Wendy Neil

Many of us suffer at times with feeling inferior, inadequate or being in some way different to other people.  You may feel stressed, anxious, confused and uncomfortable, out-of-control, unsure of who you are, or what you want out of life.  Maybe you doubt your ability to handle day-to-day challenges, struggling through each day, or feel that you spend too much time and energy worrying about what other people think of you.

Counselling can help you develop yourself, your confidence, your sense of who you are, and your ability to live a full and meaningful life.  I can help you explore and lay to rest whatever is holding you back, and identify what you want for yourself and how to move forward.

Everybody's situation is different and we need different things at different times.  Some of the ways in which I can help are;

• Talking through your experiences to understand what you are feeling
• Discussing potential coping strategies, practical steps to help you move forwards and feel more in charge
• Identifying unknown causes and triggers, and improving self-awareness
• Exploring your past to gain insight into what's happening now
• Talking through strong emotions, explore where these are coming from
• Clarifying what you need in order to move forward
• Looking at strategies for improving confidence and self-esteem
• Helping you get a better sense of who you are as a person
• Exploring different ideas and perspectives on your situation
• Helping you gain clarity about your thoughts and feelings, enabling you to put things in order
• Thinking about positive change and what you want the next chapter of your life to look like.

Some of the issues I have helped people with in the past include; Bereavement, loss, illness, anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, trauma, abuse, stress, work-related stress, bullying, identity and self-esteem issues, life transitions, low mood, shame, anger, relationship/interpersonal difficulties.

I have a range of strategies and practical steps to help you move on from your current situation, to get to know and love yourself better, to improve confidence and feel positive about yourself and your life journey.  My core training is person-centered therapy, but I integrate ideas from other theories where it seems helpful or appropriate.  I can help and support you in learning more about yourself, and in making choices for yourself, in an accepting and non-pushy way. 

Prior to becoming a counsellor, I've worked in academia, the legal sector and IT support.  I grew up in a military family, so I've lived many places and met many people.  I chose to become a counsellor as I enjoy meeting people and - at the risk of cliche - wanted to do something that can really help make a difference to people's lives.  I consider myself quite a friendly, informal, open-minded and down-to-earth person, who takes an interest in the world, philosophy, people, politics, ideas - a wide variety of things really :) 

I offer two routes into therapy; one is the single-session approach, where we book just one session with the aim of getting the work done within that single session - but further sessions can be booked if needed.

The other route is the more conventional route, in that we book a first session with the understanding that you plan to engage in therapy on a longer-term basis - for clarity, by longer-term, I literally mean more than one session, it's very much up to you to decide how many sessions to have.  

If you'd like to find out more, please visit my website and/or contact me and I can send you further information about the different options.

Please feel free to call or email me for any further information or to check my availability.

From 1st January 2023 I have increased my fees in line with inflation, as follows;

Face-to-face appointments - standard rate £49.50
Remote appointments - standard rate £38.50
Face-to-face appointments - concessionary rate £38.50
Remote appointments - concessionary rate £27.50 

For Single-Session therapy:

Face-to-face appointments - standard rate £60.00
Remote appointments - standard rate £45.00
Face-to-face appointments - concessionary rate £45.00
Remote appointments - concessionary rate £35.00

Sessions are a full 60 minutes.