Claire Wilson

**I AM AVAILABLE FOR  BOTH NEW CLIENTS AND SUPERVISEES **

I am currently offering LOW COST SUPERVISION until I qualify as a Supervisor in June 2024 **

**Please see my Supervisor profile**

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I offer both In Person and Online Counselling/Supervision:

In-person : Happy Body Project, West Park Farm, Wilstead Hill, Bedford, MK45 3RD.

Online - via Zoom (as well as Facetime, Whatsapp Video etc) and telephone

My Story

Hello and welcome to my profile. My name is Claire and I am a qualified Counsellor and registered member of the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy). I’d like to tell you a little bit about how I work and how we can work together. I offer face to face Counselling via the therapy rooms at The Happy Body Project (West Park Farm, Wilstead Hill, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK45 3RD), working with warmth, confidentiality and with no judgement or opinions, giving you a safe space to talk about difficulties and events in life. We can explore how you are feeling and perhaps work through your thought processes and support you to find your own solutions and move forward.

My Background

I previously worked at MIND BLMK, working with adult clients supporting positive mental health and wellbeing. Before this I worked as a Pastoral Support Officer within the Sixth Form of an Upper School, supporting teenagers aged 16-19. Prior to this, I worked in Human Resources, Recruitment and Customer Services, but I knew for a long time that I was destined to be a counsellor because I’ve always liked to help and support people.

I had some difficulties early on in life and went through a sudden bereavement (loss of a parent) and a very traumatic relationship, resulting in me experiencing depression and anxiety. Like many people do, I just tried to move forward and get on with life and told myself that other people faced worse things. It wasn’t until I went through a very difficult relationship breakup in my mid twenties that I had short-term counselling and found it extremely useful to have a safe, non judgemental place to just talk about me and how I was feeling. I had just 6 sessions and although it was very much focused on the current relationship breakdown, I started to realise that this was just a symptom of much bigger things that I’d never really spoken about. Since then, I’ve had counselling several times and worked through a number of life’s curveballs.

If I could talk to my younger self, I would encourage her to seek help sooner. I think it’s often human nature to struggle alone for too long as I think the voice in our heads can be a little unkind when we are facing difficulties. Talking through things in a safe, friendly environment can be life changing and I feel very lucky to be a Counsellor who sees such wonderful changes in clients.

I believe that my own ongoing personal growth and professional knowledge is important to our work together therefore I attend regular Continual Professional Development training and also continue to have therapy myself.

Why Come To Counselling?

Talking is a helpful way of expressing how we feel, and helps us work through the things we are facing. It can be of great benefit to talk to friends and family, often the feelings we have and issues we face involve our friends and family, and being open and honest might cause them to have an emotional reaction, or to be impacted in some way. So, sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger, i.e. a counsellor such as myself. I will help you to look at your problems in a different way. I will respect you and your opinions, whatever you tell me, there will be no judgment. Whilst talking doesn’t make your problems go away, it will help make them easier to cope with and enable you to feel happier.

What Kind Of Counselling Do I Offer?

I am trained in Person Centered Counselling and use this as my core approach, although I do use CBT on occasion. Person Centred is a bit like a therapeutic car journey. You, the client, are always in the driving seat and I, the counsellor, am always sat beside you. You’re always in charge of which way we go, i.e. what you’d like to talk about, but if you get stuck, you won’t be alone and together we can help you to make sense of whatever you are facing. I believe in an individual’s ability to grow and develop in a way that is best for them.

Although I do have a specialism of working with Anxiety, being Person Centred means that I am trained to work with whatever you bring to the therapy room. Whilst there’s often a reason for seeking therapy, the session time is entirely yours; we can talk about whatever you want – it’s your time. I have experience in working with anxiety and overthinking, depression, stress, relationship issues, loss, trust issues, sexual issues, trauma, childhood sexual abuse, eating disorders and addiction to name but a few.

Specialist Area

I specialise in working with anxiety. Through my own struggles (with anxiety and depression), which started in my youth, I have learned to understand Anxiety and manage the symptoms that all too frequently can make us feel overwhelmed. In my experience, the dreaded overthinking and anxiety are like best friends and regularly hang out together. Unfortunately, it’s never fun when these 2 get together and the result can be that you’re left feeling overwhelmed and struggling with low mood. Certainly, that’s been my experience, and the more I work with Anxiety in the counselling room, the more I see this happen.

Sessions

Once you’ve made contact with me, we will arrange a first session, which will include an Assessment. This session is a little longer (around an hour), but is charged at the standard session rate. I offer face to face Counselling via the therapy rooms at The Happy Body Project (West Park Farm, Wilstead Hill, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK45 3RD). There are some pictures of the rooms I use there. The Wellness Centre has a receptions area so you are welcome to come in adn help yourself to a drink before your session starts. There is plenty of off-road parking available for your convenience.

It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous about coming along for the first time; I know I always feel a little nervous when I meet new clients. As previously mentioned, the first session is generally around an hour, and there’s a little paperwork to complete, but I will email this to you in advance, so this admin part doesn’t take very long. We will then talk about your reasons for coming to therapy and if there’s anything, in particular, you’d like to use the time for. During this session, my main aim is to put your mind at ease and help you start your therapeutic journey.

The number of sessions you’ll want or need is an individual thing. Short term therapy is usually considered to be around 8 sessions, but for many the journey is different and we can talk about what you’d like to achieve and how long it might take when we meet. Weekly sessions are considered to be the best frequency to come to counselling, but we can discuss different ways of working to suit you.

Getting in touch...

Any questions at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch by phone, email, text or WhatsApp - whatever method suits you.

Counselling Sessions (50 minutes) - £65 In person/£55 Zoom 

First Counselling Session and assessment – (60 minutes) - £65 In person/£55 Zoom 

As I have been DBS checked, I can offer on-site school student counselling sessions School Counselling (60 minutes) - from £60. Reductions are available for day rate work (multiple students).

Payment is by any of the following: cash, bank transfer, or by debit or credit card as I have a card machine. (During Covid-19, payments can still be made via my card machine by sending you a link).

I have experience working with Adults, young people and children. I currently work in both Middle and Upper Schools as a School Counsellor.

I previously worked in a Pastoral role within an Upper School as well as with MIND BLMK supporting clients with mild to moderate mental health issues.

Please find my website at www.cnwcounselling.co.uk for more details about me, counselling and where sessions will be held.

Any questions at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch by phone, email, text, WhatsApp - whatever method suits you.

Claire.