Greetings Everyone,
Isn’t Spring in the subtropics a wonderful time?
As an enthusiastic organic vegetable and herb gardener I am always amazed by the accelerated growth and burgeoning harvests of Spring.
Since I last published my newsletter, I have added a large number of clinic blog articles to my website. There are articles on Counselling and Psychotherapy, Meditation, Acupuncture, Personal Awareness and Development and much more.
Paste this link into your browser and strap yourselves in:
https://www.michaelfinnhealthservices.com.au/index.php/articles-of-interest/
These are for your ongoing stimulation, education and enrichment.
My website serves the essential function of reaching out to new clients, and on this occasion I would like to request your collaboration in helping me to do just that:
If you can think of half a dozen loved ones, friends, acquaintances or workmates who might benefit greatly from my now 30 years of experience, please send them the link to my website and this newsletter. I greatly appreciate such support from you.
Unlike doctors, I do not have the luxury of Medicare rebates, and unlike Psychologists and Social Workers, as a Counsellor, I cannot make use of the Mental Health Plans. So, I rely on your word of mouth support and some well thought out clicks on the computer keyboard to maintain a robust practice. My expertise in Counselling, Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Herbs, Natural Medicine and Massage promises every client the best that Mind-Body medicine can provide. So thank you ahead of time for spreading the word.
Whats Love got to do with it? 
The interactions of couples have been under the gaze of researchers for decades now. The result is a growing body of deeper understanding of the underlying dynamics of relationships. There is a loose belief out there in our society that all a couple have to do to stay together, harmoniously, is to love each other. If only it were so!
Love is actually more of an outcome than a vehicle in relationships. Love is a cake lovingly baked using ingredients including passion, respect and intimacy. Intimacy has much to do with communication, empathy and curiosity. A couple need to be ‘on the same page’, able to sense rather than presume each other, and to be curiously interested in each other’s inner world.
A relationship is nourished by an infrastructure, a matrix that underpins all our affection. It is rewarding to be aware of things like:
One’s various emotional states and moods, in real time
Your partner’s inner life, i.e., a map of their preferred world and all that involves
Places where the two of you habitually get stuck
Communication styles, personal wavelengths and the unique ‘dynamic’ of your relationship
How to have productive, useful conflict and how to repair afterwards
How to engage in self-care
Building awareness means that our relationships become intentional, rich and meaningful and not haphazard, overly optimistic alliances. Couples counselling is an opportunity to explore each other, dispel the presumptions created by over-familiarity, and forge a renewed, deeper connection. Your counsellor is a trained practitioner, who ideally holds no bias, and whose role is to help foster awareness, thereby facilitating enhanced communication and intimacy. The counsellor helps us with the ‘blind spots in the rear vision mirror’ of our relationship. This allows each partner, in the words of famous therapist and writer, James Hollis, to move towards the notion of loving the ‘otherness’ of the other.
For one-on-one or couples sessions, you can contact Michael on 0411537394, or Bardon Counselling and Natural Therapies Centre on 07-3368 1300, or hit the contact link on the Homepage of Michael’s website: www.michaelfinnhealthservices.com.au
Research Links for your information:
Relationships and heart health: A positive relationship may engender healthier heart status, because an unhealthy one can be bad news for the heart.
https://www.news.pitt.edu/news/marriage-and-healthy-hearts