to know and accept myself as I am, with my virtues and flaws. I also learned to seek answers within me, instead of outside as I had always done until then. Now that I have returned to my country (France), I see how much I have progressed and continue to use the tools I discovered and developed in therapy. I am at peace with myself (and others) like I never have been before in my life. Thank you very much, Estela.

Two years ago I came to a point in my life where I felt like I was ‘going round in circles’. My relationships with men were failing, my relationship with my parents was difficult and I felt the constant dull ache of anxiety and tension in my stomach almost every day I woke up. Right from my first session with you I felt a relief. Through the sessions you have helped me understand and accept myself for who I am. You have walked the tightrope with me through some really tough times showing me compassion and sensitivity. You have never been judgemental or critical and your belief in me has been the catalyst for some amazing changes that I have seen (and others have seen) and felt in my attitude, my health and my relationships with others. You have helped me to find the strength within to face up to so many things in my life and you have helped me to value myself more. I’ve even discovered some hidden passions for alternative therapies through my sessions with you! I feel more alive and better equipped to deal with life’s highs and lows and for that I am eternally grateful to you. You have helped me to become a better person. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

Out of total despair, I found your contact info without even looking for it. My life was basically crumbling down in front of my eyes; I was tired of living and felt too hurt and weak to keep fighting. I have been through a series of events in my life (and specially for the past three years) that left me feeling the way I was, and by the time I got a hold of you, I wasn’t sure if my life was worth living any more. I remember the first time I contacted you, I told you I was tired of everything and ready to pull the plug, but I’m glad I didn’t and ended up finding the help I needed through you and our sessions. The changes I’ve experienced are something hard to describe, you basically helped me to pick up my broken pieces and put them back together, you taught me to look at things in a different way, how to manage and canalize my feelings and thoughts, and also helped me to gain the confidence I barely had. You have been patient and non-judgmental, and for that and all you’ve done I am and will be always thankful!

One year and a half after choosing to come to Spain to be with my partner, I found myself in a cycle of anxiety, anger and resentment which was threatening my relationship with myself and my partner. Through the process of therapy with Estela, I have been learning to observe my thoughts and feelings and stay connected to an inner peace and love despite the things that are happening in my environment and in my head and heart. As well, I have been reflecting on my communication and behaviour and have been experimenting with more effective, loving alternatives. Estela has been a compassionate yet challenging and insightful guide throughout my journey towards a more loving, calm and peaceful self

I first started having sessions with Estela a little over a year ago, thanks mainly to a friend who was brave enough to share with me her own personal and intimate experiences of therapy. I’d considered it for many years but I put it off and to the back of my mind and just tried to deal with things alone, the British way 😉 In truth, I was terrified that it might open a can of wriggling worms that I wouldn’t be able to deal with and secretly I felt deeply ashamed that I needed someone else’s help. But I was at a point in my life where I was ready to accept that I couldn’t go on papering over the cracks in an attempt to hide the overwhelming sadness that had welled up inside me. It was a struggle at first, to share my feelings and fears and my deepest hurt with a stranger, and to trust that she would not judge me or criticise me or tell me what I should do. But from the very start Estela took me seriously and accepted me. She listened to me with compassion and patience and treated me with a gentleness that I had never experienced before. In turn, she has given me the chance to realise and nurture these same qualities in myself, and bring them to my relationships with others, and more importantly with my self. Estela has been my guide and companion on my journey towards being a more loving person and helped me equip myself with the tools that I did not have to go it alone. I feel grateful that she came into my life when she did and grateful for all that I have learned and am still learning about myself.

How have my therapy sessions with Estela helped me? I feel different but I know that I am the same person. Some of my most painful emotions; isolation, loneliness, inadequacy have transformed into a more tender presence. I am now faced with new challenges of even deeper emotions but I know, due to my experience, that I will find a way through these too. The path of personal discovery can be paradoxically painful and delightful and ultimately takes great bravery and Estela has given me courage when I have been weak and direction when I have been strong. My therapy has given me new ways of looking at the world and the people closest and most important to me. Estela has provided me with insightful ways of addressing my problems and relationships with others. Also, she has presented me with different paths and options that are open to me but which I never knew existed. These additions, I believe, have made my life better. I have learnt that personal development is a process of which we are very little aware and it is only until we see clearly the changes that we realise how brave we have been and the progress we have made. This has taught me to have patience. My personal progress I think takes the form of a spiral, in a sense I go two steps forward and one step back. I have battled and struggled with very deep and controlling emotions but Estela has been forever patient and has helped me to have compassion for myself in such times of distress, for which I am forever grateful. Another important aspect of therapy has been discovering the patterns and patrons that rule my life. As such my life has never been mine but instead has belonged to the ghosts of my personal, family and cultural past. Estela has given me the courage to take back my own life. Estela has also made me aware of the more negative parts of my character that I needed to see in order to fully understand myself. We are not perfect but somehow by being in touch with our own imperfections makes us better people. Little by little, I have opened my heart more to the people around me which is now a very important part of my life. All of these changes would not have been possible without the very generous, patient and non-judgemental heart of Estela. Forever thank you.