Caron Atkinson

Welcome to my profile page.  I am a BACP Registered/Accredited Counsellor, working with adults, children/teenagers (with parental consent), families and couples. My approach is integrative. I believe that the counselling relationship is of high importance when helping people to make changes in their lives. I work with people who suffer or have suffered with anxiety, loss/bereavement, relationship breakdown, depression, mental health, addiction, post traumatic stress and much more.  Amongst using many creative methods in my work, when working with you short term Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Solution Focussed Therapy (SFT) are models of therapy that I may use to ensure we are on the right path to achieve a more happy and relaxed life.   Longer term my work draws on the modalities of Person Centred, Psychodynamic, Transactional Analysis, Transpersonal and Gestalt Therapy. I specialise in the use of Humanistic Sandplay Therapy which facilitates exploration, expression, awareness and discovery and is beneficial for people (adults and children) who are stuck, unable to express pain in words, or are unable to understand what is going on for themselves, this will help bring unconscious thoughts and feelings to your conscious, a process which I will support you through and which is always helpful for you when trying to find out or understand about yourself. Also I specialise in Brainspotting (BSP) which is a relatively new type of therapy designed to help people access, process, and overcome trauma, negative emotions, and pain, including psychologically induced physical pain.

As a BACP Member I am bound by the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy. I am committed to CPD to enhance and inform my practice. I hold an Enhanced DBS Disclosure.

I am a qualified Clinical Supervisor of Individuals and Groups having trained at The Grove Practice in London at post graduate level. I work with qualified and Trainee Counsellors and also undertake Group Supervision, my style is creative to help you explore relationships with clients and ensure ethical practice is followed. Please look at my Supervision page for more information.  

I am also Accredited by European College of Bowen Studies (ECBS) as a Bowen Technique Practitioner.  The Bowen Technique is a remedial therapy tool that offers the body an opportunity to restore structural integrity, be it physical or emotional pain; it is different to any other form of body therapy in that it does not work at the will of the therapist, it allows the body to assimilate the information given by the therapist through rolling type body moves. My belief is that it works in a similar way to CBT in that it changes the way the body thinks, feels and behaves, helping to relieve the body of pain. Bowen Technique can be used with babies helping to relieve colic and anxiety, children and adults in reducing stress/anxiety.

I qualified with The Coaching Academy as a Youth Impact Coach and Corporate & Executive Coach and specialise in Relationship Coaching, which involves Work Relationships and Personal Relationships.  Coaching is different to Counselling in that it is totally focussed in the here and now, supporting you in making changes and setting goals for the future, helping you to achieve such goals, which may involve recognition of possible obstacles and then exploring options to enable you to make the changes and move forward in your life. Coaching is action focussed and encourages you to set specific dates/timescales in order to make plans/hopes and dreams come alive.

Youth Impact Coaching can be helpful for young people who are in transitional periods of their lives and struggling with personal relationships, be it family or friends; it also helps to encourage positive thinking, making of positive changes, achieving hopes for the future.

Positive relationships in the workplace are an important factor; I specialise in Coaching Leaders, Executives and Managers to focus on building positive relationships in the working envirionment which has a positive impact on morale of the workforce and in turn this helps to increase productivity.

I hope you have found this profile informative and it helps you understand the different ways I can work with you, if you would like to call me to discuss your requirements further then this will give you an opportunity to see if my style of work is suitable for you.

Brainspotting (BSP)

BSP is a relatively new type of therapy designed to help people access, process, and overcome trauma, negative emotions, and pain, including psychologically induced physical pain.

Brainspotting was developed through David Grand's work with survivors of trauma, and many mental health professionals utilizing the approach have found it to be an effective form of treatment for a variety of mental health concerns.

HOW DOES BRAINSPOTTING WORK?
According to therapist and creator David Grand, the direction in which people look or gaze can affect the way they feel. During brainspotting, therapists help people position their eyes in ways that enable them to target sources of negative emotion. With the aid of a pointer, trained brainspotting therapists slowly guide the eyes of people in therapy across their field of vision to find appropriate “brainspots,” with a brainspot being an eye position that activates a traumatic memory or painful emotion. Practitioners of the procedure believe it allows therapists to access emotions on a deeper level and target the physical effects of trauma.

There is increasing evidence that trauma is “stored” in the body and that it can alter the way the brain works. Trauma can, for example, have an effect on emotions, memory, and physical health. Brainspotting seems to activate the body’s innate ability to heal itself from trauma.

Counselling Individuals: £55 per 1 hr session
Couple Counselling: £65 per 1 hr session £75 per 1.5 hr session
Family Counselling: £75 per 1hr session or £85 per 1.5hr session
Clinical Supervision: £58 per hr - £75 per 1.5 hr session

The Bowen Technique: £55 per 45min-1hr session
Coaching: £60 per 1hr session

COVID-19 Updated Information.

My Office is Covid safe; I ensure that everything is sprayed using anti-virus spray and wiped down with antibacterial wipes before and after each client arrives and leaves. I ask that I open and close doors so you are limited to what you touch. Seating is 2m apart. I will endeavour to keep windows open ensuring flow of air when not too cold. I do not insist on face-masks, due to fact that not seeing face and facial expressions is not conducive to good therapy, but if you prefer me and yourself to wear a mask then this will be adhered to, of course if you are concerned about any face-face contact I recommend you use Zoom, Skype or FaceTime to ensure you can still access therapy safely. I ask that you bring your own flask of water so no need to use glasses/cups. Below I list plans for Lockdown and Tier Levels.

Tier 1 - I am happy to meet with clients face-face with all safety restrictions still in place, as listed above, and also happy to meet online for those clients who prefer this medium.

Tier 2 - I request clients to meet online, but am happy to meet face-face with vulnerable clients, those that cannot or do not like to use online mediums and younger children/young people.

Tier 3 - I request clients to meet online, if a client is extremely vulnerable and cannot use online mediums or phone, then I would continue to meet you face-face. Other clients, including children/young people I would keep on hold until Tier 3 has lowered to Tier 2.

Lockdown - Same safety guidelines as per Tier 3.