Gail Venables MBACP Accred.

Leominster Hereford HR6	Presteigne Powys LD8
01544 350384 www.cbtgail.co.uk Click here to Email me

Profile

Hello! I am a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist offering help for depression, anxiety, panic and many other problems (please see below).

I work in Hereford, Leominster and the Presteigne area.

I also offer Counselling to individuals on most issues, plus Couple Counselling and Relationship Counselling (also see below).

I hope you find the following information useful.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) actively challenges thoughts and behaviour patterns and works towards positive changes with a focused and problem- solving approach, providing strategies for coping with life beyond therapy. It is based on the theory that the way we think and behave has a direct effect on our mood, and our ability to cope with all that life throws at us.

CBT helps us to understand our lives better, and teaches us techniques to challenge and change old patterns, relieving distress and building resilience. It can help us break out of the vicious cycles that keep us where we don’t want to be.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can help with:- Anger issues, Anxiety and Panic attacks, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Eating Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Phobias, Relationships, Self-harm, Stress Management and much more!

CBT involves:- Working in a focused and problem solving way. The therapy aims to be time-limited, with an end in sight. This can keep the cost down.

Working together to understand your difficulties. I work alongside you, focusing on your goals for change. I do not impose interpretations or judgements, but help you come to a better understanding of your life, actively looking for solutions to your problems and/or working towards acceptance.

Challenging negative thoughts and behaviour, helping you to replace them with new and more helpful ways of being. I will help you understand why you think and behave as you do and support you in working towards a happier self.

A flexible approach to your needs. Whilst working in a focused way for day to day problems, CBT can take time to look at the roots of your distress, often from your childhood and/or family of origin. This increased understanding can help you to break free from the power of the past, giving you new choices.

Relationship counselling is for those wishing to find someone 'special' but have lost confidence or have some issues to work through from previous relationships. It gives you the opportunity to try and understand what has gone wrong in the past and helps you prepare for the future in a positive way. Maybe you know what went wrong, or this is going to be your first relationship for some time? We can look at your hopes and fears, work on increasing your confidence or write an advert for a dating column! It’s up to you!

The counselling is led by your needs and we work together to help you towards your goals. An informal assessment session would help you decide in what ways counselling might help. You may just want 2 sessions to work through a particular issue, or you may want 10 or more.

I can work with you on issues of loss, rejection, anger, sex, self esteem, anxiety, sexuality, assertiveness, domestic abuse, body image and more!

Counselling can offer you the chance to explore and understand your feelings, and give you the time and space to talk, without feeling judged. Sharing your distress can bring relief, lighten the load and help you come to terms with your worries, moving towards acceptance and/or change.

Counselling can help with any concerns/worries that you have, including issues of sexuality, bereavement and sexual abuse.

The number of sessions you will need may depend on the problems that you face.

It may be that you wish to have counselling to get you through a particular time in your life, a bereavement or problems at work. It might be that you have re-occurring issues that you would like to work through. Counselling will go at your pace and you can choose to have just a few sessions, 10 weekly sessions or 100!

Training, Qualifications & Experience

I am an accredited counsellor (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy - BACP) and have been counselling in Herefordshire since 2004. I have a Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and am also a qualified Couple Counsellor. I have experience of working with adults, couples, families and young people.

I have been working as a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist for Powys Health Board for the past 18 months. I have recently worked at Mediation Herefordshire as a Child and Family counsellor and for Herefordshire relate and CLD Youth Trust.

MBACP(Accred).

Post Graduate Diploma CBT 2009

Graduate Certificate in Couple Counselling 2004

UKRCP Reg. Ind. Counsellor

B.A. Social Science 1986