Laurel Tester
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
How
Life is not a straightforward journey. At times it can feel like a downright struggle. You may find yourself at a cross road. Feeling stuck, or directionless. Sometimes family and relationships can trigger deep-seated issues and grief that make it hard to cope. If things currently feel confusing for you, therapy is a safe confidential space that your feelings can be unpacked and explored to bring clarity to your life, relationships, and experiences.
What to expect from a session:
The first few sessions will be an extended assessment period which will help me gauge your needs. You will share some of your background and the issues which have prompted you to seek counselling. During these first sessions while I am learning more about you, you will also get a feel for me and how I work as a therapist.
I offer both short-term (under 6 months) and open ended therapy (some people decide to undertake therapy for years) and we will discuss which would best suit your needs during the initial assessment.
In further sessions, we will explore the issues that you feel are relevant and potentially holding you back from a more fulfilled life.
Each session lasts 50 mins and are usually held weekly.
We will regularly review our work together and explore whether you are getting what you need from the therapy.
I am also able to offer online counselling through a safe and secure video platform if this is your preference.
About me:
At the core of my way of working, I bring a deep trust in each person's potential to grow and flourish. I work in a relational way, meaning I place a strong emphasis on the quality of connection we create together. My training background is Person Centre and Psychodynamically oriented, with further training in Group Analysis. My approach is highly here-and-now focused and I will aim to help you cultivate an embodied awareness of your momentary experiences including our therapeutic connection. I have experience working with people struggling through trauma, depression, anxiety and grief to name just a few. I currently do a lot of work with mothers wanting to overcome their own difficult childhood experiences. I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and am committed to my own practitioner development, regularly attending specialist training courses, keeping myself up to date in best practices and theories of counselling. I am trained in online counselling and can offer this as an alternative if this better suits your needs.
Training, qualifications & experience
- PGDip Psychodynamic Practice, University of Oxford
- PGCert Psychodynamic Counselling, University of Oxford
- FdSc, Person Centred at University of Worcester
- Foundation in Group Analysis, Institute of Group Analysis (IGA)
I have direct experience working with a range of issues including depression, anxiety, complex trauma, grief, sexual issues, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem and anger management. Before starting my private practice, I worked in an occupational health setting helping staff to overcome difficulties holding them back both at home and in the workplace.
Member organisations
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£85.00 per session
Additional information
Sessions are £85
I am occasionally able to offer concessionary rates which can be discussed during our first session.
When I work
Please contact me for my current availability.
