JAIMIE CAHLIL

I was born in the city of Oxford (UK), and spent my childhood in a Buckinghamshire village near Thame, just over the Oxfordshire border. On gaining a place at art school in the early 1970s, Oxford itself became my home. In the late1980s I moved to my present home & workplace at the Oxford city edge of Headington.

Throughout my childhood, a time of powerful dreams, philosophical ideas and self-expression through art, I found our shared experience of being – and our personal or spiritual journeys – profoundly moving. At 17, I was accepted on the strength of my drawings and paintings for training in fine art at Oxford University’s Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, in the Ashmolean Museum. After graduating, my paintings became increasingly intuitive and symbolic.

There’s no greater teacher than life itself. Learning to engage, I listened well… to the truth within myself, and to others – who would come to me with their troubles. Many years passed. Eventually I felt ready to commit myself to the demanding process of professional training, initially in counselling and then psychotherapy. As I developed, first as counsellor and then psychotherapist, I noticed my paintings becoming particularly therapeutic in feel and effect. My work as artist and my work as psychotherapist have gradually evolved in a parallel, each nourishing the other.  I’m now long established in the Headington end of Oxford city, where I run my counselling and psychotherapy practice – and also where I continue to paint professionally.

(www.cahlil-art.co.uk / www.cahlil.com)

PLEASE NOTE: copyright of all paintings reproduced here belongs to me. I am happy for you to copy these images (strictly in their whole form only) - for your personal use only. However, MY WRITTEN PERMISSION IS REQUIRED before you may reproduce any one of these images to share with others – and this is on condition that you include a written message with each reproduced image, clearly crediting the work to me: © Jaimie Cahlil

‘Mandala of Light and Shadow’ © Jaimie Cahlil

My professional work as a counsellor & psychotherapist benefits from previous experience gained in my working life. In summary, the first of these was in special needs education, where I gave one-to-one support within primary and secondary education. Next, I chose to work in mental health (psychiatric care), and continued in this for some years – alongside my separate trainings in integrative counselling and transpersonal psychotherapy.

My personal meditation practice originally helped me develop an inner stillness within, enabling me to paint increasingly intuitively. Over the years, I have noticed how mindfulness practice, and the subtle awareness such an attitude develops, infuses my work as therapist. This makes the process of therapy immensely more effective – and a rewarding ‘investment’. I find that acceptance of our own humanly imperfect self helps us feel genuinely ‘at home’ and at ease within. And then we can enjoy true quality of life.

Therapy Room

COUNSELLING & PSYCHOTHERAPY WITH ME: WORKING TOGETHER

Perhaps you are looking for counselling and/or psychotherapy due to sudden crisis – with an immediate need to feel understood, supported and offered some immediate coping strategies. Or you’ve been enduring something ‘too long’, suffering with weariness, stress and resentment. However, it could be you feel generally okay, but kind of not. Maybe you feel stuck, depressed or anxious; or your sense of self-worth is low. Or it may be your life feels meaningless or grey, or you feel kind of ‘lost’ or disconnected... If so, you may wish to use therapy to work on your relationship with yourself – and the quality of your personal life, or your ‘spiritual journey’.

Your therapy with me is fine-tuned by my response to your self and your needs. And if what you bring to therapy is uncomplicated – and not deep rooted, then whatever it is may be fairly quick to ease or resolve. Naturally, the more complex and/or deep rooted your difficulties, the longer your process is likely to take.  

By the way, any distinction between ‘counselling’ and ‘psychotherapy’ is blurred. My personal approach seamlessly integrates the two. Just to say then, ‘counselling’ is often seen as ‘issue-based’, while ‘psychotherapy’ is essentially ‘process-orientated’. So, while ’psychotherapy’, like counselling, seeks to address whatever issues you may bring, simultaneously you are invited into a greater sense of ‘wholeness’ through a profound process of personal development on all levels, and a ‘coming home’ to your deeper self.

