Hi, I’m Katie Maughan.
Hi All,
It is great to have you here, thank you for exploring Evolve.
I am the founder of Evolve, we are a new and growing project that aims to therapeutically support individuals, couples and families who are struggling, growing or simply feeling a need for change. Founded early 2023, Evolve is currently offering systemically informed therapy and the hope is that this will one day evolve into groups and retreats. .
A little about me...
I was born and grew up in the beautiful Brecon Beacons in Wales, UK. I then spent most of my adult life living in London and Bristol with lots of travelling the world in between. I have just embarked on a new era of my life and settled in Tauranga, New Zealand, where I hope that Evolve will thrive.
My career started in Paediatric Nursing, working on the wards for years, caring for families in extremely difficult situations. I then moved into working in the Child and Adolescent mental health service for the NHS. During this time I was offered the opportunity to train in Systemic Therapy at a post graduate level. Whilst completing this course focused my therapy on families with children with Eating Disorders. After qualifying in Systemic Family practice I moved into working for a private company providing goal based therapy for individuals. Embarking on this journey, creating Evolve has been a life long dream realised and I hope that this shines through in the commitment, passion and compassion that I show my clients.
I am a registered counsellor in New Zealand and / or a member of the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice, UK, the British Psychological Society, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Royal College of Nursing.
My Approach
Systemic therapy believes we are interconnected to everyone and everything around us. The problems we face are shared, and are a result of the system, or systems, we live in. This might be our families, our past generations, our social environment, our communities, work groups and our literal environment. These systems can get stuck in unhelpful patterns, created by the roles they make us play, the beliefs they are based on, and the ways of organising and communicating they rely on. Systemic therapy is a talk therapy for individuals, couples, families and groups.
HOW LONG IS SYSTEMIC THERAPY?
It depends what you and your systemic therapist decide would be best for your particular needs. Unlike other forms of therapy that involve meeting at least weekly. Systemic therapy can be biweekly, or even once every four weeks.
HOW IS SYSTEMIC THERAPY DIFFERENT THAN OTHER FORMS OF THERAPY?
It looks to out interactions and environment over individual experiences. We don’t function alone in life. Problems can be fixed by looking at the dynamics we are in with the people around us. It works with present day patterns over past experiences but considers the past as part of the influence of the now. It doesn’t see you as ‘flawed’ or needing a diagnosis as this could be seeing as placing the blame on the individual or a diagnosis. Systemic therapy would suggest you are a resourceful, powerful person that can create change and evolve.
Systemic practice is practical over analytical. Systemic therapy seeks to troubleshoot and solve. What is causing you as a family to feel stuck in silence? What nudge could create new movement in the ways you relate and communicate? What is getting in the way of helping a child with an eating disorder be able to eat? How can I adjust myself within my environment to feel more motivated and happy in the day to day? Systemic therapy encourages a shift, encourages change and growth. It's practical.
WHAT SORT OF ISSUES CAN SYSTEMIC THERAPY HELP WITH?
Systemic therapy is helpful for many areas. At Evolve we work with anxiety, low mood, disordered eating, family difficulties and couple difficulties. Please do book in a free consultation and we can talk more about how Evolve can help you individually or as a family.
BENEFITS OF SYSTEMIC THERAPY – IS IT FOR YOU?
How can systemic therapy benefit you, your family, or your group? It’s a therapy for you if you’d like to: see your problems in new and different ways, understand different perspectives, recognise your strengths and resources and how to use them, learn how to work together (if attending as couple or family), find ways to deal with difficulties, identify beneficial changes, and generally cope.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SYSTEMIC FAMILY THERAPIST?
A good systemic therapist doesn’t judge one person as a perpetrator, or point fingers. They look to the system as the root of the issues instead. They do not try to change you or your family. Instead they just nudge, attempting to create movement, and leave you to find and activate the changes need. They ask good questions that act as catalysts to capitalise on strengths, resources, and wisdom. You should feel gently supported by a good systemic therapist, over pushed or led. In fact he or she will sometimes have you so engaged in talking individually or in a family that you may forget the therapist is there, they nudge, they encourage and they believe that you already have the answers, they just need finding.
I hope that you find this little summary of systemic approach helpful and if you have any further questions do not hesitate to make contact.