Chris Rudyard

Experience

It's always a good idea to check through your therapists' experience and training...There are many different qualifications and trainings so it can be quite confusing, even to therapists themselves.

ln my experience, there is usually no 'silver-bullet' therapy (for complex trauma certainly) for some people one therapy type seems enough, but being trained and experienced, I know most people benefit from an integration of therapies.. and talking only gets you part of the way..

Being trained in one model is like having one tool for many jobs. Some therapies are like a multi-tool - some are better than others in my opinion, it's like some have a better, more robust range of attachments. Some therapies provide a tight frame, while others are more broad, both can be useful at different times.

You'll hear people say it's the relationship that matters, yes and no. Sometimes a relationship that is too intimate, close, warm, which can create its own problems. This is the foundation of therapy for me, and I now know it takes much more than a good relationship too. E.g you have a good relationship with your surgeon - but it doesn't mean they will do a good job, or know how to help every part of your body.

What I've found is that 'trauma work' requires more than just acceptance, understanding and talking alone..

I have found that being trained in a number of approaches, has enabled me to help more & more to help people go further, and heal at a deeper level.

I have over 20 years of experience gained working within well-known services, with many people, from many kinds of backgrounds. This has expanded my knowledge, and stretched me personally and professionally, making me a flexible, robust and very experienced practitioner, but I won't say I'm any kind of 'super-therapist'. I found that services were often restrictive, which impacted on peoples' recovery, which is why I now only work on a private basis offering something very different to person centred counselling & cbt.

As well as my direct therapy work with individuals, I have provided training and consultation for organisations inc. schools around mental health matters.

My work and practice has been audited and passed by the BACP. This means I have met certain criteria required to evidence that I am ethical in my professional responsibilities as counsellor & psychotherapist. I am also an accredited member of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society.

I have also gained BACP Accredited status for organisations who struggled with this.

Prior to my own private practice I have extensive experience working for services which I stopped in 2017. Some of my experience:

*The Priory Therapy Centre & The Priory Residential Hospital Preston* - CQC regulated therapy service. Therapist/counsellor/psychotherapist/assessor - adults - anxiety & depression, BPD, dual diagnosis, drug & alcohol use, relationships, trauma & C/PTS(d). Short to longer-term work.

*Counsellor & psychotherapist* (Merseyside, Manchester, Salford, Wigan) - setting up counselling services within schools, providing counselling & therapy for: pupils, parents/carers, teachers & staff.

*Counselling & psychotherapy* - A BACP Accredited counselling service - A great deal of my work here encompasses short - long term working with both perpetrators and survivors. Common themes I helped with were: abuse, anger/anger management, 'BPD', dual diagnosis, domestic violence, family, personality, relationships, psychosis, PTS(d), schizophrenia & traumatic experiences. I worked for this counselling service for 6 years, which was funded with thanks to Wigan CCG/NHS.

*Counselling for Liverpool Ltd.* - Over 20 years experience in Private Practice - working with people on a private basis providing counselling & psychotherapy for a range of personal issues. Short to long term work. Addiction, anxiety, relationships, and trauma & C/PTSD. Training & Supervision have also been provided.

*7 Employee assistance programs* - counselling employees from some of Liverpool's employers, and international employers. Telephone & face to face - Adults counsellor/therapist - short-term work (6-8 weeks). Trauma debriefing, intervention, and Management Supervision. I also completed triage mental health assessments and risk assessments on a daily basis.

*Government departments & officials* - I have worked with staff of government departments such as The Home Office, Dept for Education, Dept for Health, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence. I have provided coaching, counselling, crisis/trauma intervention, management support/supervision and psychotherapy to these persons.

*Insurance companies* - I have provided counselling for several large insurance companies who refer people for help with experiences of trauma, accidents and injury

*Counsellor* Inc. for children, parents/carers with experience of trauma - funded by Wigan local authority

*Counsellor & Mental Health Practitioner* - Manchester - mental health assessments & counselling sessions for people with experience of trauma, and substance use. Funded by NHS/CCG

*Relate - The Relationship People* - North & South Greater Manchester - Counsellor & Psychotherapist.

*Face to Face charity* - Manchester -adults counsellor for those with low/no income - voluntary

*Bereavement & Palliative Care Counsellor - Hospitals, medical centres, GP clinics - bereavement, cancer, life-threatening illness, and trauma - Trafford NHS & Macmillan Centre

*Mental health advice/support helplines* - triage assessments, supporting people in crisis, advising professionals & carers on mental health matters.

*Online advice & support* for concerns around self-harm - TheSite.org, now called: themix.org.uk

*GP's surgeries & NHS clinics* - counselling, psychotherapy & mental health assessments across Manchester & Wigan

*Therapeutic residential units, residential homes & schools* for people of all ages with moderate-severe Epilepsy, learning & social difficulties including those who have a diagnosis of ASC/Asperges/Autism. Inc The David Lewis Centre.

