Michelle Brown

You may be considering counselling because you, or a friend or family member, are experiencing difficulties with some aspect of life. This may be depression, anxiety, lack of confidence or because of a bereavement. You may be struggling with bullying, a difficult relationship, anger issues, an addiction to drugs or alcohol or you may want to improve your work/ life balance, self-awareness or make a difficult decision.
You're not alone- these are the kind of concerns which often bring people to counselling and it's very successful in helping to overcome these issues and achieve personal goals.

Choosing a counsellor you feel comfortable with and who has the right approach and skills to help you is really important . As a qualified teacher and counsellor, with over 15 year's experience of therapeutic work in schools, colleges and mental health settings, I bring a broad range of experience and knowledge to my work, as well as a non-judgemental attitude and a professional, but friendly approach, suited to both adults and children.

I work together with my clients, to develop a clear understanding of their situation, how it's affecting them and what they want to do. I may use different counselling approaches, depending on what is best-suited to the client (this is called an Integrative approach).

The benefits of using my service are that I can offer you some time and confidential space to explore any concerns you may have with someone who can listen without judging, gain understanding of you as a person and help to decide what you would like to get out of counselling. This should enable you to deal with difficult situations in the most helpful way, Sometimes this is achieved by exploring new ways of thinking, feeling of behaving (this is known as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)

I am happy to employ creative methods where appropriate- I have puppets, sand tray, art materials or stories and these are particularly useful when working with any client who finds it difficult to express their feelings verbally and very popular with younger clients.

When working with children and young people, I am happy to talk with parents first, without their son or daughter present if preferred. This gives parents a chance to meet me, see the environment I work in, discuss their concerns and ask any questions.

Costs for Counselling sessions are as follows:

Adults £45 per session weekdays or £50 weekends & evenings
Children and young people/ concessions (unwaged) £35 per session,  £40 weekends & evenings
Costs for Supervision are £44 per hour or £30 concessions (unwaged)