Frances Ward

Frequently Asked Questions

Got a few more things you want to know? Please contact me if you have others!

Am I the counsellor for you?

  • If you want to work towards living in an optimal state , I can help you cocreate this. Everything I offer, I practice in my life too. All my approaches have helped me to be able to hold safe space for you and to live well. Sometimes coming into a safe space is all you need to start to change.

  • I am registered with HPCSA-if you're in South Africa, you can claim from your medical aid savings (not PMB). This also means I offer ethical, professional practice and continue with regular trainings. I've been doing this for 20 yrs.

  • My current hours are 07:30am - 14:00pm Monday to Friday.

What is addiction? 

  • Addiction is a result of genetic and environmental (trauma) factors. Due to adverse childhood experiences, changes occur in the frontal and mid brain leading to impairment of the Dopamine Reward pathway. Addiction is not poor choices and is not a moral condition. Neuroimaging of addicts' brains now show the frontal cortex (responsible for choices) goes offline, whilst the mid brain (responsible for survival, immediate responses) is activated during drug usage. The brain literally feels it must get the substance.

  • Addiction is neurological, physical and psychological brain disorder characterised by typical patterns of compulsive use leading to significant impairment in 3 or more of the following:

  • Increase in use of substance or time taken in acting out (behavioural addictions) – i.e. a loss of predictable control

  • Unsuccessful attempts to control reduce/ stop

  • Much time spent on sourcing, using and recovering

  • The falling away of other activities (social, recreational, occupational, familial)

  • Continued use although the person is aware of negative consequences

  • Increased tolerance

  • Withdrawal symptoms (physical/ psychological).

Adapted from: American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000

What is addiction treatment?

  • Inpatient therapy: Most private rehabilitation clinics include detoxification, 12 step programmes and aftercare/ recommended outpatient services.

  • The South African state offers The Matrix model. This is a popular manualised outpatient programme (it includes cognitive behavioural therapy, relapse prevention, 12 steps, psycho-education and family work).

  • Outpatient addiction therapy is often provided through an integrative group of approaches – motivational interviewing, 12 step, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT is an evidence-based approach used by many therapists), relapse prevention, pharmacotherapy, family therapy). Generally an outpatient programme offers one to three sessions a week.

  • 12 step groups: This is a free network of self help support groups that use the 12 step approach in the community in order to maintain sobriety/ balance. These are online too.

  • Brain based therapy and Body oriented therapy: Many recovery programmes include classes in TRE ®, yoga, Mindfulness etc. along with tending to your dietary needs. Brain based therapy will help deal with the trauma underlying the addiction and to rewire your brain treating the reward pathway.

What is trauma? How do I know I'm traumatised?

  • Quite simply trauma comes from experiences that overwhelm one's normal coping mechanisms with one common felt experience: helplessness.  The memory or imprint that remains in your nervous system is the trauma that needs to be resolved.

  • The continuum of Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and Burnout can feel like you're not coping with daily stress initially, then getting triggered easily into anxiety/panic/ agitation, then experiencing flashbacks, hypervigilance and then finally feeling depression/ fatigued, numb.

What is trauma counselling?

  • Traumatic experiences disrupt the body’s natural equilibrium, freezing you in a state of hyperarousal and fear: your nervous system lives with unprocessed bits of data stuck in it, like a live wire. Successful trauma treatment must address this fallout and re-establish your physical sense of safety.

  • EMI (Eye Movement Integration): is an effective treatment using eye movements (different from bilateral stimulation as in EMDR). The eye movements integrate distressing  trauma memories with resource memories connecting the sensory, emotional and physical memories altogether, facilitating healing. EMI can also be used for building resources for upcoming challenges. This needs to be done in person.

  • EPI (Eye Position Integration): is an effective treatment using eye position for recurrent trauma memories. The eyes are an extension of the brain's neural pathways, thus by using eye positions protocols you are rehabilitating your brain and therefore bringing about new behaviour.

  • Somatic Approaches/ Mindfulness/Breathwork: This approach prioritizes the Polyvagal mind-body connection to help address both physical and psychological symptoms that are leading to dysfunction. The goal is to help you notice bodily sensations via increasing your proprioception and use this awareness to find and release distressing sensations, completing the looping trauma, bringing you into a preferred, safer present day reality.

  • TRE ® (Trauma Releasing Exercises): TRE ® is a simple technique that uses somatic mobilisation i.e. physical stretches to release tension from the body. Tension accumulates from everyday circumstances or from traumatic situations. The stretches help to release deep tension from the body by evoking a self-controlled muscular shaking from the psoas muscle in the body. These are called neurogenic tremors. TRE ®, when done safely, is a quick, often immediately effective method for learning emotional regulation and greater embodiment.

  • Hypnotherapy:  There are many brain based routes I can offer to help you induce hypnosis- the specific brain wave state involving relaxation, wider selective thinking and bypassing of your conscious mind. Somnambulism- an altered perception can be a part of this state too.  Everyone can access this deep brain wave state- you are always conscious, in control and will only absorb ideas that resonate with you. You will always emerge safely and you can not get stuck in hypnosis. Parts work is something that can be done using hypnotherapy.

  • EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique): The healing concepts that tapping is based upon have been in practice in Eastern medicine for over 5,000 years. Tapping is a set of techniques (such as acupressure/ acupuncture) which utilize the body’s energy meridian points. You can stimulate these meridian points by tapping on them with your fingertips – literally tapping into your body’s own energy and healing power.

Why do professionals in the care-giving field need regular supervision?

  • Working in the field of caring for others can lead to burn out, adrenal fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety, loss of drive, relationship problems, relapse etc. With regular supervision, it is possible to prevent such conditions. Learning more about your own blind spots will teach you how to be a better, more resourced counsellor and a healthier, more grounded person who takes care of yourself.

"It is good to have an end

to journey towards,

but ultimately it is the journey

that matters."