*Residential/assessment units*, leaving care units for those with 'dual-diagnosis, diagnosed, undiagnosed, awaiting assessment for mental illnesses. Bury, Cheshire, Wirral, Wigan, Manchester.

*Substance misuse counsellor* - NHS/CCG. Working with those using drugs/alcohol, or those relationships affected.

*Suicide prevention* - national charity - providing guidance to professionals & carers. Supporting and intervening with people in crisis, and those experiencing suicidal ideation, and who are actively in the process of suicide.

*The Samaritans* - 2 years 2002 - working with people in crisis, those who are feeling suicidal, and actively pursuing suicide. Telephone, and face to face - Manchester - voluntary

*BSP-UK* - I have assisted at many trainings including Introduction to Brainspotting, Brainspotting Phase 1, 2, 3, and, Brainspotting Online. I have worked in small to larger training groups of up to 100 professional counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, and other types of therapists.

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Professional Qualifications & Training

My training exceeds the minimum requirements to be able to provide counselling under the BACP & NCPS regulating bodies.

I have been audited by both the BACP & NCPS and passed this process twice.

I am trained in several approaches to therapy, IFS and somatic approaches are at the heart of my work. 

Only those who are properly trained in IFS Therapy by the IFS Institute can practice IFS, or call themselves an IFS Therapist. Always check anyone practicing IFS are trained at least in IFS lv1 by IFS Insitute . Same goes for DBR, EMDR, EMI, Brainspotting, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Lifespan Integration and AEDP.

My training has been gained through some of the most well-renowned trainers from around the world:

• AEDP - Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy - Lv1 AEDP Therapist. The Dyadic Repair of Attachment Trauma: Healing at the Edge of Transformational Experience. Immersion - AEDP is an evidence-based, experiential therapy, with thanks to Dr.Diana Fosher at AEDP Institute NYC. 
• EMDR/Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing Therapist - Lv 1, 2 & 3 This is a well-known therapy intervention for traumatic experience & complex trauma. EMDR can be quite an intensive treatment..and takes 100% commitment. EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy. Official training in EMDR UK & Ireland Accredited Course. With thanks to Dr. Derek Ferrell - Past president of Accrediting body EMDR UK & Ireland. Current Consultant, Accredited EMDR trainer & lecturer. Liverpool, UK. Find out more EMDR Therapy
• EMDR 2.0 An Enhanced Version of EMDR Therapy. EMD Bomb, Flash, Flash Forward, Mental Video Check. Thanks to Dr. Ad De Jongh & Dr.Suzy Matthijssen
• Brainspotting (Previously know as Natural Flow EMDR) Phase 1 - British Psychological Society approved training. Cutting edge, and gentle therapy for processing traumatic experiences, amongst other 'difficult to shift' experiences. This approach is also great if you don't want to talk about the problem in detail, BSP uses the integration of neuropsychology and mindfulness. With thanks to Dr. Mark Grixti. Birmingham & Manchester. Find out more: Brainspotting Therapy
  
