Hāpai Counselling
My counselling practice, based in Upwey, Weymouth, serves the Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland area.
It is integrative and my philosophy is grounded in a humanistic approach, supported by psychodynamic principles.
This means that I will respect you as an individual for your uniqueness of thought and experience and that I will, through supportive questioning and challenge, help you to explore aspects of your self which may, or may not, be sitting easily with you.
I am curious about how your history has informed the life you live now.
I generally work face to face in a calm dedicated therapy space but can offer online and walk and talk therapy sessions if you would prefer.
I have client experience in working with anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, family estrangement, gender and identity exploration, grief, bereavement, attachment and childhood trauma. I have worked with clients who are experiencing difficult suicidal thoughts.
My counselling style generally presents the best outcomes with clients who are 16+years old.
Counselling offers a safe, confidential space for you to explore whatever feels important to you right now.
My role is to support you, listen without judgement, and work alongside you, at your pace.
You may have specific things you want to work on or may be happy to allow our time together to flow across things that naturally arise. I may from time to time introduce topics which I think may be helpful to you.
Whichever way that works, we will be led by you and at the pace you want to move at and we will periodically review how we are travelling.
I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). It is one of the largest professional bodies for counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK, promoting ethical and effective practices in the field.
I work to the BACP 2018 Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. This is a set of ethical principles that I adhere to.
Paul Carvell Counsellor
Am I Ready?
Acknowledging that you need some support is brave.
Having the courage to seek help is hard.
It can be daunting choosing a person to confide in.
Often the people who get the most out of counselling are those that arrive at counselling when they themselves feel ready to make a change. They come willingly and engage with an open mind and a hopeful curiosity about how the insights and support counselling can offer might help them. Counselling offers a safe space for you to be authentically you, without judgement, and with support.
By clicking the link to have a chat you are starting a personal journey.
Contact for a FREE chat
After clicking the link below I will use the information you provide to contact you for a short chat (usually around 20 minutes).
This will give us a chance to briefly explore what you would like help with and for us to sense if we can work together.
Why Hāpai?
Hāpai (pronounced Hah Pie) is a Māori word.
Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand who celebrate a culture with a strong sense of community, family, individual identity and a strong affinity and respect for the environment.
In Māori, hāpai is a verb meaning to take up, support, shoulder, lift, or raise physically. For example, it can describe lifting a person or object, or supporting a group in action, such as warriors supporting a leader in battle (Te Aka Māori Dictionary)
Figuratively, hāpai extends to emotional, social, or communal support. It can describe uplifting someone during a difficult time, fostering growth, or helping a community thrive. For instance, elders may hāpai a new leader, symbolizing recognition and support, or an organization may hāpai young entrepreneurs by helping them start their businesses (Goong.com)
Tangata whenuatanga is a Māori concept that emphasizes the deep connection between people and the land they originate from, known as whenua. It represents place-based knowledge, socio-cultural awareness, and identity affirmation, recognizing that people are shaped by their ancestral land, history, language, and customs (tikanga) (tki.org.nz)
The term encourages individuals to understand and value their cultural roots and the knowledge embedded in their local environment.
In choosing Hāpai as a name for my practice, I wanted to reflect my vision for the support I want to provide to people as well as a way to reflect my heritage. I was born and raised in New Zealand and was conscious that Māori word meaning and use is often better at conveying holistic sentiments in a single word.
I am not of Māori decent however I consider that, as a New Zealander, Māori language, customs and beliefs are part of my culture and part of the culture which I have been immersed in. This has shaped my values and I celebrate this.
In using Hāpai, I respectfully acknowledge the indigenous roots of the word and offer respect to the indigenous culture from which it originates.