Virginia Sherborne


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This professional is currently not accepting new clients at this time.
This professional is currently not accepting new clients at this time.
About me
I am a qualified counsellor and accredited member of the BACP, seeing clients at The Practice Rooms near the centre of Sheffield and online. I have specialist training in bereavement, rape/sexual abuse, trauma and parenting. My clients include young people as well as adults.
I can help you to:
- find a safe space to come to terms with painful experiences
- gain some perspective on your life
- find a way forward if you feel stuck or confused
- understand relationships in your family and beyond
- improve your interpersonal skills
My training and experience:
After starting out training to be an accountant in the City of London, I soon moved over to secondary school teaching in 1988 and continued until 2018. In 2007 I decided to train to be a counsellor at Sheffield Hallam University and I qualified with my Counselling Diploma in 2010.
My first area of special training was at Cruse Bereavement Care. After seeing adult clients for a couple of years, I was invited to train to support bereaved children and young people. Eventually I joined the Cruse Trainers’ Register and helped to train other volunteers. The age range of bereaved people I have worked with spans 6 years old through to 82!
In 2008 I was able to begin seeing clients at Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service after completing a rigorous training process. Helping these clients to become more empowered and take control of their lives felt like a great privilege. I also provided therapy part-time as a volunteer at Sheffield Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service.
I began my private practice in 2010. Clients have been choosing to come and see me since then for a wide variety of reasons. Issues have included bereavement, depression, anxiety, sexual abuse, transition to retirement, workplace trauma, anger management, infertility, relationship problems. Sometimes clients knew they wanted counselling, but weren’t sure what the specific issues would be, and they came to me because I had a broad mix of experience, both in my training and in my own life.
Many clients have arrived wanting to talk about parenting, as this is one of my specialist areas. When my son was born in the early nineties, I realised I wanted to be more confident about parenting, so I went on a Parent Effectiveness Training (PET) course. This style of parenting totally matched my own values, and in 2003 I completed the training to become a PET facilitator. Since then I have passed on this valuable learning both to groups and to individuals.
In 2011 I completed the Foundation Course in Art Therapy run by Sheffield NHS trust. This gave me extra insight and skills in helping clients express themselves using creative methods, and I have art materials available for any clients who feel comfortable or curious about working in this way.
From Sept 2014 to Jan 2017 I studied for an MA in Trauma Studies at Nottingham University - an exciting new challenge. In 2016 I was awarded the Diploma in Specialist Psychotherapy with Ex-Boarders, led by Nick Duffell. Between 2016 and 2018 I completed EMDR training Parts 1, 2 and 3.
From 2017-2019 I was a tutor for the 2nd year counselling diploma at The Academy:SPACE in Sheffield. From 2019 to 2024 I was a case study writer for BACP.
In Feb 2022 I was awarded a PhD at the University of Sheffield. I specialised in researching the experience of people living with mesothelioma (a terminal cancer) and their relatives. This included interviewing the relatives of military veterans.
Training, qualifications & experience
BA (Hons)
PGCE
Diploma in Higher Education – Counselling
MA – Trauma Studies
MBACP (Accredited)
Parent Effectiveness Training Facilitator Course
Cruse Awareness of Bereavement Course
Cruse Children and Young People's Course
Art Therapy Foundation Course (Sheffield NHS Trust training)
Survivors UK training course
Diploma in Specialist Psychotherapy with Ex-Boarders
EMDR Training Parts 1, 2 & 3
'The Military Human' course, York St John University
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
Childbirth trauma
Parenting
Boarding school issues
Military veterans and their families
Life transitions e.g. retirement, menopause, coming out, leaving home, having children, downsizing, empty nest
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 per session
Additional information
Initial low cost no-obligation assessment session is £35, then £70 per session after that.
Sessions last 50 minutes.
Flexible daytime and evening appointments are available.
When I work
I provide both fixed and flexible appointment times. This suits people who may not be able to make the same time for each appointment e.g. because they work shifts.
Further information
For your peace of mind:
Enhanced DBS check
LGBTQ+ affirmative
Professionally insured
Member of EMDR UK & Ireland
Police Firearms Officers Association (PFOA) approved counsellor
Some useful links:
https://thepracticerooms.co.uk/find-a-therapist/centres/sheffield
http://emdrassociation.org.uk/
https://www.cruse.org.uk/ A bereavement charity
http://www.survivorsuk.org/ Provides information, support and counselling for men who have been raped or sexually abused. Also provides support for their partners/carers
http://www.boardingschoolsurvivors.co.uk/
https://seenheard.org.uk/ Organisation supporting the wellbeing of past pupils of boarding & independent day schools, and their families - includes access to free online connection groups
http://www.gordontraining.co.uk/ Parent Effectiveness Training information