• Brainspotting Phase 2 - British Psychological Society approved training. Enhanced BSP for complex trauma and a range of difficult to process experiences. I have successfully used BSP for addiction, anxiety, dissociative experiences, nightmares, phantom pain, PTSD, sex problems, and unexplained anxiety. With thanks to Dr. Mark Grixti. Brighton & Manchester, UK
• Brainspotting Phase 3 - BSP training. Fully adaptable, and enhanced BSP approach, able to be used for many 'difficult to process' trauma issues that impact on, creativity, dissociative identity, EGO states, performance, sports enhancement, and complex trauma & PTSD. With thanks to Dr. David Grand (New York), and Mario Salvador and team for hosting. Barcelona, Spain & London, UK
• Brainspotting Addictions & Trauma - Specialist treatment for all addictions. From chocolate, biscuits, crisps, through to cocaine, drug use, smoking, OCD, & self-harm. This approach incorporates attachment theory, neuroscience, and trauma. With thanks to Dr. Roby Abeles (Australia) - London, UK
• Brainspotting Masterclass - Enhanced training in the Brainspotting approach & theory. Working with deep-rooted complex trauma networks, and dissociation. With thanks to Dr. David Grand (New York) - Founder of Brainspotting - Barcelona, Spain
• Deep Brain Reorientating Lv1, 2 & 3 - a newer somatic therapy based on neuroscience, helps healing, integration, and attachment wounds. Developed by neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and therapist - Dr. Frank Corrigan
• Deep Brain Reorientating Whereself, some adaptations for DBR.
• DBR - Sudden Sound DBR
• EMI/Eye Movement Integration Level 1, Level 2 + Supervision - a specialised Neurotherapy designed to treat trauma & PTSD (distressing memory & experience). This is a hybrid of popular EMDR therapy, it integrates, NLP, metadata, and 24 different eye movements. With thanks to Eva Pollani (Austria) - She is Europe's lead EMI accredited trainer) - Bath, UK. Research http://www.academieimpact.com/pdf/struwig.pdf
• Ego State Therapy with EMDR - 'Parts' Therapy for trauma & C/PTSD from abuse, sexual abuse, and childhood dissociative and non-dissociative ego states with EMDR. With thanks to Robin Shapiro (Seattle, USA). Robin is author of EMDR Solutions 1 & 2, and Trauma Treatment Handbook) - London, UK Find out more: Ego State Therapy
• Cert IFS/Internal Family Systems - Intensive Lv1- This is the basic requirment needed to practice IFS Therapy. IFS Therapy is a therapy which helps you gain a better sense of Self, and gives a much greater awareness to personality. IFS is a robust theory of personality and is now recognised and evidenced therapy, particularly for trauma. IFS is the fastest growing therapy in the USA and is becoming much more popular in the UK amongst therapists, and non-therapists. IFS works with 'parts' and 'protective parts' of personality. IFS can be helpful to many challenging personality presentations, such as anger, addictions, OCD, complex childhood trauma. IFS is a very mindful, gentle, yet powerful therapy. It is more of a directive therapy, it has a permanent healing component to it, and makes use of 'memory reconsolidation'. Thanks to Dr. Osnat Arbel (Israel) & IFS-UK/IFS Institute & Team. Sheffield, UK. To provide IFS you must have completed this training as a minimum. Internal Family Systems (IFS) has been hailed by Dr. Bessel A. van der Kolk, the world's leading expert in trauma, as "the treatment method that all clinicians should know to treat clients effectively." IFS is an evidence based psychotherapy. Find out more here: IFS Therapy
• Cert IFS/Internal Family Systems Lv2 Intensive - Deepening and Expanding IFS - training to enhance psychotherapists' IFS skill set and knowledge basis. Thanks to Dr. Osnat Arbel (Israel) & IFS-UK/IFS Poland Institute & Team
• Cert IFS/ Internal Family Systems Lv3 (Highest) - training to enhance psychotherapists' IFS skill set and knowledge basis. With Dr. Richard Schwartz (USA) & IFS Portugal Institute Team.
• IFS Informed EMDR: EMDR with parts Bruce Hesey LCSW
• Informed IFS Trauma and Dissociation - with Joanne Twombly with Souliology, Sisembra, Portugal.
• Cert IFS Intensive - Treating Complex Trauma - In-depth training in IFS has helped me to become more knowledgeable, confident, and robust using the model. With Thanks to Dr. Frank Anderson (Boston, USA) (CPD Cert)
• Cert Treating Complex Trauma Clients at the Edge: How Brain Science Can Inform Interventions Dr. Frank Anderson (Boston, USA) (CPD Cert)
• IFS Masterclass with Robert Falconer (USA): The Further Reaches of IFS
• Cert Lifespan Integeration Lv1 & 2 a gentle cognitive and somatic approach working with timelines, works by inerwieving the un-concious with the concious through time.
• The Integrated Trauma Therapist: Incorporating IFS with AEDP, EMDR, SP, CPT, DBT and Psychedelic Medicines for Treating Complex Trauma and PTSD. Frank Anderson, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Janina Fisher, Richard Schwartz (CPD Cert)
• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Trauma Themes - with Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
• Polyvagal Theory, Oxycontin, and the Neurobiology of Love - London, UK. With thanks to Dr. Stephen Porges Author and creator of 'The Polyvagal Theory' & Dr. Sue Carter (North Carolina, USA) (CPD Cert)

