Dr Sally Pears
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
Life is challenging – it’s not easy. My aim as a therapist is to help my clients increase their ability to cope with life’s challenges and to live vital and meaningful lives.
I offer confidential face-to-face counselling and psychotherapy in the Cherry Hinton area of Cambridge. My standard fee is £70 for a 50minute session. I offer brief (less than 20 sessions), and long-term (20+ sessions) therapy. I work with adults and young people (16yrs+) experiencing a range of difficulties, such as:
- Anxiety
- Body image
- Depression
- Disordered eating
- Exam stress
- Feeling sad
- Health anxiety
- Low confidence
- Low self-esteem
- Loss of meaning and purpose
- Procrastination
- Relationship issues
- Self-harm
- Sleep problems
- Social anxiety
- Stress
I do not believe that one type of therapy is the right fit for everyone. I, therefore, practice from an integrative therapy approach, which means that I incorporate various evidence based techniques from different schools of psychotherapy and adapt my therapeutic approach for each individual and their particular situation. My core orientation is humanistic-existential psychotherapy, but I also incorporate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
A basic assumption of ACT is that suffering is a normal and unavoidable part of human experience and that it is actually people's attempts to control or avoid their own painful experiences that leads to much long-term suffering and what doesn't work in people's lives. ACT helps people learn ways to let go of the struggle with pain, be more mindful, get clarity on what really matters to them, and to commit to living full, vibrant lives. The goal of therapy is not to eliminate certain parts of one's experience of life, but rather to learn how to experience life more fully, without as much struggle, and to live a rich, full and meaningful life.
I believe that what is unique about my approach is it is about much more than the problem of human suffering – it’s about reaching beyond suffering to the larger purpose of people's lives and helping them get active in really living.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am an Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP). Registration Number: 361158.
Qualifications:
- PhD Psychology – University of Nottingham, UK.
- MSc Physical Activity and Health – Loughborough University, UK.
- BSc (Hons) Psychology – University of Nottingham, UK.
- Level 4 Diploma in Counselling – AIM Awards.
Training & experience
I have studied and worked in the field of psychology, wellbeing, and behaviour change for the past eighteen years. Before training and qualifying as therapist, I completed a BSc and PhD in Psychology from the University of Nottingham, and I worked for many years as a behaviour change researcher.
As a practitioner it is vital to keep expanding my knowledge and understanding. I do so by attending continuing professional development courses and workshops, and staying informed about recent developments and research in psychology, psychotherapy, and counselling. Recent workshops have included:
- PESI UK Psychedelics in Therapy: MDMA, Psilocybin, Ketamine, Micro-Dosing & More (Online Course) 2022
- NICABM How to Apply Mindfulness to Your Clinical Work 2021
- Focused ACT for Brief Interventions 2021
- NICABM How to Work with the Part of Trauma That Can’t Be Verbalized 2021
- The Therapy Relationship in ACT 2020
- Clinical Applications of Polyvagal Theory in Trauma Treatment 2020
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Immersion 2020
- NICABM Working with the Pain of Abandonment 2019
- Inside This Moment: Using Mindfulness in ACT to Promote Radical Change 2019
- Focusing on the Meaning and Development of the Therapeutic Relationship: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Evolution Science 2019
- ACT Boot Camp: Praxis Continuing Education and Training 4 days 2019
- NICABM Working with Clients Who Feel "Never Good Enough" 2018
- NICABM How to Work With Shame 2018
- Mastering ACT - Advanced Skills Workshop 2018
- Yalom and the Art of Psychotherapy 2018
- NICABM Treating Trauma Master Series 2017
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Anxiety and Depression 2017
- Working with Addiction 2017
- Working with Body Image Dissatisfaction 2016
- CRUSE Awareness in Bereavement Care 2016
- Attachment Therapy 2016
- Working with Death and Other Existential Issues 2015
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Procrastination
Disordered Eating
Loss of meaning and purpose
Exam stress
Body image dissatisfaction
Self-worth and self-esteem
Loneliness and isolation
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£70.00 per session
Additional information
My fee is £60 for a 50-minute session (including the initial consultation).
When I work
I offer a range of morning, lunchtime, afternoon, and early evening sessions on weekdays.
Further information
* I aim to respond to all enquiries within 3 working days. If you have not received a reply from me within this time, please check your junk/spam email folder.
