Category: Professional Development

Exploring Relationships

Individual Sessions, Couples Sessions, Talks and Workshops with Donald Marmara

Core Development offers:

  • Individual Counselling and Psychotherapy( face-to-face and phone)
  • Somatic Psychotherapy
  • Counselling and Psychotherapy for Parents and Teenagers(together and separately)
  • Couples Counselling and Psychotherapy
  • Talks and workshops for groups and organisations

The artist Chuck Close once said:  “You can give the same recipe to 10 cooks. Some make it come alive, and some make a flat soufflé. A system doesn’t guarantee anything.”

The same applies to relationships. Hundreds of books tell you what to do and not do to make your relationships work. Numerous workshops claim to give you the “secrets” to success. read more

Changing Perspectives : Beyond Winning And Losing

“Winning is a loser’s game!”

How do you respond to the statement above?

Do you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing right away?  Or do you stop to think about it?

What is your feeling response?  Are you surprised, irritated, amused, pleased?

What is your bodily response?  Do you sigh?  Do you nod or shake your head?

What happens to your facial expression?  What is your tone of voice when you talk about it? read more

Does Behaviour Management Really Work?

We all need support in getting our needs met. When a child’s behaviour does not meet our expectations, is it helpful to use Behaviour Management Techniques?

This article is not meant as a criticism of parents and others who may be using a behaviour management approach. On the contrary, I have no doubt that you love your children and are doing your best to help them. read more

Success, failure and Motivation Part 1: What’s Driving You?

SUCCESS FAILURE & MOTIVATION

Part I: What’s driving you?  Could it be your Fear?

Motivating ourselves and others by Fear seems to dominate all areas of our lives. Have we forgotten what we really want?
This article reflects on the question: Where is all this taking us?

Every action is motivated by the desire to move TOWARDS or AWAY FROM  something or someone.There is an important difference in the way these two forces work. read more

Help with Depression, Anxiety and Stress. The Person or the Condition?

It’s good to remind ourselves not to see and relate to people – children and adults – through the filter of a label, however correct we may think the label is.

Some time ago I had the opportunity of working with a woman in her late 20s. She was diagnosed as chronically depressed, and stuck in a junior position in her company because they said she was a slow learner with poor communication skills and no good at working in a team. read more

Do You Have To Be Mentally Ill To Benefit From My approach To Counselling And Psychotherapy?

Counselling and Psychotherapy are powerful tools for personal and social change.

They enable us to resolve emotional issues that are preventing us from being happy with ourselves and our lives, and from having fulfilling relationships.

They can also be helpful in cases where physical problems are caused or aggravated by emotional stress. Somatic or Body Psychotherapy can be especially helpful in this respect. read more

Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning and its relevance to Somatic Psychotherapy, Counselling and Education.

by Donald Marmara

I will share an experience that I had when I was 20 years old. This is a true story and one of the formative experiences of my life.

I grew up in Malta, and I happened to meet an interesting guy at a party one night. I started chatting with this man, and discovered that he was one of England’s leading meteorological experts and that he had been hired by the government to help set up a met office in Malta. read more

Creating Results

When I tell people that Core Development is results- focused, they often remark, “ that ’s solution focused, right?�? No. Whilst solution- focused behaviour is driven by a problem – or by the need to solve or eliminate a problem, results-focused act ions are driven by the desire to create a certain result.

Somatic Transference and Counter-transference

In the book “Bonding” by Stanley Keleman – the author defines transference and counter-transference as “how a client and a therapist develop a relationship with each other to individuate, seek satisfaction, or maintain their social, instinctual and personal lives.”

He points out that whereas the more traditional approaches focus solely on feelings, emotions, fantasies and images, somatic psychotherapy views bodylanguage as the real mirror for feelings and needs. read more

The Ph.D. Octupus

This article was written over 100 years ago – consider its relevance today, with our increasing emphasis on paper qualifications………?

The Ph.D. Octopus
William James
Some years ago, we had at our Harvard Graduate School a very brilliant student of Philosophy, who, after leaving us and supporting himself by literary labor for three years, received an appointment to teach English Literature at a sister-institution of learning. read more