Clear Vision Counselling was established by Ballymena woman, Joanne Montgomery, who has 25 years of Social Work practice to draw upon in addition to relevant counselling qualifications.
Committed Christian Joanne explains that there are two strands to the work of Clear Vision; the first is one-to-one counselling which open to everyone and takes place with a safe, confidential space.
She says: “I base my work around the question: ‘What’s Your Story?’ Everyone has a story which is unique while being at the same time, so similar. That story involves the three facets which make up every human being – namely body, spirit, and soul. The truth of that is recognised by people of any faith as well as those with none. We spend plenty of time nourishing the body and the spirit but so many people are reluctant to invest in the soul realm, which includes our mind, will and the emotions which make us who we are. I give people a safe space to process their story. I believe that you are writing this story every day but they you don’t often get the chance to read it back. How often do you get the chance to invest externally in that story so that you can edit anything that you don’t want to carry into your future?”
Interestingly, the second strand to Clear Vision Counselling is a workshop, created by Joanne, which is aimed at the corporate business, community and Church arenas.
Revealing more about what she named: ‘A Different Language – What’s Your Story?’, Joanne added: “Throughout my 25 years of Social Work practice I have been involved in supporting individuals and families who are struggling and I have come to understand that professionals are also experiencing difficulty I wrote the workshop after coming to the realisation that I that I have spent so much time looking after other people’s story but who is looking after mine?”
She added: “The corporate strand of my work sits in business, church, and the community to offer people a different language. I am not there to take away from the services those organisations may already have in place to help people, rather I am there to support those services and create a climate where people feel able to use those services. I plan to deliver the corporate workshop to 20-30 people at a time to think about have you ever considered one third of who you are and how you look after that part of you.”
Joanne concluded by saying: “There is nothing wrong with humanity; it is just their story. It is their lived experience. Some that have been difficult, some that they don’t understand and having that knowledge that it is actually ok for you to go and seek out an external service for help with certain aspects of your story. Let’s lift the stigma off sharing your story.”
You can contact Joanne through the Clear Vision Counselling website: https://www.clearvisioncounselling.co.uk