• Integration of Mind, Brain, & Body in the Treatment of Trauma - London, UK. With thanks to Dr. Bessel van der Kolk - (Boston, USA) - Author of 'The Body Keeps The Score' (CPD Cert)
• Broken Bonds: Traumatic Attachment and Affect Dysregulation - London, UK. With thanks to Dr. Janina Fisher - (Boston, USA) - Author of 'Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors' (CPD Cert)
• Stabilising the Unstable - With thanks to Dr. Janina Fisher (CPD Cert)
• Treating Dissociative Disorders (with EMDR & Parts/Ego States) - Dr. Dolores Mosquera & Kathy Steele (CPD Cert)
• Returning to Wholeness - Understanding and Integrating Trauma - with Dr. Gabor Maté
• Basic Principles of Somatic Experiencing ® - Somatic Experiencing International - with thanks to Isabell Correa
• Postgraduate - Person-Centred Therapy & CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) Level 7 This training also included 3rd Wave CBT techniques such as mindfulness, and exposure techniques. Temenos - Sheffield, UK. with thanks to Dr. Joe Curran & Linda Smith
• Accredited BACP Diploma Level 4 - Theory & Practice of Counselling (This course specialised in, and was renowned for Person-Centred Psychotherapy training - Person-Centred Counselling Services (PCCS) Training Partnership - PCCS was renowned for its radical training and approach. It was one of the first soley person-centered training centres in the UK - Manchester. Although Person Centred Therapy is not strictly 'evidence based, it is recognised as helpful to common mental health problems. With thanks to Frances McDonnell & Tracey Walshaw
• Accredited Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy (CECCH). inc. EMDR, EFT, Ego State Therapy, Eriksonian Hypnosis, NLP Professional Coaching, 'Rewind Technique', Solution Focused Counselling & Hypnotherapy - Birmingham, UK
• Cert in Counselling Supervision - British Psychological Society/BPS approved training - Skills Development Centre. Manchester, UK
• Diploma in NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) Wigan UK, With thanks to Marylin Tucknott (Canada)
• Cert in NLP Professional Coaching - CEC - Birmingham, UK. Get motivated, set & achieve goals, work beyond blocks, and stay on track.
• Cert in Solution Focused Hypno-Psychotherapy, Solution Focused Counselling Skills, Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy - CEC - Birmingham, UK. With thanks to Nick Cooke
• Counselling Skills Level 3 - ABC Awards - Manchester, UK. With thanks to Gail Jardine
• Counselling Concepts Level 2 - ABC Awards - Manchester, UK. With thanks to Gail Jardine
• Cert of Proficiency BACP – British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
• MNCPS Accredited & BSP Approved Cert in Supervision

I believe qualifications and training are very important. I believe what is more important is: experience, where/who you trained with, and therapists' trauma knowledge and how to work with it. Your commitment to the therapy process will be a crucial element to the outcome of therapy.

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Professional Development & Further Training

I commit to more than the 30 required hours of Certified CPD/ongoing training every year. I've trained with some of the most revolutionary pioneers in psychotherapy and neuroscience in my field.

Most recently I have completed over 1000 hours CPD/further training in the past 5 years.

On top of this I have had and continue to have a minimum of 1.5 hours professional, individual supervision per month for the past 20 years.

Some of my further CPD includes:

• Anger Management
• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (A.S.I.S.T) - Living Works
• Attachment theory & adoption training
• Bereavement/loss & palliative care counselling - NHS/Trafford Bereavement & Palliative Care Service
• Child & Adult safeguarding Lv3/4
• The Neurobiology of Compassion: Clinical Applications for Therapists
• Conflict resolution
• Counter-terrorism training (WRAP)
• Counselling young people - Relate
• Couples & relationship counselling - PCCS Training Partnership
• Data protection & GDPR 2019
• Domestic violence - Relate
• Effects of childhood traumatic stress on physical & mental health - Dr. Maté
• Family support - Beechwood cancer care
• First Aid 2017
• Group work - NHS
• Gestalt therapy dream work
• Hakomi Introduction - Mallorca - Dr Halko Weiss
• Health & safety - QCF
• IFS Compassion for Addictive Processes Cece Sykes LCSW, ACSW; IFS Senior Trainer
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) legacy and cultural burdens: essential information - Kay Gardener
• Informed IFS Trauma and Dissociation - with Joanne Twombly & IFSCA
• Intro to Gestalt therapy - Brian McMinn
• Intro to Existential Psychotherapy - New School of Psychotherapy - Dr. Emmy van Deurzen
• Intro to Hakomi - Hakomi Mallorca
• Polyvagal Theory - Dr. Deb Dana
• Polyvagal Theory during the COVID-19 pandemic: Deb Dana on creating safety and connection through online technology
• Supporting LGBTQIA 🏳️‍🌈 + mental health 
• Mental health - NHS
• Self-harm - Teaching School Alliance
• Suicide TALK - Living Works
• Timian (challenging behaviour) - BILD
• Trauma-informed practice & scope
• Treating Complex Trauma Clients at the Edge: How Brain Science Can Inform Interventions - Frank Anderson
• Transactional Analysis

• Understanding & Working With Complex Traumatic Dissociation - ESTD UK - European Society For Trauma & Dissociation 

• Young people, sex & the law

ICO registered 2025

To see a fuller description of what I do, and the experience & training I have gained go to Counselling in Liverpool

Many different professionals & people come to see me now, including: 

actors, artists, business persons, consultants, engineers, lecturers, medical professionals, musicians, office workers, parents/carers, religious persons, scientists, sports persons, solicitors, students, teachers, trades-persons, travellers, and young people. Most of my clients today tend to be professionals, and the self employed in their 30's - 60's, but I've worked with people from many many walks of life..

£100.00 - £240.00