We don't think twice about seeing a doctor for physical pain. Why should our approach to treating emotional pain be any different?

Everyone, at some stage in their lives, is likely to be faced with life challenges and situations that seem overwhelming. Being in this situation can have a debilitating effect on your emotional and physical well-being, leaving you feeling lost, isolated and unable to cope with work, family, relationships and life in general.

Our emotions play an important role in health and disease. While positive feelings produce neurochemicals that strengthen the immune system, negative, repressed, or distorted emotions can decrease immune response and open the door to a variety of health problems. Long term repression of emotions has long been viewed as a factor in a number of common diseases, including cancer, strokes, heart attacks, depression and chronic fatigue. That is why Desana considers the emotional well-being of their clients as an important aspect of healing. Rather than try to repress, deny, or control our emotions, we need to nourish and guide them so that they can help us become integrated and whole.

At first, many people feel reluctant or embarrassed to make the first move in contacting a Counsellor for help. They feel afraid of being judged negatively and therefore, continue to feel helpless and isolated. However, when a person experiencing emotional pain turns to a Counsellor for help it shows they have the courage, honesty and intelligence to look after themselves and get the professional support they need.

Desana helps people with many different issues and although every person's pain and struggles are unique, you'd probably be surprised just how many people are in similar situations to your own - and feel exactly the same things as you do.

Desana can help people in a number of areas:

· Abuse
· Alcohol and drug addiction
· Anxiety and depression
· Career counselling - finding the right job for your type
· Conflict resolution
· Grief and loss
· Marriage and relationship counselling
· Self esteem
· Stress management
· Trauma

The Counselling process aims to identify and help you understand what's caused your emotional pain or life circumstance. Through a relationship of genuine concern, trust, empathy, sensitivity and strict confidentiality you can be professionally guided out of emotional isolation and loneliness, you'll learn how to recognise negative behavioural patterns, get back in tune with your personal strengths and discover what is preventing you from re-establishing your sense of purpose, well-being and fulfilment.

Establishing a professional relationship with a Counsellor can be an extremely rewarding and life-changing experience.

See our feature on Desana's Life Skills seminars.