Sheila Woodall

Hello, and welcome to my profile on the Counselling Directory site. I hope this information and my personal website may help you choose a way forward. It can feel like a huge step when we decide to look for someone to help us with a personal challenge, and it's always a privilege for me to be invited to be that person. I am very happy to speak on the phone to discuss any concerns you may have, and also offer an initial session free of charge. This lets you share what's bothering you, ask any questions you may have about therapy, and explain what you want to achieve (if you know).

Following many years running a small family business, and having experienced first hand how valuable personal therapy can be, I trained as a psychotherapist in the North East of England. My accrediting body requires trainees to be in therapy themselves throughout their 7 year training, and as well as years of personal therapy I have a lot of group therapy experience. The value of this for clients is the huge range of human pain I have personal experience of. I mention this to help minimise the shame we often feel about our own problems and how we are struggling to manage them.

What I can offer:

I work in a room in my garden on a farm, in a beautiful rural setting, and offer a peaceful, confidential and totally non judgemental environment in which you can explore whatever issues have brought you to therapy. There is free parking and disabled access (call to discuss details), total privacy and easy access by foot or by bike.

My job is to help you make sense of whatever has brought here, whether you would describe it as pain, loss, or curiosity about yourself. We may explore connections between your current issues and difficulties you have experienced in the past, which can often lead to greater acceptance of the here and now, and awareness of change potential as well. Depression, trauma and loss are the most usual presentations, often leading to a feeling that life is too hard, that we are stuck, or even that life is not worth living.

My training was as an Integrative Therapist, which gives me a broad range of therapeutic models and tools to draw on. I am particularly interested in neuroscience and attachment theory. I am committed to Continuing Professional Development, and have recently completed an extensive training in working with Trauma. Trauma in this context means both what was done to us, and what wasn't done properly for us.   The training drew on the latest findings in working with symptoms such as PTSD, Anxiety and Dissociation. I have also trained to use EMDR as a trauma treatment and I’m especially enjoying working with a modified version created by Laurel Parnell.  Currently I am attracting a large number of neurologically diverse clients, mainly struggling with OCD and ADHD, and I’m especially enjoying the challenges of this work.  

How I Work:

I aim for complete honesty and transparency between us. I will bring everything I can into the room to support you. I use a lot of psychoeducation which lets you develop an intellectual understanding that often facilitates an emotional shift. I will be as flexible as I can to support you, working more than once a week, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, whatever works for you, your budget and your lifestyle.   I have a strong spiritual leaning which can be of especial interest to many of my clients. Ultimately I want you to experience change which will relieve your symptoms and also give you tools and techniques to improve your life on an ongoing basis.

I also offer supervision to qualified therapists.

How long do people come for?

This is entirely up to individual clients. Some people come in crisis and only for a few sessions, others come with long term deep seated issues, such as childhood sexual abuse, which is generally a lengthy reparative process. I have a lot of experience of many types of models, doing 3 session work for a large employer, 6 session work in the NHS, and I also have clients who have worked with me for some years. I aim to be available to you for as long as you want me.

Ideally we will work until you feel you have resolved the issues which brought you to me, and also you should feel more sure of who you are, with a stronger and more confident voice for yourself in the world.

Contact me and arrange a chat in person or on the phone, also feel free to check out my website. I offer concessionary fees for people on low incomes.   I am very flexible about session times, aiming to be respectful of peoples prior commitments.  

£65 per 60 minute session

Concessions available for low income clients and students.

I work adhering to the ethical codes of both UKCP and BACP.