Judith Schuepfer-Griffin MBACP, BA Hons

Broadmoor Lane Weston Bath Avon BA1 4LA View map
01225 460 674 / 07901750524 Click here to Email me

Profile

If you are thinking of getting some counselling you might want to know how it actually works. All counsellors are different and work in their individual ways. This is how I do it: Our first personal contact will probably be by phone or by email or text. We will then meet for a free half hour assessment. There is free parking right outside my house and there are also buses every fifteen minutes that stop at a five minute walking -distance. For you this first meeting is to find out whether you like me or not and feel comfortable with me or not and whether I work in a way that suits you. For me this is to find out what brings you here and what your expectations are, whether you’ve had counselling before or not, and to explain to you about confidentiality, cost, duration of sessions etc. We then both go away, have a think and a feel, and then decide whether we would like to work with the other person. Once we have decided to go ahead together we will find a time-slot on which we are both free every week. If this is not always possible we can make appointments from week to week. If you find yourself in the middle of a major crisis we can meet twice a week until you feel that once a week would be enough. Otherwise we will meet weekly for at least six sessions. It takes a bit of time to get to know, and connect with, each other. After six sessions we can review our work together and see what changed since we started and where we want to go from here. Some clients want to focus on a certain problem or situation and once this has changed they want to stop. Others might be struggling with an existential crisis and want to go deeper in which case the work can be open-ended or until the client finds him- or herself on solid ground again and feels that they can go it alone from here.

I don’t work after one certain method. It’s more like having a tool box with lots of different tools in it and using the one that seems appropriate for this client in this session: Some clients mainly want to talk things through and understand what’s actually happening to them. Others have a talent for working with dreams and imagination; again others might want to learn to communicate in a more effective way or how to deal with emotions that cause them problems like anger or depression, or they suffer from physical symptoms and body-focussing may be helpful to them. As persons we are equals and we are creating this process of change together. It’s not for me to tell you what to do or to give you all the answers. Your Inner Self knows what needs to happen to make your life better and more fulfilling, and through this process the answers will emerge. It’s all there! The treasure lies within you. Together we can find out how to unearth it.

It can be quite scary to take that first step and contact a therapist. It can feel like crossing a threshold. Maybe we have admitted to ourselves that we could do with some support but to make that phone call means that we admit it to another person as well. This is not easy since most of us have learned that we should be able to cope on our own and that admitting to needing help is a weakness. I think that asking for support is a courageous thing to do; it's the first step to sharing the burden and making our lives better! We may battle with too much anger, a mighty energy which can cause a lot of trouble and destruction in our lives and relationships. But this powerful energy could also be used in a positive, constructive way. We just need to find out how to do that, and this we can do in therapy.

Or we may feel down a lot of the time, sad, depressed, and life may seem quite pointless at times. We have no energy, can hardly get out of bed most days; we feel heavy and exhausted by our struggle to get through the days. Nothing seems to cheer us up and we seem trapped in darkness and loneliness. Many things can be at the root of depression and it is possible to find that root. First we can find it, learn to understand it and then change it and improve the way we feel and live our lives.

The same goes for addiction: There is always a reason for addiction; there may be something in us that we need to numb because it is too painful to face on our own, or there is something important missing in our lives and we can't bear life without some kind of substance that makes it all a bit more tolerable. I have worked with an Alcohol and Drug Agency and there are many things that can be done to help a person to free themselves from the hard grip of addiction and to get better.

Or we may have lost a loved one and don't know how to cope and to live without that person. Bereavement can be cruel, and it is not necessary to go through all that pain on our own. It is helpful to share this difficult experience with another human being and to tell somebody who is able to really listen, about the person we lost. We may even have conflicting emotions: grief, pain, but also anger about being left behind, or guilt and regret because there were some things unspoken, unfinished. It is possible to work through all these emotions and to find the strength to carry on living without that person. We can even learn how to make peace with the person who is physically no longer with us, and so find inner peace for ourselves as well.

In the 1980s I trained in Transactional Analysis (all about how we communicate) and Bioenergetics (how Body, Mind and Soul affect each other). Later I have undertaken further training in Integrative Therapeutic Counselling which includes working with issues in the present, understanding how our past still affects us today, and supporting clients to discover and realise their potential so that they can become who they could be and develop into mature, complete persons. Live is not about becoming perfect, it's about becoming whole, complete.

For me this is the most important work there is: to be totally present with a person, to get to know them more and more, to deeply listen and to be there with them on their quest for better relationships with others and themselves, for more understanding and meaning, for a happier and more fulfilling life.

If it suits the client I also like to work with dreams, visualisation and Active Imagination. This way of working often results in surprising insights and improvements.

I believe that client and counsellor are equals as persons, working together to improve the client’s quality of life.

I see it as my role as a counsellor to support the client in her/his quest. I make suggestions and offer guidance but the client decides whether s/he wants to take them up.

Our work together is confidential. I offer a warm Welcome to you and a safe, confidential space in which difficult issues can be explored and where you won't be judged, whatever you bring to our sessions.

I can offer counselling in English, German and Swiss German.

Training, Qualifications & Experience

- CPCAB Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Training in Transactional Analysis and Bioenergetics
- Experience in working with addiction
- Diploma in Classical Massage
- BA (Hons) Fine Art
- I am a Member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists BACP

Areas of counselling I deal with

Other areas of counselling I deal with

Problems with Menopause
Life: Is this it? What's it all about?
Physical Symptoms / aches and pains

Therapies Offered

Psychoanalytical and Psychodynamic

Psychodynamic Therapy

Humanistic Therapies

Person-Centred Counselling

Gestalt Therapy

Transactional Analysis

Transpersonal Psychology

Psychosynthesis

Existential Therapy

Other Therapies

Integrative

Fees

£ 35.00 per Session (50 minutes)
First Session (30 minutes) free.

Further Information

Some things in life are truly mysterious but many of them needn’t be.

Once we decide to take a proper look at them they can be understood and changed. Usually we try to change things outside of us, other people, a different house, a new car. We think: “If this person would be different, then I could be happy.”Or: “If I had a different house, a bigger, better car, a new TV or a new handbag I would feel better.”
Sometimes these things do help but often it doesn’t work for very long. It may distract us for a while until we realise that we still feel the same emptiness, restlessness or frustration, the same loneliness, sadness or powerlessness. Then we need to look deeper and counselling can help with this.