11. Knowing you are gifted gives you a strong sense of empowerment! Meet gestalt therapist Pascale Coutanceau
Born in France, Pascale moved to Norway about 25 years ago. After working a long time as a teacher, she decided that she needed a career change. She became a gestalt therapist and established her therapy practice in Arendal, the little town in Southern Norway: Arendal Psykoterapi og Utvikling (which translates as Arendal Psychotherapy and Development).
Gestalt therapy is an approach which brings the whole of our being into focus. Her focus as a therapist turned gradually toward giftedness as she realised that many of her clients were, in fact, gifted.
Her mission as a therapist is to contribute to better mental health and quality of life. Her vision of the world is one where people are more connected to themselves and to the world around them.
She wishes to give her clients the keys to self-support so that, in time, they can become their own therapist. She loves it when clients spread their wings, make their own choices and experience the freedom of being true to themselves, rather than being who they think others want them to be.
In Pascale’s view, being a therapist is a bit like being a detective: people who come to her often have lost a sense of happiness and meaning, and a certain inner peace or security, and she accompanies them on their search to find it again.
TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:
If you really want something, you can do it, but you need to grow first as a person
There is a genetic component to giftedness
When you ask yourself “Am I gifted?” and simultaneously doubt it, chances are high your are indeed gifted.
Realising you are gifted helps piece the puzzle together. Your life can seem all over the place where this compoketn is the piece to link all of it together and answers a loft of questions.
Learning about ones giftedness gives a huge sense of relief and empowerment
People with high IQ seek out therapy without realising it’s all connected
Sometimes it’s easier for people to relate to high sensitivity and being highly emotional than the word giftedness
Knowing your own giftedness takes a bit of tame to make sense of it and to re-evaluate your life
what you want/need more of and what you want/need less of
it helps ignite an internal empowerment, a flame and usually gives a new sense of direction
You get strentghtened in your decisions. You weren’t wrong but you were actually right all along
Therapy can be used as a tool for self development
Being gifted doesn’t mean being better than others rather it means approaching life differently
Gifted people have special needs, for example in the work environment
Gifted people suffer from imposter syndrome, perfectionism and procrastination
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Pascale’s website arendalpsykoterapi.no
Send her an email at kontakt@arendalpsykoterapi.com
Find Pascale on Instagram @arendalpsykoterapiogutvikling