Paul Schofield
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I know that seeking out a counsellor can be no easy task, and if you're reading this it's possible that you may have just had enough with feeling the way that you do.
Sometimes we all need support in finding a way through, and in offering that support I bring the depth of my expertise and experience as a counsellor. I work with warmth, compassion and integrity, and a genuine desire to help a person tackle the particular difficulties facing them (see my video below).
I have some 20 years experience in supporting clients of all ages and from diverse backgrounds, providing short and long term therapy on a very wide range of issues.
Following an initial free telephone conversation I offer a one-off meeting at a reduced rate for you to get a feel of what it's like to work with me, and for me to assess if I can potentially assist you. If I think I can help, you may to choose to have further sessions, or take time to reflect on if you would like to do this.
I work both from my home in central Ilkley in West Yorkshire (just off The Grove) and also from a consulting room in a therapy clinic in Leeds. Both spaces offer a confidential, calm space to talk.
At my Ilkley address there is free parking on the street and a main car park a couple of minutes walk from the house. Five minutes walk from Ilkley Metro Station. The Leeds consulting room has some free parking on surrounding streets.
How can Counselling help me?
Talking problems through with loved ones, friends or family may sometimes be what is needed, but this might not always be possible or even appropriate.
Working with someone who is trained to deal with psychological (and sometimes associated physical) distress offers the chance for a person to gain a greater understanding of themselves and their problems, in dialogue with the Counsellor. This confidential conversation can potentially help us to see things that we haven't previously been aware of, to view things from a new perspective and open up new choices.
There is rarely a ‘one size fits all’ solution, but Counselling can sometimes offer concrete and specific ways to approach problems such as low self-esteem, worry, anxiety and depression. I may therefore at times also offer suggestions, information and advice, and in this I'm informed by an up-to-date understanding of how certain problems occur and perpetuate.
Equally, sometimes the relationship developed with a Counsellor may itself play a central role in repairing old hurts, in changing the way we feel about ourselves, and also as a result our relationships with others. It is the willingness of both parties to explore the problem which can produce the solution, and in this I bring my skills,knowledge and experience, warmth and compassion.
Training, qualifications & experience
Diploma in Professional Integrative Counselling, BACP Accredited course.
Postgraduate Certificate in Counsellor Supervision.
Diploma in Hypnotherapy - Academy of Advanced Changework.
BA (Hons) Philosophy & Sociology - Warwick University
I am a BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) Accredited and Registered Counsellor with 15 years’ experience in providing short and long term Counselling on a very wide range of issues. I work within the BACP Ethical Framework to provide Counselling which is non-judgemental, confidential and fully in the service of my client.
In addition to a private Counselling practice I worked for many years as a member of Kingston University Counselling Service with students and staff, as a Counsellor and Mental Health Advisor. I have also worked in the addictions field as a Counsellor for Kingston Addiction Support and Care Agency, and until late 2014 I worked as a Counsellor at the University of London Birkbeck College.
In my private and University work I support clients from all backgrounds and ages with a wide variety of problems, including anxiety and depression,panic attacks,relationship problems, low self-esteem, loss and bereavement, abuse issues, addiction, obsessive compulsive problems and phobias.
I trained as an Integrative Counsellor and I'm also influenced by other approaches such as Gestalt, and in particular the Human Givens model developed by the Psychologist Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell.
I'm interested in using what works, what is effective for a client, and I have also trained in Hypnotherapy, which I sometimes integrate within my Counselling practice.
Member organisations
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 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
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 - £60.00
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Initial consultation session £40.
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When I work
Weekday and evening availability
Further information
Weekday and evening availability
BUPA Registered Counsellor/Psychotherapist
