In Therapy with Alex Howard

Join Alex and Paul for an insightful Q&A session as they delve deep into Paul's remarkable therapy journey and the transformative impact it has had on his life. In this candid conversation, they address questions from you, the audience, shedding light on Paul's personal experiences, offering valuable advice for those who've encountered life-changing events, and exploring the profound moments that have shaped Paul's life through this transformative process.  Paul's Just Giving page: https://rb.gy/fb2cw Awakening Program: https://www.alexhoward.com/awakening Mentorship Program: https://www.alexhoward.com/mentorship-program 

In Part 4, witness the culmination of Paul's extraordinary inner transformation. After weeks of intensive healing work, he has now reached a place of emotional depth where he is able to listen to and hold his inner child, allowing him to process his childhood trauma. In the second half of this emotional closing episode, Paul writes and reads heartfelt letters at Zoey's memorial. Through this profound act, Paul's journey comes full circle, demonstrating the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity to find solace and closure even in the face of unimaginable loss.

Part 3 represents the most pivotal moment in Paul’s journey yet, as he confronts the darkest depths of his trauma head on. In the first part of the episode, Paul struggles to let himself feel the uncomfortable emotions he has towards his late daughter – feelings of anger, hate and rage. To get him out of his head and more into his body, in the second half of the episode I take Paul out of the therapy room for some trauma release work in the woods, yielding unexpected and cathartic results.

In Part 2, Paul embarks on the path of addressing deeply buried emotions that have haunted him since childhood, all from a place of vulnerability and self-compassion. Together, we explore the concept of listening to and connecting with your inner child, peeling away the layers of trauma, and learning to give voice to suppressed feelings. We also discuss the significance of creating distance from your inner critic, a powerful force that can often hinder your progress in healing and growth, and we emphasise that childhood trauma is not your fault.

In Part 1, we meet Paul, a 60-year-old father who lost his daughter to suicide just six months ago. Paul has locked all of his emotions in a box since he lost his mum at age three, and that this recent deeply traumatic event has caused the box to explode open, leaving him in a state of complete emotional overwhelm. In his first session with Alex, we learn that Paul is ready to confront the dark places he’s spent his life trying to escape and meet his pain head on.

Life After Loss takes you on an emotional and transformative journey alongside Paul, a father bravely confronting his unimaginable grief following the loss of his daughter to suicide. Throughout this season, we delve into ways to navigate grief, liberate yourself from childhood trauma, and unlock your full potential in life. We also explore a fundamental question: Is it possible to heal after the loss of a child?

Last week, we sent out an email asking those who signed up to the bonus materials to ask questions relating to Pierre’s journey (thank you so much to those of you who did). This week, I try my best to answer them. If you’d like to receive the bonus materials, and have a chance to ask me a question when we next do a Q&A video, please go to intherapy.alexhoward.com and follow the instructions.

This week, we deep-dive into four of the stand-out themes from Pierre's journey over the last eight weeks, and I provide some ways in which you can work with them more directly too.

What’s the best way to achieve your goals? We are led to believe that by fixating on what we want, it will come true; however, the opposite is often true. Instead, by focusing on WHO we are becoming, and what we can influence in our lives now, we are growing regardless of whether we achieve our goals or not.

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” – Dalai Lama Pierre has learnt that when things become uncomfortable, procrastination is the safest response. The problem is, this only delays the inevitable pain and causes more suffering. Changing patterns we have been practising for decades is not easy, but it is absolutely possible with diligence and patience.