The idea behind Beyond Functioning
Beyond Functioning is a reflective writing space about the protective patterns that help us cope — until they begin to cost us connection with ourselves.
It is written from the perspective of someone currently studying psychology and counselling, with a background in leadership, coaching, mentoring, and organisational transformation.
This space is not a therapy practice. It is a place for thinking, writing, and slowly developing a deeper understanding of why we behave the way we do when safety, belonging, and self-worth feel at stake.
The lens
My thinking is shaped by attachment-informed perspectives, Transactional Analysis, and Emotion-Focused Therapy.
Attachment offers a way of understanding why safety, closeness, autonomy, and protection matter so deeply in how we behave. Transactional Analysis gives language to inner rules, old scripts, drivers, and relational patterns. Emotion-Focused Therapy points toward the emotions underneath protection — fear, shame, grief, anger, longing — and the possibility of returning to more honest self-contact.
I am especially interested in the question:
What are our patterns trying to protect us from — and what do they begin to cost us over time?