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Oscar Omondi Omondi Psychotherapist/ Clinical Counsellor/ Research Assistant/Christian Youth Counsellor

Oscar Omondi is an experienced therapist and a member of 2Life Counselling Services assessment team. He manages enquiries to 2LCS therapy service, offering guidance on choosing a therapist, starting the therapy process, and leading clients towards healing.

Oscar’s natural calmness is infectious. With over seven years of experience working in mental health and social services, Oscar has honed the skills necessary for living healthily in spite of difficult circumstances. When young and older people visit him they leave feeling hopeful, insightful, and renewed. He is convinced that the unexpected benefits of hardships are enormous and worth going through. He understands the complexities of human challenges; hence, he embraces various strength-based approaches in his practice to meet the needs of clients no matter what their struggles are. From a solution-focused point of view, Oscar believes that people in crisis are capable of finding their way to new perspectives and healthy ways of living, but they often need help in the process. More so, they need God.

His approach is to offer empathetic understanding, non-judgmental listening with a sense of calm. Every situation and person is different and therefore he draws on many different methods to work with people. This ‘integrative’, otherwise known as eclectic approach allows the widest possibility for change to occur. His aim is to connect each client with their own inner resources and to have the confidence of going forwards in a direction of their conscious choosing. Oscar has experience of providing counselling and psychotherapy for clients with a wide variety of issues including: anxiety, low self-esteem and confidence, depression, bereavement, trauma, drug and substance abuse, phobias and relationship issues, suicidal thoughts, and life issues arising from parenting experiences. Being a visual and audio artist, he has a special understanding of the artistic temperament and the unique pressures that can bring. Accordingly, he use evidence based clinical approaches like CBT in his practice as well as creative techniques like visualisations, art work, sound, breathing and mindfulness.

His experience ranges from working with people in private settings to mental health setting and commercial organisations as a consultant, trainer, mentor, and CSR facilitator. He has worked in the health care sector, the charity sector, and in both large and small commercial organisations. By partnering with senior managers and executive teams, he adapts psychological and therapeutic models to facilitate growth in institutions. He supports and advise organizations in developing corporate strategy, helping them to recognize and nurture their talent more fully and work with them through organizational challenges, and give back to the community through CSR programs.

His creative therapeutic style is involving and unique, aiming for high impact that will make a big favourable difference to the client. Accordingly, he is currently working on fully launching Animal-Assisted therapy at 2LCS. In collaboration with Paps, the therapy dog, Oscar is integrating animal contact as part of client treatment plans. (See client qualifications for AAT). He carefully integrates Paps the therapy dog into clients’ sessions when appropriate, supervising the animal as the interactions takes place. Depending on the goals of the therapy session, Paps the therapy dog helps provide physical contact and affection to clients, ease anxiety issues, increase the physical mobility of clients through direct handling, provide a topic of conversation, and give clients an incentive to attend counseling sessions. This blends looking inwards at one’s own process, as well as looking outwards at how one relates to others. Moreover, Oscar uses Dramatherapist as clients do not need to have previous experience or skill in acting, theatre or drama. As a dramatherapists, he enables clients to find the most suitable medium for them to engage in group or individual therapy to address and resolve, or make troubling issues more bearable. He uses performance arts within the therapeutic relationship. He is both an artist and a clinician, who draws on his theatre/drama skills and therapy training to create methods to engage clients in effecting psychological, emotional and social changes. The therapy gives equal validity to body and mind within the dramatic context; stories, myths, playtexts, puppetry, masks and improvisation are examples of the range of artistic interventions he may employ. These enable his clients to explore difficult and painful life experiences through an indirect approach.

Born in Kenya, he graduated from the University of Nairobi after studying Bachelor of Arts in Counselling Psychology. Oscar obtained a Certificate in Counselling and Social Service Management and then accredited as a Clinical Counsellor by the National Youth Guidance and Counselling Association. He is currently completing the Animal Assisted Psychotherapy Diploma Course offered by the Center of Excellence (https://www.centreofexcellence.com/shop/animal-assisted-therapy-diploma-course/). Currently, he is working towards registration with the Kenya Counselling and Psychological Association upon imminent completion of his studies.

Finances Avg Cost (per session): $20 – $100 Accepted Payment Methods: Cash, MPesa, Check, Mastercard, Visa Credentials Certificate: National Youth Guidance and Counselling Association/ Certificate in Counsellind and Social Services Management Certificate Date: 2011 Degree: The University of Nairobi / Bachelors of Arts Degree in Counselling Psychology Year graduated: 2013 Specialties Issues Anxiety Behavioural Issues Bipolar Disorder Borderline Personality Child or Adolescent Chronic Pain Codependency Coping Skills Depression Dual Diagnosis Emotional Disturbance Grief Infidelity Men’s Issues Narcissistic Personality Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD) Parenting Peer Relationships Relationship Issues Self Esteem Sexual Abuse Sleep or Insomnia Spirituality Substance Abuse Suicidal Ideation Trauma and PTSD Mental Health Elderly Persons Disorders Mood Disorders Personality Disorders Psychosis Thinking Disorders Client Focus Age Adolescents / Teenagers (13 to 19) Adults Elders (65+) Treatment Approach Types of Therapy

Animal Assisted Therapy Art Therapy Attachment based Coaching Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Drama Therapy Eclectic Emotionally Focused Family/Marital Humanistic Interpersonal Therapy Play Therapy Psychoanalytic Relational Solution Focused Brief Somatic Trauma Focused Modality Individuals Couples Groups Work Settings

in schools in mental health in general health social care settings in prisons in the voluntary sector in organizations and businesses