Ann Attwood
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This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Are you feeling unhappy, mixed up or stuck? Are you struggling in your relationship (with your partner, friends or family)? Are you finding life difficult or stressful? Maybe you are not even sure what is troubling you or what you need. You feel things need to change but it’s hard to know where to begin.
Taking that first step to meet a counsellor requires courage; I understand this and aim to make it as easy as possible.
In the counselling sessions, you can explore various aspects of your life and feelings, talking about them in a way that is rarely possible with friends or family. Bottled up feelings of anger, anxiety, grief, guilt, depression and embarrassment can become very intense and overwhelming. Counselling offers an opportunity to identify and explore your feelings, allowing better understanding and correction if required.
I will work with you in a Solution Focused way to look at how you would prefer life to be. We can explore your concerns without judgement or criticism. I will listen to your individual and very personal worries with the aim of understanding your situation to help you find peace of mind and a solution that works for you.
I will work with you to explore feelings of unease in relationships. I am happy to meet you as a couple or individually. An affair or another betrayal in the relationship can leave both partners hurting - counselling can be a healthy way to consider a repair to the relationship, rather than automatically resorting to separation or divorce.
If I cannot see you at a time to suit you, or if you feel that your issue falls into the specialist area of one of my colleagues, then I may suggest that you see one of my counselling partners (within ALL Counselling) instead of me. The choice to avail of this option is, of course, completely under your control.
Sessions are normally weekly or fortnightly. We can have an informal initial session so that you can decide if counselling is right for you.
You do not need a Doctors referral - just get in contact directly to make an arrangement for an initial appointment.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am an Accredited Person-Centred Counsellor and IASTI Certified Solution-Focused Practitioner with over 2000 hours of counselling experience. I work with a focus on solutions rather than problems (solution building rather than problem-solving).
As an Accredited member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP(Accred)) and a member of the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC), I work to their Codes of Ethics.
While at college I met my counselling partner Lynn Armstrong. After college, we set up a partnership (ALL Counselling) to provide a strong team for our clients. We have each completed a variety of other training courses to help us help you e.g. Domestic Abuse Awareness and Training, Group Facilitation, Sex Therapy, Trauma, Cruse - Awareness in Bereavement Care, Transactional Analysis, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Therapy and Play Therapy.
Working in conjunction with others allows me to provide more sessions at times to suit you, in a variety of locations.
My special interest is in relationships so that is where I have focused my extra training. Lynn, my counselling partner, specialises in bereavement and living with life-limiting illnesses.
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).
Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.
Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.
All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
The Association of Christian Counsellors and Linked Professions is a professional body representing and setting standards for Christian counselling and care in the UK. The organisation is made up of various different membership categories, including Counsellor and Accredited, and requires all members working as counsellors to undertake Continuous Professional Development on a regular basis.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Marriage Enrichment.
I run Marriage Enrichment and Marriage Preparation courses to help couples strengthen their relationships. The Marriage Enrichment course is for any couple, whether you have been together for one year or 61 years and whether you feel you have a strong relationship or are struggling. Get in touch to find out more.
Therapies offered
Fees
£50.00 - £70.00
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
Per 50 minute appointment...
Individuals: £50 for appointments between 9am and 5pm. £60 for evening appointments.
Couples: £60 for appointments between 9am and 5pm, £70 for evening appointments.
(If you would like a longer first session, please ask)
When I work
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I see clients in-person on Tuesdays in Gosforth at our base there, and Thursday afternoons in Morpeth. Outside of those times, I offer video or outdoor sessions.
Further information
Member Organisations
I am an IASTI Certified Solution Focused Practitioner.
IASTI = International Alliance of Solution-Focused Teaching Institutes.
I am a Registered Accredited member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and a Registered Member of the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC).
I work with a wide range of issues and my practice is inclusive of LGBT clients.
