Amanda Collard

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she/her
Counsellor BACP CYPF Rgd Dip. / FdSc Compl. Health Therapies
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

Bristol, BS9 3ED
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

Hello, I'm an insured, integrative, person centred counsellor incorporating psychodynamic, CBT, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis practices with extensive experience working with a wide and diverse demographic of young people aged 11-18. I also like to work with young adults (18-30).  This can be such a difficult transition during the journey to full adulthood.

I offer one to one, in person integrative counselling sessions, in combination with somatic awareness and psychoeducation for a wide range of difficulties that can present as anxiety, low mood, panic, loneliness, depression or lack of clarity...some common symptoms of deeper issues.

Finding the right therapist isn't easy. Our work begins with having an informal chat about your needs and expectations. My intention is for us to form a professional, trusting, compassionate and respectful alliance for ongoing therapeutic work together and to support you in a way that attunes to who you are for your mental health and wellbeing. Life isn’t always smooth and I hope we can weather the waves together between calmer waters so that you can live your day to day life a little bit more easily. No two sessions are the same, just as no two people are the same.

Counselling is about giving time and space to yourself in a supportive and safe environment to explore anything that matters to you.  You are a unique human being which is sometimes difficult to navigate in a world of human interaction, experiences and relationships.  Counselling offers the opportunity to talk about personal issues in a private and relaxed setting with someone who plays no other role in your life except for counselling.  It can support you in helping to understand and manage the root causes of your difficulties so that you can take steps with the support of a trusted person to be able to safely navigate the way forward, however small those steps may seem.

My motivation is to communicate on a level that's trusting, supportive and ultimately relieving; to respect, acknowledge and bear together how it is for you at the present moment; to hold the hope until a time when this can be held within you; to support you in developing a sense of self compassion for a fairer, balanced self understanding of the thoughts we have, the actions we show and the emotions we feel in the context of our life story.

I have a special interest in the effects of our immune system's response to traumatic events and stress, known as inflammation.  I strongly believe that our bodies offer wisdom beyond the mind.

As a qualified reflexologist, I can also offer a combination of talking therapy and distal positive touch (if that appeals to you.)  Supported by research, this combined mind, body, brain approach intentionally integrates the two intrinsic professions of counselling and somatic therapy using reflexology techniques, somatic awareness and neuroscience.

Research that supports these findings can be found at ‘Further Information’ on my profile.

In my spare time I love walking and being outside in nature in all seasons. I enjoy the arts and creativity in its many forms, listen to most genres of music, read when I can and enjoy a good catch up with friends and family. I love dancing and am a member of two dance groups and regularly practice gentle yoga and meditation.

How I got here.....

My interest in becoming a counsellor arose primarily from two situations.  Firstly, the experience of personal therapy and the other, the professional inadequacy I felt in response to when reflexology clients would share their thoughts, feelings and emotions during and after a session.  I hadn’t had any counselling training at that point in my life.

My interest in the language and wisdom of the body was sparked during my first reflexology session in my early 20’s.  I was curious about how and why I felt a sense of relief, my mind felt calmer, I felt 'lighter' and my sleep improved.

Further, my foundation degree in Complementary Health Therapies offered relevant modules that demonstrated the intricate and subtle connections of the physiological and psychological functioning of our mind, body and brain as a complete and interconnected organism.  Units included Therapeutic Relationships, Research, Biomedical Sciences, Energy Concepts (Eastern and Western approaches to health), Advanced Reflexology, Health Care Approaches, Sociology of Health, Pain Management and Nutrition.

... and finally, volunteering in many environments such as substance misuse, postnatal depression, chronic illness, young people and adult mental health and physical difficulties contributed to thought provoking observations which reinforced the fact that human beings need support, positive interventions and positive relationships, to different degrees and at different transitions and situations in life which are non-negotiable for ongoing health and wellbeing.

Training, qualifications & experience

I have 10 years experience providing Integrative Counselling in educational settings for young people aged 11-18 and in my early career, ran a small private practice working with adults.

BTEC Level 5 Diploma  Therapeutic Counselling 

Specialist units:

  • CBT, Psychodynamic, Person Centred, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis
  • Level 2 / AQA 
  • Intermediate Counselling Skills - Skills, acquisition and practice
  • Foundation Degree   
  • FdSc Complementary Health Therapies

Modules: Work-based learning, Therapeutic Relationships, Research, Biomedical Sciences, Energy Concepts (Eastern and Western approaches to health), Practical Advanced Reflexology, Health Care Approaches, Sociology of Health, Pain Management, Nutrition, Diploma VTCT, Reflexology – IIHHT.

For more about me, please see 'General information' in my Profile.

Here are some of the training and CPD courses I have completed:

