Sheila Pope
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
What is counselling?
Are you having difficulties with your relationships? Do you feel unsatisfied, distressed or unhappy? I am passionate about understanding how the jigsaw puzzle pieces of relationships fit together; what happens when you come into contact with another person, how does their behaviour impact on you, what effect do you have on them? I want to understand why our puzzle pieces have their particular shape, how we fit together and what benefits and problems that fit gives us. Counselling is a place to explore these and many other questions; it gives you the chance to find out about yourself, the choices you've made, your relationships with others and with yourself. Once you've discovered more about who you are and how you fit in the picture, you can decide whether you want to redesign your piece of the puzzle.
How counselling can work for you:
I work with adults one-to-one either short-term or long-term. A short series of sessions can highlight what's going wrong in your relationships and causing you anxiety or depression and start you thinking about what you want out of life and how to get your needs met. Working over a longer period will enable you to understand more deeply why you relate to others in a particular way and how your problems developed in the first place. This means you'll be better able to support yourself when you make changes in the future. Long-term work is also suitable for those who want to learn more about themselves and their patterns of behaviour, thinking and feeling or who want to take stock at a particular stage of their lives.
Please see my video (link below) which explains how I think counselling can be helpful to you.
About me
I am a registered member of the BACP in private practice since 2004. I am insured and receive regular supervision; I maintain a continuing professional development programme. For three years I was the Chair of Sussex Counselling and Psychotherapy, a local body of practitioners. I worked in a hostel for the homeless for 4 1/2yrs and provided counselling services at a support centre for people with learning disabilities for 2 1/2yrs.
What to do next:
If you want to explore what counselling can do for you, please contact me. We will arrange to meet for an initial assessment session to see if we feel comfortable working together. We can then decide how many sessions we feel is appropriate for you. Daytime appointments are available, also an evening session and an early Saturday morning appointment. I can see clients in the mid-Sussex area face to face or through Zoom with clients from any location. I also work with clients in person outdoors in a natural setting using one of the local green spaces. After an initial session or two to clarify your goals, we can meet in one of the local nature reserves.
You can find out more about me on my Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Sheila-Pope-Counsellor-235238193336152/?jazoest=2651001228912079566799122458910053113881071054510510210366877975107697680509811811810584529510086117501091047665586510012211690122708850757171675084505311668727776487887121531219966111685173111109767410210811912283738281
Training, qualifications & experience
My qualifications are:
- CPCAB Advanced Certificate in Therapeutic Counselling (2002)
- BACP Accredited Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling (2003) - integrative model
- Foundation Certificate in Transactional Analysis Theory (2013)
- In total, 4 years' training in Transactional Analysis theory and practice (including a year's psychotherapy training)
Transactional Analysis is a set of theories which can be used to help us understand our behaviour, thoughts and feelings. I am happy to share TA ideas with you so that you can use these tools to understand yourself better and make up your own mind about the changes you wish to see in your life.
I worked for 4 1/2yrs as a volunteer at a hostel for the homeless and have been in private practice since 2004. I provided the counselling services to clients at a local centre offering support to adults with learning disabilities from Sept 2015 to March 2018. I also co-facilitated a Death Cafe for two years: (https://deathcafe.com/)
I have also taken training in Ecotherapy - working with clients outdoors.. This allows us the chance to be creative and adds a different energy to sessions. This year I'm planning to run outdoor group workshops where participants can explore their issues and take time to learn about their own way of being in a natural setting.
I hold a current certificate in Outdoor First Aid.
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.
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
- Ecotherapy - exploring your connection to the natural world. We can get so overwhelmed with work, families and our busy lives that we forget how to simply “be”. It can be easier to discover and connect to ourselves again when we feel the ground under our feet and the wind on our faces.
- Death - it can be so hard to discuss this with those closest to us. You can use your counselling sessions to explore what life and death mean for you and how to make the most of your future.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£49.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I charge £25 for an initial assessment session; this will enable us to decide if we are comfortable working together. Further appointments cost £49; all sessions are 50mins. Payment can be made at each session (in cash or by cheque) or by bank transfer. When working long-term, payment for a block booking of sessions can be arranged. In the view of the current financial situation, when many people's income is under pressure, I have some flexibility with my fees. Cancellations with less than 24hrs notice will be charged for unless we can re-arrange.
When I work
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Mondays and Wednesdays during the day; unfortunately my Monday evening slot is currently occupied. For short-term work, another evening could be arranged. Also Saturday mornings at 9am.
Further information
I co-facilitated a Death Cafe (https://deathcafe.com/) for two years in the Mid-Sussex area. These meetings gave participants the chance to say the unsayable - those things which their nearest and dearest couldn't or didn't want to hear. None of us lives for ever - how does knowing that fact affect how you live? What do you regret from your past? How will you spend the time still available to you in the future? How can you live today, in the present, so that you will look back in your last days and be content with how you used your time? Facing your mortality can give you a new perspective on life, helping you to decide how you want to live in the here and now - while you still can. We can explore these things in our counselling sessions - this could be your chance to make changes that will bring fulfilment to your life, before it's too late.
