About me
Right now, if you are searching for a counsellor/therapist you might be wondering where on earth to start - asking yourself how to decide what type of therapy could be useful, how to explain what you want help with. Just looking for help can feel stressful . If that is you, then you are most welcome.
Maybe you feel that you are just not in a good place right now, or maybe you know you are anxious, sad, stressed, having a difficult time in a relationship or at work, questioningyourself about what is going on for you. I am an approachable counsellor with lots of experience and training, so you don't need to have it all worked out before you get in touch. My job is to help make the process of counselling accessible for you. So do take a look at my profile, check out my website and get in touch to find out more about how we might work together to make a difference to your life.
When we feel stuck, counselling offers something very different to friends, family and even Chatbots. It offers a safe place to talk to a real person who will be focused only on understanding you and how you are finding life. It's not about judgement or advice, it's about helping you get to understand yourself better and then finding new choices and options that help you move through whatever is feeling difficult right now.
That might mean we sit and talk about what's happening now, or thing that happened in the past that were difficult. Telling what is painful, difficult or scary to another person who is trained to listen and support us, can help us find new perspectives and ways of managing.
Or we might look at different ways to reduce stress and process difficult memories. Learning simple body based techniques, that are easy to use in everyday life, that can help calm and ground us might also be useful in reducing the impact of the stresses being faced.
There are many ways counselling can help us to learn about ourselves, make sense of what is happening and find new ways forward.
However we decide between us, to use our time together, the focus will always be on finding the best way to help now and how to build a better future for you.
If you are thinking of getting in touch, please be assured that I know that this very first step can feel so daunting, a real step into the unknown just when life is hard. I will be ready to help put you at your ease and help you to talk about what you are looking for help with.
Whatever your reason for considering if counselling could help you, you are most welcome to get in touch with me.
First steps - getting in touch
You can contact me, to book to see me or to ask preliminary questions, by email using the Counselling Directory link, or by text or phone on 07896 498003, or via the link to my website where you will find more information available. I aim to reply to you within 1 working day.
My usual practice is to first arrange a mutually convenient time for us to talk on the phone. We can look at practicalities like appointment times, where I am based, parking etc and also speak just a little about what you are wanting to see me about. This usually takes around 10 mins.
It is important that you choose a counsellor who feels right for you. So the next step would be to set up a Taster appointment (50mins). This gives us an opportunity to meet each other, you can get a sense of how we might work together and I can hear a little more about you. If after this we are going to continue into ongoing sessions, we will set these up.
Counselling Sessions
Counselling works best when it can be a regular input into your life. How many sessions you might come and see me for depends on your individual situation and goals and is something we would talk about when we meet and review as we work together.
Sessions are weekly for 50mins, or between 50 and 75 mins for couples, and we will arrange a regular appointment day/time. The time will be yours to come and speak with me about what matters to you, knowing that your confidentiality is protected. Discussing personal issues with someone you don't know can feel awkward at first, but my approach is interactive so I will be there in the conversation with you, helping you to use the sessions to your benefit.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a qualified and experienced humanistic counsellor with an Advanced Diploma in Humanistic Counselling (2007).
My original training included three humanisitc approaches to counselling.
- Person Centered Therapy - which places special emphasis on an empathic, non judgemental and congruent relationship between counsellor and client.
- Gestalt Therapy - which in addition places emphasis on understanding a person's here and now experience in life and offers an interactive and creative way of working together to build an understanding of patterns in life and how these can be changed when they are not helpful anymore.
- Transactional Analysis - which offers ways to think about and understand patterns in how we relate to ourselves and others.
Over the years I have added training in many areas including, - Attachment theory - which looks at how our earliest relationships shape the patterns we adopt in our adult lives and how these patterns can be modified where they have become unhelpful to us.
- Developments in neuroscience that help us think about the interplay between body and mind and the role of our early experiences in setting up the basis for our emotional and relational lives.
- Body psychotherapeutic approaches which value working holistically, seeing the body and mind not as two separate systems but as deeply interconnected. In particular I value the Relational Trauma Therapy approach, developed by Merete Holm Brantbjerg and Kolbjørn Värdel, which offers very practical resources to help with stress, trauma and anxiety and to build resilience
I am an Accredited Member of the BACP and listed on the BACP Register For Counsellors and Psychotherapists (Reg. No 038577). As such I am bound by the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice.
In line with this Code of Practice I will keep what you discuss with me confidential. Like all counsellors I have regular, confidential supervision to ensure that I provide you with the best service that I can.
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 - £80.00
Additional information
Taster Sessions: £50 per 50 minute session
Ongoing Counselling:
- For individuals: £60 per 50 minute session
- For couples: £80 per session. Sessions will be between 50 and 75 minutes, agreed together as we start the therapy.
When I work
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You are welcome to contact me to arrange a free, short, introductory call at a convenient time during my working hours.
