07779 034390
Dave Wakley
Counselling and Psychotherapy
Dave Wakley MBACP
Counselling and psychotherapy.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy.
‘We’re all just walking each other home.’
Rumi (13th century)
Welcome
I'm a psychotherapist based on the north edge of Dartmoor, Devon.
I offer counselling and psychotherapy, both in person and online via Zoom.
I use Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy as my main modality; this is a very gentle, non-judgemental and non-pathologizing therapy. IFS is transformative and aims to heal rather than merely manage symptoms or behaviours.
Counselling can be useful for people who may not be used to talking about themselves and their inner world, and who perhaps haven’t previously accessed psychological therapies.
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Speaking to a counsellor can help you to unpack and understand your thoughts, feelings, sensations, behaviours and emotions that you may have been reluctant or unable to access.
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Sometimes, just saying things out loud to another person in a safe non-judgemental setting can help us to gain clarity and awareness.
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I integrate counselling with Internal Family Systems therapy.
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Therapy and Counselling
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If you'd like to find out more about IFS, click on this link for an overview of Internal Family Systems by Dr. Richard Schwartz, the founder of Internal Family Systems.
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About Me
Qualifications:
BA (hons) Integrative Counselling, University of Worcester
IFS Level One, IFS Institute
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In-depth study into Stephen Porges’s Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Experiencing and the work of Peter Levine and Gabor Maté led me to Internal Family Systems therapy.
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After qualifying as a therapist, I spent some time looking at various therapy modalities and went down some wrong roads. When I found Internal Family Systems (IFS) it made sense and helped my clients realise positive transformations that I'd not seen before.
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Before I was a therapist, I served over 25 years in the UK military as a Royal Marines Commando; (I only share this with you because it's part of my life journey). I saw operational service and close combat in various places throughout the world, but towards the end of my career, I was hanging on by my fingernails. I believed that everyone else could see that I was no longer the genuine article; I was exhausted from the pretence.​
When I finally left the Marines, I experienced my own crisis. I was diagnosed with PTSD. My process of healing started when I allowed myself to face my traumas. ​
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Most of us will experience some kind of trauma - it’s a part of life.
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As I began to get curious, I started to learn about myself. I would’ve been happy to blame all of my trauma on combat experiences, but the deeper I explored, the further back I went.
I learnt that I had acquired most of my survival adaptions in early life; now they were causing me difficulties. Pain and suffering holds learning for us. I turned my pain into a strength and I now use that strength as a therapist.
We now understand that trauma is not what happened to us, it’s the way that we deal with what happened to us. It’s the way our bodies and minds respond to overwhelming situations.
It's a real privilege for me to guide someone as they heal themself, and to help parts of you that were overwhelmed at some point in their life to heal.
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We can't always change our situation, but we can change how we respond
to our situation; and that comes from within.
​Pain, struggle and crisis are very often catalysts for learning and change. We are not defined by our achievements, but rather how we respond to the challenges we face, and how we eventually overcome them. I had to learn that humans don’t thrive and grow in isolation, but in connection with people, animals and the world.​
I’d be happy to be alongside you as a guide as you heal yourself.