Nicola Terry
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
I am a fully qualified, BACP registered and accredited counsellor/psychotherapist holding over 23 years' experience with many kinds of problems. Initially trained in person-centred therapy, I now work in an integrative way - my experience has shown me that different people need different things at different times.
My integrative approach enables me to work flexibly with a variety of people and their concerns. Aiming to always work in a way that is the most helpful for my clients, I see the value of using other approaches to therapy, understanding that everybody is different in the way that they look at their life and how they may understand their problems.
For example, some clients may find it helpful to explore their past, in particular their childhood experiences - relationships with parents, siblings, family members or other significant figures in their lives, often shedding light on their current problems, difficult relationships or unhelpful beliefs about themselves.
Other clients prefer to focus on specific concerns, collaborating together on a work plan or agenda and then seeking solutions and working towards their goals. CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), which works towards developing ways of coping with or changing negative thought patterns or behaviours, can often be very helpful in this and many of my clients have found it useful to collaborate and discuss ways forward in their sessions. This is always done with small 'bite-size' moves, always with a view to making it realistic and achievable.
Exploring neurodiversity, including ADHD, autism, dyslexia and other ND traits; and working with your sensory experience can provide useful information for some clients. Understanding more about one's 'sensory profile'; that is, how you might experience your environment, your internal bodily experience and making sense of your various ways of processing thoughts and emotions. The degree of sensitivity you might (or might not) have, can be impacting your life and well-being and learning how to make sense of these experiences and creating strategies to cope with them - e.g. overwhelm or overstimulation, have proved life-changing for many clients in the past.
My approach is IFS informed, so at times, we might work consider working with the different 'Parts' of us that require our attention, need help to heal and can help us to understand ourselves more deeply.
General self-care and lifestyle choices, depending on each person's unique needs, can be explored too. Learning ways to relax and self-regulate - soothing the body and mind, using breathing techniques, mindfulness, moving the body and other grounding techniques - have been useful to many. This can be of particular importance if there have been traumatic events in the person's history still affecting the body now, causing tension, rage, sleeplessness, anxiety or panic.
Sometimes, clients will identify unhelpful lifestyle habits or patterns, such as how their diet and eating styles affect their moods, getting insufficient sleep or other stressful factors in their lives, and then work gradually toward making small changes to their self-care, understanding more about how to help themselves feel better both mentally and physically.
Many clients simply need a regular, trustworthy, safe and private space to speak and be heard without judgement or criticism, with an opportunity to learn and make sense of their experiences.
Ultimately, I strive to provide all of my clients with a warm and confidential space, always allowing them to guide me in providing the right kind of support and information they might need; assisting them to work through their specific problems in a way that feels right to them.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold a Master's degree (for which I was awarded a distinction in 2012) as well as my initial Post Graduate Diploma in the person-centred approach to counselling in 2003. In addition, I am an accredited member of the BACP and on the BACP register of counsellors and psychotherapists.
I have also completed a certificate in CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) as well as other training such as couples therapy; work around cultural and diversity issues; identity and sexuality - including lesbian, gay and bisexuality (a gay/queer affirmative approach); transgender identity; and my own ongoing personal development.
My therapy experience has seen a wide range of people and problems over the years including depression; panic and anxiety; trauma of various degrees; work-related stress and burn out; obsessive thoughts and behaviours; loss and bereavement; financial concerns; discrimination at work and oppression; ethnicity, identity and culture; homophobia, bi-phobia and transphobia; sexuality, gender and relationship diversity; family and relationship issues; bullying, low self-esteem, lack of confidence and assertiveness.
I also worked as a university therapist at the University of Liverpool between March 2016 & 2017, supporting students with a wide variety of problems - academic pressures, financial concerns, general welfare and living, all impacting their mental health.
In addition to this, I worked for 12 years (2002-2014) as a sessional therapist at Sahir House, an HIV charity organisation in Liverpool which provides support and information to those living with and affected by HIV.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
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
Loss
Managing life changes
Racism and ethnic discrimination
Social and cultural oppression
Coming out
Therapies offered
Fees
£65.00 - £95.00
Additional information
Individuals £65 - £95 per hour session.
I offer a sliding scale depending on income and invite each person to choose what is affordable.
Making sure you feel comfortable when choosing your counsellor/psychotherapist is highly important and is the reason I offer a free, no obligation, 15 minute call or 30 minute meeting, giving you a chance to meet me and also see the premises from which I work. It's crucial that you feel at ease and you are invited to ask me ANY questions and generally spend a little time to try and get a good sense of what it might be like for us to work together.
If after this meeting you decide that me and/or my approach is not for you, then this is absolutely fine and there is no charge for that time. If however, you feel comfortable and decide to stay to discuss things further, giving us time to begin the assessment and contract, the rest of the hour will be made available to do this and the whole hour (or amount of time used that day) will then be charged at the agreed rate.
I am also more than happy to discuss any concerns or questions via email, whichever is preferred.
When I work
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Further information
I have week day availability (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays).
There is usually car parking available outside or near the premises and frequent bus services run within 100m from the door.
Unfortunately, there is no wheelchair access due to my consulting room being situated in a room on the first floor at the top of a flight of stairs and no lift available.
Please feel free to call me for an informal chat about anything at all to do with attending sessions; I have an answer machine and will always return your calls and emails.
