Mel Riley

Training, qualifications & experience

I have diploma in Person Centred Counselling and a Post Grade Certificate in Play Therapy and am BACP Accredited and a member of the Association of Family Therapy.
I have trained at Regents College London and hold a Diploma in Integrative Supervision and consultancy. I also have a qualification in Family and Systemic Therapy

I work with adults, children, couples and families on a range of issues from Depression, Relationship Problems, Bereavement, Self-Esteem building, Addictions, Stress, Anxiety, Eating Disorders, Divource, seperation etc. I also have a therapy dog that can be used for dog phobias or to help engage clients who are difficult to reach including special needs clients.

I have experience of working in primary and scondary schools, hostels, prison and voluntary sector organisations as well as working in private practice. I also work as an intergrative supervisor for other qualified and trainee counsellors.

I am currently on Clinical Doctorate Programme.

Other areas of counselling I deal with

I also offer sessions with a therapy dog, for dog phobias or clients that may wish to work with Canine Assisted Therapy

Further information

My practice is 1 mile from Wolverhampton town centre and has free parking. .

Testimonial

"When I entered into therapy I wasn’t at a crisis point in my life. I didn’t feel that I had major questions about myself, or actually that I even ‘needed’ therapy at all. The sole reason I began counselling was that it was required of me as part of a MA in Clinical Counselling.

I approached Mel initially because of geographical location, but after speaking to her on the phone I felt reassured by her quietly confident manner. It was unexpectedly nerve-wracking arranging to see Mel, and even more so when I arrived for the first session. I told her that despite the therapy being a requirement for me I was determined to do the process justice, be as honest as possible, and get my money’s worth! I had no idea where the sessions would lead and I began by talking about my life up to that point.

As the sessions continued I began to focus in on aspects of my life that I had never had chance to really explore. Although I ‘knew’ these things had happened, and had a sense of how I had felt about them at the time, counselling gave me an opportunity to revisit relationships, incidents, experiences and buried feelings and to start to unpick them and process them at a deeper level. With Mel’s facilitation I was often able to link experiences which had previously appeared separate, and to begin to make sense of them for myself. On many occasions I was deeply moved or shocked by the revelations that unfolded.

For me, being listened to at a deeply empathic level was very powerful. I also felt free from judgement which enabled me to be more open and honest than I have ever been- even with close friends. The result was that I achieved massive personal development and awareness, as well as a deeper acceptance of the whole of myself. This has had an impact on both my professional and personal life. For example, I now feel better able to handle difficult relationships and conversations, and I am mindful of my own unhelpful behaviours (although I’m still not always able to stop it happening at the time!). I am also more aware and accepting of my strengths and abilities. I try not to shrug off compliments as I used to, instead I take people’s feedback on board and thank them for it. If I receive ‘negative’ feedback I can handle it more robustly, and I am able to reflect on it without viewing it as a criticism.

Most importantly having counselling with Mel has increased my self-confidence and the way I feel about myself. I trust myself more to know what’s right for me, and that has been invaluable in the past few months. At the beginning of counselling I believed it was only right that I should have an insight into what I was intending to offer to my own clients after qualifying, however I was not expecting it to be such a profound experience"

Karen