“Marty Kelly’s combination of an intuitive but direct approach to therapy was a welcome relief after the revolving door of kind hearted but inevitably ineffective counsellors my son had been referred to following his seven suicide attempts in 1999.
Initially we accessed Marty’s extensive skills via the local High School’s well-being program. An ongoing relationship developed that extended beyond Dan’s involvement with the ten-day wilderness program and led to family therapy sessions as well as individual therapeutic work that addressed deep childhood traumas. Conversations with Marty were gentle and considered but extraordinarily powerful, inevitably leading to the sources of my debilitating anxiety. His unshakable commitment to finding a resolution to the wordless grief and pain I was experiencing created an equally unshakable trust in his ability to understand these wounds. Marty also guided my emotional recovery following my beloved brother’s suicide in 2004.
The hardest step in any therapeutic environment is the moment we have to lay down our numerous and well-designed defences and stand as our honest selves, fully recognising the consequences and responsibilities of past, and future, choices in our life. Marty showed me how to do this and not break into a million pieces – the fear I had carried with me for over forty years. There was an inherent safety in Marty’s professional and personal interactions that suggested nothing I would say would surprise, shock or anger him – a gift rarely given and one deeply appreciated!”
Bev Hoffmann, Teacher, ,
HighWater Theatre