Amanda Gibbons
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This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Please contact me if you need someone professional to talk to about issues such as anxiety, depression, family issues, feeling sad, generalised anxiety disorder, low self-confidence, low self-esteem, panic attacks, phobias, relationship issues, divorce or separation, affairs or betrayals, post natal depression, bereavement, worries or problems.
Someone who won't give you their opinion or advice about what you should and shouldn't do?
Someone who won't judge you and will accept you for who you are?
Someone ethical and qualified who you can speak to in a confidential, quiet and non-intrusive environment?
You have found the right person!
The counselling I offer is based on the person centred approach and includes integrative elements drawing on many useful resources. With this training and experience I am able to offer clients a first class service suited to their individual needs.
What my clients say about me
"Within minutes of meeting Amanda, she put me at my ease and I quickly began to build trust with her. My life has been transformed with her help and I'm now happy, relaxed and the confident person I've always wanted to be."
"After previously having unsuccessful sessions with various counsellors in the past, I was reluctant to try anymore counselling or pursue any form of therapy. That was until I stumbled upon Amanda at A Healing Mind."
"From the offset Amanda has been nothing more than professional and creates a relaxing environment that immediately puts you at ease."
"Amanda gives 100% commitment to your cause and has tailored each session to my specific needs."
"With her help and support I have started to overcome issues that I never thought would be possible."
"Her positive approach and support soon makes you realise that your problems do not rule you, and with a bit of guidance in the right direction, you realise you can take back control of your life."
"I highly recommend Amanda for the array of therapeutic services that she has to offer."
"Thank you Amanda, such a great service from a truly nice person."
"I would recommend Amanda to anyone who feels the need to enhance their performance and confidence within themselves."
"So glad that I decided to get some counselling, you have made a real difference to my well being. Thank you for all your patience and understanding."
A bit about me
Until the age of 35, I worked in a string of unfulfilling office jobs. Yet when I asked myself what I really wanted to do with my life, I wasn't sure. All I knew was I wanted to make a positive difference in people's lives somehow.
In conjunction with this crossroads in my life, I started struggling with what I now know was anxiety and low mood which gradually built into panic attacks - which were very frightening. At the time I didn't understand why I felt this way or why I was having the panic attacks. To try to get to the bottom of it, I decided to go for counselling. The results were fantastic: I began to understand my behaviour and experiences and over time my anxiety decreased and there were no more mystery panics!
Having experienced first-hand how effective counselling is for helping people turn their lives around, I decided to train as a counsellor.
What exactly is counselling?
Counselling is a talking therapy. It provides you with a regular time and space to explore your problems, difficult feelings and past experiences in a non-judgemental and confidential environment.
It's an opportunity for you to focus on issues that are important to you and discuss them in depth with a trained professional. Many people find this much easier than opening up to family or friends.
How can counselling help you?
Counselling can help you understand yourself and your behaviours better, improve your relationships and deal with specific problems allowing you to explore changes you would like to make and options which are open to you. Talking in this way can really empower you and help you find a clearer path to a more positive future.
Training, qualifications & experience
My qualifications are:
- ABC Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Post graduate Diploma in the Practice of Supervision
- Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy
- Diploma in Neuro Linguistic Programming
- NCFE Level 3 Award in Counselling Skills and Theory
- Basic Counselling Skills Level 1 & 2
I have attended training in the following areas:
- Working with adult survivors of childhood trauma
- Diploma in Supervision
- Introduction to CBT
- Sleep disturbances
- Working with Trauma
- Working with clients with medically unexplained symptoms
- Working with unprepared clients
- Empty Chair technique training
- Personality Disorders
- Trauma and the effects with workplace issues
- Will I ever be good enough?
- Focus orientated therapy
- Transactional Analysis - How we communicate with each other
- Couples Counselling
- The Emotionally Absent Mother
- Working with Trauma
- Smoking Cessation for Hypnotherapy
- Weight Management for Hypnotherapy
- Common Mental Health Problems
- Adults with ADHD
- Understanding Psychosis
- Domestic Violence
- Vulnerable Adults Awareness
- Safeguarding Children
- Loss, Death and Bereavement
- Mental Health Awareness
As well as establishing and running my own private practice I have been a volunteer counsellor at a women's centre in Wakefield dealing with a wide variety of client issues from varying backgrounds.
I have also worked for the NHS within the IAPT Team as a counsellor and my background prior to counselling has been within a secretarial capacity working for the NHS for the past 20 years.
I am a member of the following professional bodies:
MBACP (Accred) - Registered and accredited member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists and bound by their ethical framework of good practice.
GHR - Registered Practitioner of the General Hypnotherapy Register
GHSC - Member of the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council
I have full professional indemnity insurance and an up to date CRB check.
Member organisations
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
£30.00 - £50.00
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
Initial assessment: £30 (up to one hour)
1 hour session: £50 (one to one counselling)
I also offer Skype and Whatsapp sessions, please ask for more details.
Student work undertaken and other discounts offered, please ask for details.
When I work
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I offer face to face counselling sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays and can offer online and telephone sessions throughout the week. Please contact me for more details.
Further information
My priorities are my client's best interests and emotional well-being and in keeping with this I offer a no obligation initial assessment for you to establish what you would like to bring to counselling, whether you are ready to explore this and if I am the right person to help you do this. I feel as we are all individuals, not every counsellor is suited to every client and for your counselling to be most effective this is a factor of paramount importance when choosing a counsellor.
Your positive future starts with just one little step: pick up the phone and call me on 07970 924374 or drop me an email at amanda@ahealingmind.co.uk. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
I provide counselling sessions in the centre of Wakefield with easy access from the motorways in a confidential, professional and comfortable environment. There are a number of pay and display car parks available in the surrounding area.
