Astheneia (ἀσθένεια) is a Greek word which translates to the modern English word “weakness.”

Weakness. That is exactly what it sounds like. Now, you might be wondering – why would anyone in their right mind seek help from a service provider who associates themselves with weakness? That is a fair question, but I’d like to invite you to hear me out.

In popular culture, weakness isn’t something that’s celebrated. In fact, it’s something we distance ourselves from.
It’s something that’s carries connotations of shame, vulnerability, brokenness, and neediness.

Yet it seems to me, based on my many years of clinical, church, and community experience that things don’t get better by merely securing and distracting ourselves in our strengths. We can work out at the gym everyday, we can maintain the strictest diet, we can read all the self-help books out there, but if we continually shame and suppress our weaknesses, our problems don’t actually go away and oftentimes, they actually get worse.

With that said, Astheneia Counselling is called what its called because this practice is committed to supporting clients in tuning into the “weak” areas of their lives, engaging those parts with curiosity and compassion, and exploring the feelings and needs buried beneath them. I believe that when we can embrace these parts of weakness for what they are, we actually become more resilient and begin embodying a more balanced, holistic, and healthy portrait of what it means to be “strong.”

On another level, the name of this practice, also serves as a humbling reminder to me. It reminds me that I am limited in my understanding, my abilities, and my resources. In the confines of these weaknesses, I am compelled me to be a curious learner and collaborator, which enables me to maintain a safe, sacred, and supportive therapy space. Not only that, but these weaknesses drive me to keep learning and developing my expertise, as well as continually lean on the power and wisdom of God, who Himself alone is the Wonderful Counsellor.

Now, let’s revisit that question – why would anyone in their right mind seek help from a service provider who associates themselves with weakness? I would respond with this question: Why would anyone trust a service provider who is not acquainted with their own weaknesses?

This is the meaning of Astheneia Counselling.