‘Sensing the Way’ (painting near completion) © Jaimie Cahlil

Obviously, the easiest way to gain some understanding of how I work as counsellor & psychotherapist is to come and experience this in person-! However, the following may give you some idea:

I work with both present issues and with whatever may be rooted in your past - as needed, while focusing on whatever you may be experiencing in the present moment… in your thoughts and emotions, in your beliefs and attitudes, in your sense of self – and in this moment in your personal journey. The talking approach may be made more effective through learning pragmatic strategies & attitudes – including mindfulness, intuitive awareness, active dream-work, creative or intuitive expression, etc. As integrative and transpersonal counsellor & psychotherapist, I draw on not just my counselling & psychotherapy trainings and other professional work, but also on my experience of life itself and my down-to-earth spiritual journey – including many years of meditation practice, through which I developed mindfulness & awareness.

As counsellor & psychotherapist I welcome, acknowledge and accept you as the being you are, in all your complexity and subtleties – whatever your own relationship with yourself may be.

‘Moment of Being’ © Jaimie Cahlil

Your therapy is a process I accompany you through as your guide, as we negotiate your path together…

When you begin, you may wish to simply sit and talk things through – as in ‘talking therapy’. If this feels right for you, and it does for many, then this is how we will proceed. However, if you are a person who would welcome a less wordy approach, I would introduce more intuitive or creative non-verbal ways of working – for example, ‘creative expression’ (see ‘My Specialisms’).  However we ‘do therapy’, and to whatever depth, I will work with you in a way most likely to prove most appropriate and effective for you.

Psychotherapy is designed to nurture greater self-awareness and ease with your self, and to strengthen your inner self in terms of standing your ground and speaking your truth. As you become increasingly present and relaxed in your self, your mindfulness will deepen and understanding gain greater clarity. As you learn from yourself in therapy, I will encourage you to develop the ability to be your own therapist, in a sense!  

 ‘Gently Held with Love’ © Jaimie Cahlil

BENEFITS of COUNSELLING & PSYCHOTHERAPY

Counselling and psychotherapy aren’t just for moments of crisis… nor just to ease, find strategies for, or resolve a continuing problem or deep-rooted difficulty. The therapeutic process is also helpful for those who wish to explore how best to do ‘this thing called life’. 

So, as counsellor & psychotherapist, the therapy I offer you may well help you to…

• be more at peace and at ease (or ‘at home’) in yourself – and therefore with others, which will be beneficial for your general state of health, your work and your social life
• awaken and/or deepen your awareness (mindfulness) – and give you greater conscious choice or self-power
• develop/deepen your sense of ‘meaning’ / personal direction in life
• develop your real self (or soul) – beyond social masks, creating a rewarding inner / spiritual journey

‘Song of Two Souls’ (detail of painting - near completion) © Jaimie Cahlil

ISSUES FREQUENTLY BROUGHT TO THERAPY

RELATIONSHIP – with YOURSELF, YOUR PARTNER, with YOUR CHILDREN, FAMILY, FRIENDS, & OTHERS: communication breakdown, betrayal of trust, unreliability, infidelity / secrecy, disconnection, discontent, inequality, manipulative / controlling behaviour, falling out of love, over-whelm / confusion, separation & divorce, sexual intimacy & sexuality issues, lack of fulfilment, all kinds of violence / abuse, absence, illness, bereavement…

EMOTIONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL & SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING: sudden, long-term & terminal ill-health, psychiatric or mental breakdown, spiritual issues / your spiritual journey, emotional discomfort & difficulty – eg: sadness, depression, grief, stress, anxiety, panic, anger, rage, shame, boredom / sense of soulful or spiritual meaninglessness, feeling stuck, emotional numbness, lack of confidence / low self-esteem…

WORK: stress, bullying & intimidation, dissatisfaction, need for change of direction, creative block, unemployment…

QUALITY of LIFE / SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: when you find the right therapist for you, your investment in therapy will reward you with changes within you that in turn will improve your emotional, psychological, soulful / spiritual quality of life and well-being.  Such changes can be truly transforming.

