Rosemary Linton

  As an experienced, qualified counsellor, I can provide a safe, supportive and non-judgemental space for you to talk about whatever is troubling you. I will help you to think it through and process it. Talking through difficult, confusing issues can bring an immediate sense of relief, and has the potential to bring significant change. All my work is online using video conferencing, so you can talk to me in the comfort and security of your own home.

Background and experience
My background is in education, and I have taught in schools and in higher education.  As my teaching career progressed, I became more and more involved in pastoral care, which led me to train as a counsellor. 

I have worked in a variety of counselling contexts  -- with adults and teenagers in a GP surgery; in a centre to which GPs referred their patients, and in private practice.  I have worked as a counsellor in two young people's counselling centres, managing the service in one of the centres. I have worked with young adults in a college of higher education, and until recently was school counsellor in a secondary school.
I work with adults, young people, and young adults privately. I also supervise the work of other counsellors.

Adults:
My adult clients come with a wide range of issues, including bereavement, anxiety, depression, work-related stress, relationship difficulties, problems with anger, recovery from abusive relationships, ... the list goes on. However, you don't have to have a specific problem to ask for help. Many of us have developed strategies for coping with life that worked for a while, but now they cause difficulties, and we don't seem to able to change things on our own. I have a number of older clients, in their 70s, who want to work on issues that have troubled them for many years.

Teenagers
As a teenager, you face many challenges. School, college or university may be causing anxiety. Counselling can really help you to cope with the pressure. Or you may have difficulties in relationships with parents or friends. Issues of gender, sexuality and sexual orientation may be a concern. I am an LGBT affirmative therapist. Maybe you have very negative feelings about yourself and how you look.  Social media may be causing you problems.  You may feel very distressed, and unable to talk to anyone about how you feel. Some young people become very angry, and even aggressive. Others withdraw, and find it difficult to go out and find friends. School is a pressure, and deciding what to do after school is frightening. Having a trusted counsellor to talk to means that you don't have to cope with all of this on your own.  Your confidentiality will be respected -- your parents do not need to know what you talk about in sessions.

Young adults:
As a young adult, you face daunting challenges as you begin to live independently, develop your career, form longer term relationships, and then begin to bring up children.  To complicate your already complex life, you may feel held back by difficult experiences or relationships in the past as well as the present.  Some young adults are devastated to find that their parents' marriages, are breaking up, and everything is changing.  In the current economic climate, many are finding it difficult to find work, even after completing a qualification.  Having to live at home again may feel like failure.  You don't have to cope with all of this on your own.  Counselling really does help.

Whatever age you are, having someone you can talk to about anything that troubles you, and feel confident that you are heard, understood and accepted, is genuinely life changing.

When you contact me ...
... I will suggest that we have an initial session.  In that session, you can tell me what is troubling you and ask any questions you want to.  I will explain how I work.  At the end of the session you can decide whether you want to continue to see me.  If you do, we will arrange future sessions.  There is no obligation to continue seeing me after the initial session.

As all of  my work is currently online, you can work with me wherever you live.  And if you move to another part of the country, perhaps to go to university or college, we can continue with our sessions.

You may still have questions – I certainly can’t answer them all in this profile!  If you do, please feel free to ring or email me and I will do my best to answer.

You may be interested in comments made by some of my previous clients:

• I was very sceptical about having any counselling, but I have found it very useful in helping me to understand myself and my problems.
• You are the first person that has actually listened to me and as a result I am finally getting the help that I have probably been seeking for my whole life.
• I have found our interactions extremely productive and positive
• You have helped me transform myself, helped me with all my problems, and, most importantly, helped me find happiness in my life again.

My fee is £60 per session. Some concessionary rates are available. Each session is 50 minutes long. Sessions are normally at the same time on the same day each week.

I am a BUPA registered provider.