  • Working with Shame
  • Dealing with distress – working with suicide and self-harm
  • Prevent training
  • Working with Trauma that has become stuck
  • Working with Trauma triggers and flashbacks
  • Working with Trauma Memories
  • School based humanistic counselling for YP: effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and processes of change – findings from a large RCT (Ethos)
  • Mental Health and Wellbeing – supporting staff
  • Outcomes Measures
  • Restorative Justice
  • Working online with young people
  • Neglect
  • ACT – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and DNAV
  • Child Exploitation
  • Understanding autism
  • Being the other: diversity symposium
  • Anxiety and depression – using superskills for life
  • Mental Health and the Body: Treating Trauma
  • Bereavement
  • Anger tools
  • Digital Intimacies
  • Drugs and alcohol and young people
  • Child protection refresher
  • Exploring the taboo of muslim anger
  • Youth produced imagery – dispelling the sexting myths
  • The space between self esteem and self compassion
  • Body Image and Eating Issues
  • Managing Mental Health in Schools
  • ACEs and resilience
  • Mental Health of Young People
  • Precursors of Addiction
  • Child protection and safeguarding
  • Theme of Christmas
  • Working with CYP experiencing anxiety and emotionally based school refusal
  • Introduction to Internal Family Systems
  • Theme of Money 
  • 10 day silent meditation
  • Storm and Stress – new ways of looking at adolescent mental health
  • Sexual violence and sexual harassment
  • Attachment as a relational construct
  • Aspects of the deep unconscious
  • 8 week mindfulness course
  • Brief solution focused therapy
  • Safeguarding Young People
  • Groupwork Skills
  • Working with Trauma
  • Mental Health First Aid
  • Working with individuals on the autistic spectrum in a counselling setting
  • Therapy for Men
  • Understanding Personality Disorder
  • Domestic Abuse
  • Creative approaches in counselling and supervision
  • Counselling clients who self harm
  • A short term model of counselling
  • Working with Eating Disorders
  • Alcohol – Brief Interventions
  • Motivational Interviewing 
  • Difficult & Aggressive Behaviour 
  • Addiction, Dependency & Recovery

I have also volunteered in a variety of settings which has informed my counselling practice immensely, these have included:

  • Drugs and alcohol (The CAAAD Project)
  • Postnatal depression (Mothers for Mothers)
  • Terminally ill (St Peter's Hospice)
  • Young People (Weston College)
  • HIV (Terence Higgins Trust)
  • Mental health (residential care home)    

Member organisations

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

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.

Accredited register membership

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

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.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Photos & videos

Fees

£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session

Additional information

COUNSELLING - £60 per 50 minute session

Free initial consultation: 20-30 minutes on the telephone or online.  This is to discuss your needs for counselling and to see if we're a comfortable match for ongoing work together.

Assessment period: (block of 4-6 consecutive counselling sessions). This is to establish trust as the foundation of ongoing work together. 

Ongoing sessions: sometimes the assessment period is enough but some people would like ongoing or longer-term therapy.

COMBINED THERAPY (please see General Information for further information about combined therapy) - £80 per 1 hour and 20 minute session

Paid in advance - thank you.

When I work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

I work 8.30am - 6pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Further information

If you are interested in combining your counselling session with techniques of reflexology, I'm happy to speak further with you about this.  The academic research and references below may help you decide if this is for you:

"Foot massage and psychotherapeutic work can lead to reductions in symptoms of depression and stress" (Young, Young, 2017) as well as "significantly reducing symptoms of fatigue" (Shobeiri et al, 2017).

"Foot massage and CBT intervention led to reductions in depression, stress, blood pressure and could be effective in reducing the stress response" (Young et al, 2017).

"Foot reflexology may provide additional nonpharmacotherapy intervention for adults suffering from depression, anxiety, or sleep disturbance" (Wang et al, 2020)

"A conjoint mind-brain-body approach can help develop flexibility of thought, emotions and behaviours resulting in better mental health, wellbeing and life satisfaction, alleviating negative thoughts associated with symptoms of depression" (Posadzki et al, 2011).

 "A small incidence of inflammation in the body is known to supercharge inflammation in the brain, e.g. anxiety and depression" (Spring, 2021).

"A loop of healing can be created using positive touch and talking to simultaneously access the emotions and the power of the mind" (Pert, 2017).

"Manipulation of fascia in the foot can help reverse ... inflammation in the body, relieve pain in the musculo-skeletal system, improve quality of sleep as well as having a positive effect in management and improvement of symptoms across a range of conditions" (Whatley et al, 2022). 

References

Shobeiri F, Manoucheri B, Parsa P, Roshanaei G. (2017). Effects of Counselling and Sole Reflexology on Fatigue in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial.  11(6): QC01–QC04. PMID: 28764252 cited February 2024 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5535443/

Young M L Young R Y. (2017). Effects of Combined Foot Massage and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on the Stress Response in Middle-Aged Women. Randomized Controlled Trial. PubMed (nih.gov) 23(6):445-450. PMID:28467116 cited February 2024 www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28467116/

Wang WL, Hung HY, Chen YR, Chen KH, Yang SN, Chu CM, Chan YY. (2020). Effect of Foot Reflexology Intervention on Depression, Anxiety, and Sleep Quality in Adults: A Meta-Analysis and Metaregression of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Sep 15;2020:2654353. doi: 10.1155/2020/2654353. PMID: 33014101; PMCID: PMC7512096.   - cited February 2024 www.reflexologycanada.org/en/reflexology-research/#General%20Reflexology%20 

Posadzki P, Bhurke S. (2011). Incorporation of Massage into Psychotherapy: An Integrative and Conjoint Approach. 10.1007/s11655-011-0633-2. Chinese journal of integrative medicine cited February 2024 www.researchgate.net/publication/50352560_Incorporation_of_Massage_into_Psychotherapy_An_Integrative_and_Conjoint_Approach

Spring C, 2021. Mental Health and the Body: treating trauma. https://www.carolynspring.com/online-training/shop/mhatb-online-training/ 

Pert, C. (1998). Molecules of Emotion. London: Simon & Schuster

Whatley J, Perkins J, Samuel C. (2022). Reflexology: Exploring the mechanism of action. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice,Volume 48,101606,ISSN 1744-3881, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101606 cited February 2024 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1744388122000743

The Practice Rooms, 57-59 High Street, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, BS9 3ED

Type of session

In person

Types of client

Young people
Adults
Older adults

Key details

DBS check

In England and Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly known as CRB) carry out criminal records checks for individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children. To find out more, visit gov.uk , or contact this professional directly

The Practice Rooms at Westbury on Trym have a ground floor and first floor with no lift. Please state if you'd prefer a ground floor room for access needs.

Amanda Collard
Amanda Collard