‘Shell Breaking’ ’© Jaimie Cahlil 

‘Mandala of Transformation’ © Jaimie Cahlil

MY SPECIALISMS

As a therapist whose training is in integrative counselling & transpersonal psychotherapy, I work with awareness of the whole of you. This means any issue you bring to therapy will be acknowledged and worked with, and its roots explored – as this is where the changes happen. However, every therapist develops their ‘specialisms’.  Mine include:

• Spirituality & self-awareness / mindfulness (EG: longing to be deeply at ease with your self, to ‘come home’ to your self or soul or deepest being; to find your sense of meaning or path in life; to explore existential or spiritual experiences and ideas – and to recognise essential truth…)

• Creative expression (EG: creative & intuitive blocks to self-expression; self-regard as a creative person – with the opportunity to use drawing, painting and modelling materials… movement… voice… to explore and work through your issues, your sense of self…)

• Relationship (EG: with your self, with others, and with your inner and outer worlds…)

• Sexuality & sexual orientation (EG: meaningful sexuality, genuine intimacy, confusion re sexual orientation…):

• Gender identity (EG: gender dysphoria, gender reassignment, transgender / transsexual relational issues…)

• Emotional issues (EG: stress, anxiety, low mood, sadness, grief, anger, fear, low self-esteem…)

• Psychiatric / mental health conditions (EG: depression, anxiety/panic attacks, borderline personality disorder, derealisation – as in sense of unreality…) Note: I work with the person, not the diagnostic label. Also, to add that sometimes a person in a very low or confused state could be experiencing a potentially transformative process – often referred to as a ‘dark night of the soul’ (‘Dark Nights of the Soul’ by Thomas Moore) – which may come to profoundly enrich your life by opening you to your true potential, your personal / spiritual journey.

‘Human Be-ing’ © Jaimie Cahlil 

Messy Painting Room for Creative Expression

INTEGRATIVE COUNSELLING & TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOTHERAPY EXPLAINED

My trainings were initially in Integrative Counselling in Oxford, and then in Transpersonal Psychotherapy (with Integrative foundation) in London, at CCPE. These combined traditional and contemporary theories and practices - including strategies and processes designed to deepen, develop and enrich our relationship with self, with others, and with life itself.

The Integrative approach involves a wide spectrum of therapeutic approaches which are assimilated – or integrated – into the individual therapist’s practice. This gives myself as therapist the flexibility to closely match my way of working with what would most likely work best for you.

The Transpersonal approach, building on its Integrative core, possesses the potential to engage you in a profound and grounded ‘spiritual’ process. This works with your cognitive function (‘brain-mind’), your imagination and intuition, your emotional-sensate ‘body-mind’, your deepest sense of self (or ‘soul’)… and beyond.

Feet on the Ground © Jaimie Cahlil

APPOINTMENTS & PROCESS: THE PRACTICALITIES

For a brief chat re therapy, and/or to make an appointment, you are welcome to contact me – by phone or by email.  Phone messages and emails receive a prompt response.

Telephone: 01865 453131 (If ringing from outside the Oxford area, local call rate number: 0845 644 1425)       Enquiries by phone are welcome weekdays, 8am-8pm.

To contact me via email, please click here:   EMAIL

Practice hours:

MORNING SESSIONS are generally Tues-Thurs, 8:00/8:30am–1:30pm

EVENING SESSIONS are Mon-Thurs, 5:00pm–9:00pm finish

Note: if these hours are not practical for you, then we can discuss a mutually workable alternative.

*Fees:

Standard fee for each single length session is £45 for individuals; £55 for those attending couples counselling.

Those who are genuinely unable to afford the standard fee may apply for a concessionary rate.

HOWEVER, if you are fortunate enough to have ample means, you may opt to pay a little more for your own therapy, so that I may offer therapy to a greater number of people with inadequate financial means.

*Fees specified are correct at time of publishing: May 2010

 ‘Pitcher of Essence’ © Jaimie Cahlil

Session Length:

Unless otherwise agreed, each therapy session lasts the standard 50 minute ‘therapy hour’, which sensitively allows for the occasional need to continue close to 60 minutes.

