Liz Down
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Counselling with Liz:
With over 15 years experience as a warm, empathic, person-centred counsellor, I provide in-person and online/phone sessions from Seaford. I specialise in supporting clients aged 16+, helping them address challenges such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, grief, and past trauma. I offer a safe, non-judgmental and supportive space to explore your experiences and emotions.
Before becoming a counsellor, I spent 10 years as a mental health support worker, empowering individuals facing complex challenges. This background deepens my understanding and ability to support those navigating difficult mental health issues.
Life can be incredibly challenging, and at times, finding balance and peace may feel out of reach. Many clients share that they experience a profound sense of relief when they come to talk—feeling a weight lifted as they unload their burdens.
Counselling tailored to your needs:
As a person-centred counsellor, I tailor each session to meet your unique needs. Together, we’ll build a trusting and collaborative relationship to work through challenges and find a way forward that feels right for you. This might involve short-term work focused on goal-setting and coping strategies using psycho-education and CBT, or longer-term, relational therapy guided by a trauma-informed approach to explore and heal deeper issues, often connected to childhood or past experiences.
Through our work, I’ll support you in creating space for your emotions, recognising your needs, and refining self-care practices. In partnership, we’ll explore new ways of relating to yourself that feel sustainable and empowering. My role is to help you make choices that feel true to who you are, while offering fresh perspectives and compassionate understanding. As self-compassion grows, self-esteem often improves as well.
Throughout our time together, I’ll regularly check in with you on how the therapy is supporting you, allowing us to adapt and shape our sessions based on your evolving needs.
Contact Me:
I appreciate that it can feel daunting reaching out to someone new and it takes courage. It can reduce anxiety to speak first by phone or email/messaging prior to a first session and I would love to hear from you. It is a chance to have a chat and ask any questions you might have and gives an idea of what to expect from the first session.
Client Reviews:
"Incredibly intuitive, kind and insightful therapist. Liz can gently prod you in the right direction. She changed my life. I dread to think where I would be if I had not found her". Female client in her 50’s.
"Liz provided me with a safe space in which to explore the previously impossible things I needed to explore. She had compassion and empathy. She kept up with my lengthy rambles, and sat in silence with me, shared her insights when appropriate and really heard what I needed to say. My time with Liz allowed an authentic shift deep inside myself that has been profoundly healing. I would wish anyone finding themselves struggling with painful and challenging issues a ‘Liz’ to go on that journey with. Truly professional whilst also being humanly real, Liz’s skills and abilities as a counsellor are second to none." Female client in 40’s.
"Liz has helped me immensely with her compassionate and very understanding nature. I feel totally at ease with her and I am able to share my innermost feelings and worries without any risk of being judged. I actually look forward to our sessions each week as a way of cleansing my mind for the week ahead." Male client in his 60’s.
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications & training:
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling: Brighton University
- BA (Hons) Sussex University: English Literature
- Certificate in Complete Trauma Immersion: Essential strategies for working with Trauma. Janina Fisher.
- Certificate in Couples Counselling: Heartswork
- Drug & Alcohol Counselling Training: SASS (Sussex Alcohol Substance Use Service) (Including CBT & Motivational Interviewing)
- Working with Trauma & Recovery: Wealden Institute & Rise Counselling Service
- Bereavement Counselling: BACP
- Working with Men who have experienced Sexual Abuse/ Assault: Survivors UK
- Solution-Focused Counselling: Young People's Centre
- Counselling Young People: Rise Counselling Service & Online CPD with BACP
- Pluralistic Counselling: Brighton Person-Centred Community
- Existential Therapy & Phenomenology: Ernesto Spinelli, KGA
- Recognising & Assessing Mental Disturbance: BPCC
- Personality Inside Out: Human Personality in the Consulting Room: Psychotherapy UK
- Compassion Focused Therapy: Brighton Therapy Partnership
- Zen and the art of Person-Centred Therapy: BPCC
- Traumatic Attachment and Co-Regulation: The Neuro-biology of Relationship: Psychotherapy Excellence
- Internal Family Systems: (Healing from Trauma): Janina Fisher
- Working with Risky Behaviours in Adolescent Clients: Brighton Therapy Partnership
- Part-Time Youth Work Certificate: Kingston Youth Service
Current counselling experience
- Counsellor: Private Practice, Brighton & Seaford (2010- ongoing)
Previous experience
- Counsellor: Young People's Centre
- Counsellor: As You Are, Southwick
- Drug/Alcohol Counsellor: SASS, Hove
- Mental Health Support Worker Roles (2000-2010)
.Further info
I am fully insured, receive clinical supervision and ongoing professional development training. I am also a member BACP (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy) and I adhere to their ethical framework.
Member organisations
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£65.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Concessionary Fees: £55-£60
I have a limited number of concessionary spaces, where financial circumstances would make my full fee difficult to pay.
Individual Sessions last 50 mins.
Longer sessions available on arrangement.
When I work
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Further information
I have experience working with adults, young people and couples dealing with:
- Abuse (emotional, physical, sexual)
- Anger management
- Anxiety
- Addictions (including drug & alcohol)
- Bereavement & loss
- Cancer
- Parenting issues
- Depression
- Divorce & separation
- Eating disorders
- Fears
- Health related issues
- Infertility
- Low self-esteem & low self-confidence
- Panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personal development
- Post-natal depression
- Relationship issues
- Couples counselling
- Self harm
- Separation & divorce
- Stress
- Trauma (PTSD)
- Work related issues
- General counselling.
