Hari Shergill

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Counsellor & Supervisor BSc PgDip MBPsS MBACP [Accred] UKRCP Reg
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 4AA
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

I am an experienced accredited counsellor/psychotherapist and supervisor with experience in both clinical and private settings. I use various therapeutic approaches dependent on clients needs and can help with a wide range of issues.

What is Counselling/ Therapy?
Counselling/Therapy offers you  a safe, confidential and exploratory space  to talk about your current problems or concerns. The counselling environment  is an ideal place in which you can explore the confusing, painful or uncomfortable difficulties you are experiencing ,consider them from various perspectives, develop insight and work toward improving things in your life.

Therapeutic Approaches
I use various therapeutic approaches dependent on your needs. These approaches are Cognitive Behavioural Techniques (CBT), Psychodynamic Therapy, Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy and Mindfulness.

CBT
The core of CBT is that one’s emotional and rational behaviour are strongly influenced by thoughts, beliefs and meanings (cognitions). Meanings in this context are the way an event is interpreted and so understood by the individual; different cognitions elicit different emotions. CBT can help in teaching a client how certain thinking patterns are causing psychological/emotional difficulties and how to manage connections between stressful situations and habitual reactions. Therapy focuses on how the client interprets events, the resulting behaviour and why now this behaviour is causing problems i.e. exaggerated responses. For some clients, CBT can provide the tools to think more clearly and calmly and can help improve better decision making. CBT has been effective for stress-related ailments, phobias, obsessions, eating disorders and depression (sometimes in conjuction with drug treatments).

Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is an effective and proven evidence based therapy  and helps clients explore and consider how their past and present experiences may be linked. Difficult or painful feelings, difficult relationships and/or repeated patterns of behavior may be rooted in past experiences. Sometimes it is difficult to make the connection or understand why difficulties are being experienced. Exploring the past in terms of the present can help in developing a profound understanding of how past relationships or experiences and how we attach meaning and understanding to them, can affect the present. This approach also stresses the importance of the unconscious and past experience in shaping current feelings and behaviours. The client is encouraged to talk with their therapist about childhood relationships with parents and other significant people and the therapist focuses on the dynamics of the client/therapist relationship.Clients can then process their thoughts and feelings with a more useful perspective, empowering them to make positive change.

Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy
Existential psychotherapy and counselling is rooted in philosophical tradition as its framework as opposed to the traditional medical/diagnostic frame. Its aim is to understand and reflect on life. Existential therapy or counselling does not attempt to change clients in the traditional sense of behaviour. It makes no assumptions about the need or willingness to change because it is grounded in life itself, hence inviting reflection on client’s goals, intentions and attitudes toward life. We explore the inner conflict that a client may experience when confronted with some ultimate concerns in life. These include the inevitability of death, meaninglessness, existential isolation and freedom and its responsibilities. These four concerns form the foundations of existential psychotherapy and compose the framework in which a therapist interprets a client’s problem in order to develop a method to promote psychological/emotional wellness. Living and life are inextricably linked and the journey of discovering life’s limitations, boundaries and freedoms facilitate a client’s personal sense of self and sense of others. In essence, this mode encourages a wider perspective in therapy which is the difficulty of some of the dilemmas of existence (living).

Mindfulness Approach
Mindfulness is a specific way of intentionally paying attention to one’s thoughts. It is based on the idea that one negative thought can trigger numerous negative thoughts. This approach encourages people to be aware of each thought, enabling the first ‘thought’ to be caught so that it is seen as just a thought and not a ‘fact’. It encourages people to become aware of themselves; of their experiences, their thoughts and feelings, moment by moment. This allows us to live in the present moment and to gain some perspective of the way we feel and behave.

My Approach/Philosophy
I employ a range of techniques based on experiential relationship building, dialogue, communication and behaviour change that are designed to improve the psychological/emotional health of a client. In my experience therapy is a creative and authentic process which has the potential to encourage personal growth for the client. Depending on my clients needs I may use one approach or integrate numerous approaches.

Training, qualifications & experience

My Experience
I gained my clinical experience within the NHS as a counsellor with the Psychological Therapy Service. I have worked in other settings such as charities and GP surgeries and I have been in private practice for a number of years.

I worked in the private sector for 15 years ending my career as an international coordinator and planner. I changed direction when I embarked on a degree in Cognitive Science. My work as in a NHS pain management clinic gave me an insight into the complexities of living. These experiences have led me to working in the mental and emotional well-being profession.

Accreditation


* Diploma in Integrative Supervision of Individuals and Groups
* British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Accredited (MBACP Accred) Counsellor     and Psychotherapist
* BACP Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (Cert No:24799)
* Registered Independent (UKRCP Reg Ind) Counsellor and Psychotherapist
* Post Graduate Diploma Counselling Psychology – Roehampton University London
* BSc (Hons) Cognitive Science - University of Hertfordshire

I am committed to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Counselling and Psychotherapy. I abide by the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the Code of Ethics and Conduct of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Member organisations

Registered / Accredited

Registered / Accredited

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
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

Other areas of counselling I deal with

Assertiveness, Bereavement, Borderline Personality Disorder Childhood Issues,  Divorce, Eating Disorders, Exploring Life & Living, Fear,  Lack of Meaning in Life, Living with Illness,  Loneliness, Mental Health, Narcissism, Neurosis, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder, Paranoia, Parent-Child Conflict, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Relationships Issues, Self Development, Separation and Loss, Sexual Abuse, Sexuality/Intimacy, Stress Management, Substance Abuse, Trauma, Unresolved Issues, Work Issues/Stress/Relationships.

Photos & videos

Fees

£70.00 per session
Free initial telephone session

Concessions offered for

  • Low income
  • Students
  • Trainee counsellors
  • Unemployed

Health Insurance/EAP

  • Aviva
  • Axa Health
  • Health Assured
  • Vitality
  • WPA

Additional information

Session Fees

Individuals: £60.00

Couples and families: £90.00

Each session is 60 minutes. Initial consultation is 1hr and 15minutes.

Concessions

There is also some availability for lower cost sessions, for people with lower incomes and for students.



Private Health Insurance
I am a registered provider with the following insurance companies*:

  • Aviva
  • Cigna
  • Pruhealth
  • SimplyHealth
  • WPA

*For clients claiming through private health insurance scheme. Rates may differ.


Cancellation Policy
Sessions can be cancelled, and will not be charged if more than 48 hours notice is given. 

When I work

Hertfordshire Wednesday to Friday.

Further information

Testimonials

Some recent comments from letters and cards of thanks:*

“Just a note to thank you for all the help and  encouragement you gave me during our sessions together. I really feel that I’ve moved from ‘I don’t think I can’ to ‘I’m sure I can’. The realisations that were uncovered were so unexpected and I feel a much stronger person now that I have a clearer idea of my own worth” Jocelyn

“I kept on waiting to send this thank you note as I was convinced I’d be back to see you ! I’ve even managed to surprise myself at how strong I’ve become and how much easier I find it to deal with life’s hiccups and that is all down to you. So thank you so very much….” Sara

"Thank you for your help with my problems. I didn't realise how much I had bottled up, now I don't feel as down and burdened" Ben

* Client names have been changed to ensure confidentiality

1 Stonecross, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 4AA

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone

Types of client

Young people
Adults
Older adults
Couples
Groups
Organisations
Employee Assistance Programme

Supervision

In person
Online
Phone

BSc (Hons), PgDip, MBPsS, MBACP [Accred], UKRCP Reg.

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