Dr Ethelwyn Rebelo

I have practiced as a clinical psychologist since 1991. . A great deal of this work as been in the hospitals and clinics run by the Gauteng Department of Health and the University of the Witwatersrand. I have also been involved with a private practice in Benoni on an after-hour basis for nine years (2000-2008). Much of my working life has therefore been spent grappling with the problems of living of those who consult me; and of considering the most useful techniques with which to assist them. I match my theoretical approach to my client and to his or her specific issues.

Everyone is unique, everyone is the hero or heroine of his or her own story. These stories, when examined closely, tend to consist of emotional themes and repetitions which often reflect the psychological template with which the individual views the world.

The job of a psychotherapist is to engage with this template; to reflect it back to the client, and together with the client then to explore the real-life events, gaps in emphasis, motivations, perceptions and patterns it reveals.

The co-creation that therapy entails may also be likened to the process of taking the beads of a broken necklace: recreating a pattern, choosing the right beads and adding others that improve the piece. The therapeutic collaboration represents the mutual identification of what works: what pleases and energises and should be retained; what pains and fatigues and should be eliminated. So the chain that is a life is made wearable and comfortable.

 

Areas of expertise include:

gender issues;

couples therapy;

depression and anxiety.