Sue Akehurst
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This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
I’m working exclusively online, supporting people to find their own way out of trauma, depression, anxiety, past abuse, low self worth and many other issues.
I offer a safe way of working through what's troubling you. Together we will identify what's been happening in your life and the impact it's had on you. We will process the difficult emotions, find ways of connecting more deeply with yourself, identify patterns and discover new ways of relating to yourself and to the world.
About You
You may find that you're experiencing anxious feelings, negative thought patterns or beliefs about yourself linked to events both recent and further back. I'll make sure that we work creatively and safely with these issues whilst offering you enough challenge for change to become a possibility.
Working online means that you have the freedom to create a comfortable environment for sessions that will suit you. You can use a tablet, laptop or phone for sessions and I'll send you a link for our video calls each time we meet.
I am interested in working with trauma and have trained in EMDR which has been well researched as a way of working with trauma and anxiety as well as for issues with attachment. Interweaving EMDR with the person centred approach can be a gentle yet powerful agent for change.
Sometimes a few sessions will help with something specific and at other times more exploration & understanding are needed in order for deeper changes to take place.
I offer a 30 minute free initial video call which gives us an opportunity to see if and how we might work together.
I'm working online using video calling so am able to work with people from across the UK.
Before lockdown I was based in Malvern WR14, seeing clients from Malvern, Worcester, Pershore, Evesham, Ledbury, the Forest of Dean, Hereford and further afield. Prior to moving to Worcestershire, I worked in Birmingham and Coventry for many years.
Training, qualifications & experience
I'm a Registered Member of the BACP (Senior Accredited Counsellor) and gained my qualification in Person Centred Therapy from the University of Warwick in 1998. I am also qualified in Person Centred art therapy skills, EMDR, Focusing ( a body based way of working) & have explored CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) for person centred counsellors. I draw on my wealth of experience and training to work in a way which matches your preferred communication style.
My therapy experience includes working in colleges, within the NHS and within the voluntary sector including the Terrence Higgins Trust as well as privately. I have been a supervisor since 2004, working with counsellors and other workers in the voluntary sector, hospices, the NHS, universities and private practice. Prior to retraining as a therapist, I worked as a teacher and manager in the public sector and within the voluntary sector.
I am interested in working with the whole person and will therefore support you to access your embodied intelligence to help foster a more compassionate attitude towards yourself. I am trained in Attachment Informed EMDR which can be a valuable part of resolving long standing patterns.
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
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
- Body/mind approach - working with the body without touch, through paying attention and closely listening to our body’s natural wisdom
- Attachment and separation issues
- Self-esteem issues
- EMDR
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
£60 per 60 minute session.
I offer a concessionary space for people with a low family income or on benefits for a maximum of up to 10 sessions.
When I work
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Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays. I currently have some availability on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.
Further information
Until lockdown I worked from the peaceful Beacon Clinic in central Malvern but have now moved all my sessions online using video calling with Zoom. People have found online sessions as helpful as in person. Zoom is easy to use and free to download. I use WhatsApp as a backup in case Zoom is playing up.
The first session is a chance to share information and see if we want to work together. There's no commitment to continue with counselling after this session but if you do we'll generally agree to six sessions and then review where we want to go after that.
My core working hours are Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
