I met Niki during a pretty challenging time for me. It was a very gloomy and dark period in my life where despair, uncertainty and fear was my -almost- daily company. Niki managed to help me find my “pencil” and drew my map to my inner light and peace and she is still helping me in providing myself with “the batteries” to light the torch for my journey ahead. I feel more rounded as a person and able to take a deep breath and face whatever encounter life will bring to me. I will always be grateful!

When I started music therapy, I felt very apprehensive as to whether I’d be able to function in such a group. However, music and the fabric of the group, helped me embark on a journey of self-discovery, filled with emotions and the need to share. The fact that I was totally focused on the happenings inside of my group, throughout the duration of music therapy, savoring every moment, is indicative. After the completion of the cycle of GIM group meetings, I learned a lot about myself on a personal level but, most important of all, on becoming aware of my emotions at any given time.

All this experience I’ve been living with Niki during the past few months was like a journey towards self-awareness. Besides facilitating me to go through a fairly difficult period in my life, through our sessions, I realized how much of myself I was unaware of. This process made me realize who I really am and how to deal with the situation I’m experiencing. Of course, all of this has come into being because Niki showed me that she cares about me, that this isn’t just simply a job and because she has the ability to understand what I need each time and adapt accordingly.

Working with Niki for over a year now has helped me immensely in getting closer to my inner self, a self I was not even actively aware that existed. (…) 

Through the process of therapy, I gathered tools and learned skills that help to improve my daily life and existence, allowing me to get control over all aspects of my life and realize the value of everything that is in front of me at any given time. Therapy gave me a way to reposition myself in the world and finally feel like organically growing towards a direction that for once makes sense. (…)

Besides being an excellent therapist, Niki is also a very positive person with a genuine interest in facilitating other people. Despite my initial reservations towards psychotherapy and my innate introversion, I promptly felt myself opening up and trusting. Not only did the sessions help me cope through a very difficult phase in my life but they also enabled me to find a better inner balance and adopt a different stance in regards to the situations that arose around me.

I think that the best proof of the shift that occurred in me during therapy, was the fact that many of my acquaintances observed a great change in me, without having any prior knowledge that I has started psychotherapy. In fact, after I divulged that information to one of my best friends, he chose to start psychotherapy himself.

(…) My therapeutic sessions fall within the framework of Guided Imagery and Music; an approach that fits my body and soul perfectly. Through my sessions, I’m given the opportunity to recognize the emotions in my body, give them shape, color or sound and to visualize or draw them. I get to familiarize myself with my emotions and accept them, without being afraid to express them out loud.

This journey wouldn’t have come to pass without my companion, Niki. (…) She makes me feel safe around her, trust in her and be open to listening about all the things I was reluctant to admit. She provides me with the opportunity to see clearly who I am, how I feel and what I want to improve. I stand in awe of everything I’ve achieved with her by my side and I’m truly grateful for being on this journey with her.

When I started psychotherapy with Niki, almost a decade ago, I think I couldn’t make out the path carved in front of me.(…) Niki taught me how to dismantle things and then reform them from scratch. I’ve told her many times, but I won’t stop, that she’s the greatest present I’ve ever gifted myself. (…)

I went through difficult patches, sessions spent hugging a box of tissues, sessions when a glow was etched on my face and I felt like flying in the end. I cherish them all. The journey unveiled before my eyes, one by one, my facets; who I am, who other people think I am, who I’d wish to be and every single one is a part of me. I remember how timid I felt when I first started therapy and how, after a while, these sessions became the oasis in my weekly routine. I expressed my anger, my fear, my agony and my insecurity in a space that could hold them all without any judgement, just plain acceptance! (…)