A longer length session may be agreed in advance, if both parties decide this is beneficial for your therapy process.  The fee is pro-rata.

Frequency:

Weekly sessions are standard – and strongly recommended.  This frequency creates continuity, and is found to be of the most therapeutic value.

Fortnightly sessions are only workable when either the therapy you require is brief issue-based counselling, or when you are working towards ending therapy – as in the deeper more complex process of psychotherapy.

Please note: in most circumstances the fee agreed remains payable for any session booked which you either miss or cancel at short notice - unless (and this is likely) I can offer another space that week, which you are able to attend. 

Pausing & Ending:

During the course of your counselling or psychotherapy, we would evaluate how therapy is working for you, together with your needs, as we go along. When you recognise you want to pause and take a break, or end and leave things there, it’s important we work together to ensure you are able to do so in the more beneficial best way for you.

The place of resolution in therapy is where whatever you came to sort or clear or heal you now experience as sorted or cleared or healed. Here I’ll take care to help ensure successful integration of all the ‘pieces’ into a whole – and for a genuine sense of completion for you.

For many, well-considered comfortable endings will have previously been missing in life. If this is you, then your process of ending therapy will be profoundly healing in itself.

Light through Trees © Jaimie Cahlil

PRACTICE LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS

Practice Location - OXFORD OX3 UK:

My practice is near London Road/Gipsy Lane at the Oxford city end of Headington, close to a main local bus route – easily accessible by car, bus, bicycle, and foot; also the Oxford-London coach route (M40, A40).

Those who attend therapy with me come from the whole Oxfordshire area - including Headington OX3, Wheatley, Thame, Abingdon, Wantage, Banbury, Bicester, Witney, Banbury… and outside Oxfordshire - extending as far as Reading / Berkshire, Stroud / Gloucestershire and Swindon / Wiltshire – as well as London sometimes, too.

·      CAR & PARKING: on-street 2-hr parking nearby (details given on request when booking)

·      BICYCLE: you may bring your bike into the front garden, and leave it locked there.

·      MAIN BUS ROUTE from OXFORD CITY CENTRE: bus numbers 7c, 8 + 9 go from behind Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford’s city centre and from Oxford’s High Street... to Gipsy Lane stop; then a 2 minute walk (route from bus stop to practice available on request)

·      LONDON – OXFORD COACHES:
‘OXFORD TUBE’: Victoria > Marble Arch > Notting Hill Gate > Shepherds Bush > Hillingdon > Oxford (stopping at ‘Gipsy Lane’); then a 2 minute walk (walking route on request)                                            ‘OXFORD ESPRESS’: Victoria > Marble Arch > Baker Street > Hillingdon > Oxford (stopping at ‘Gipsy Lane’, then a 2 minute walk (walking route on request)

·      TRAIN: on arriving at Oxford Rail Station, options: taxi from station OR walk/bus/walk:. Bus option entails a 10 minute walk to buses for Headington: bus numbers 7C, 8, 9, U1 (Oxford Brookes bus) & Thornhill Park & Ride bus (bright green > all stop at Gipsy Lane; then a brief 2 minute walk (detailed route - on request)

Room for workshops, groups and exhibitions © Jaimie Cahlil

COMING EVENTS

2011 < coming events > 2012

OPEN STUDIO SALE of OIL PAINTINGS on CANVAS by JAIMIE CAHLIL

Older pieces offered for immediate purchase at half their original price (at least)
...to clear the way for emerging new work.
Also, in the sale, high quality photographic prints (individually signed)
SUNDAY 2nd OCTOBER ,10am-5pm, at 1 Cardwell Crescent, OXFORD OX3 7QE
On-street parking. Child-friendly house.
ENQUIRIES - and to arrange to view Jaimie Cahlil's art at a later date:

From time to time, I offer workshops/groups in Headington, Oxford OX3 – in soulful / spiritual creative expression, intuitive art, and in personal symbols & mandala making… Also, most years I hold an exhibition of my paintings. If you are interested in receiving ‘Coming Events’ information, please let me know. 

Jaimie Cahlil
Headington Oxford OX3  UK