Kevin Chandler

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Registered Member BACP Snr Accred Counsellor/Psychotherapist
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

location_on Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, HD9
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

I have worked as an individual & couple counsellor/psychotherapist within a variety of settings, including Higher Education, Relate, & Private Practice.  For over 20 years I trained and supervised Relate counsellors and for two years served on BACP's Counsellor Accreditation Panel.

IN MY PRIVATE PRACTICE I see a small number of adult individuals and couples for both shorter and longer term counselling & psychotherapy. I especially welcome senior citizens as clients, who have such a wealth of experience (both achievements, and disappointments) to reflect upon, alongside the challenge of navigating a route through the later years ahead.

Although I live in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, I see clients via ZOOM video meetings and am therefore able to help people far beyond my local area, providing you have a good internet connection and a private space from which to speak freely.  Please email me in the first instance to outline your requirements and I shall email you back my Notes For New Clients.  I shall get back to you very quickly and (if I have availability) will endeavour to offer you an initial appointment within days.

GOOD THERAPY isn't concerned with papering over the cracks but attempts to get to the very heart of what is troubling you.  There are no magic wands in life or in therapy.  Good therapy explores the meanings of symptoms for you as a person and helps you get a better understanding of the emotional and relationship problems you might be experiencing, as well exploring and addressing what might be holding you back from making the changes you desire. A good therapist won't judge you or tell you what to do and you remain in charge of your life throughout the process.  For therapy to be effective it requires effort and commitment from both therapist and client, and the key factor is the quality of relationship between us.  You can expect to be treated with respect; to find clear & reliable boundaries; and to experience jargon-free talk that focuses on what is going on now in your life as well as an appreciation of the influence of the past.  Difficult and painful issues will not be shied away from, but will be addressed and explored with care and sensitivity to your feelings.  It is also important that I pay attention to how your relationship difficulties might be reflected in the therapy relationship itself, and thereby addressed more directly to help make use of that learning in other areas of your life.

COUPLE COUNSELLING/THERAPY is considerably more complex and demanding than 1-to-1 work, and therefore requires specialised training, skills and experience that many 1-to-1 counsellors will not have had, or possess.  A good couple counsellor doesn't take sides or apportion blame, but helps each partner gain a better understanding of what influences both partners' feelings and behaviour. An experienced couple counsellor recognises that the relationship dynamic between the couple has developed over time with all its patterns and habits, and will help you explore whether, and how, it might be possible for these to change.
When counselling couples, my primary function is to assist the couple to communicate more effectively and thereby help them gain a deeper understanding of the subtleties and complexities of their relationship.  Improved communication often brings about greater intimacy and renewed commitment; however, greater openness and honesty doesn't always bring people closer, and may sometimes help bring about the realisation for one or other partner that the relationship is at an end. Even then, therapy can be used to help a partner cope with the grief, sadness, and other painful feelings at the end of a marriage or other close relationship.

Couple counselling can also help with a range of sexual difficulties. Sex is much more than a mere physiological function; it is a multi-layered communication pattern between the two people, in which various feelings are expressed through touch, gestures and words. It is an expression not only of our relationship with each other, but also our relationship with our own bodies. Couple counselling can help the partners improve the way they communicate their feelings, desires and responses via the intimacy of sex.

SUPERVISION ~ All counsellors & therapists, however able, well-qualified and experienced, are required to have regular professional supervision of their client-work.  My supervisor is a trusted and experienced colleague, Golnar Bayat, who lives in the York area, and it is with her that I discuss and monitor my work on a monthly basis to ensure that I am working ethically and soundly at all times and provide my clients with a high-quality service. Rest assured, clients' surnames are not used in supervision.

I provide supervision to a number of very experienced counsellors and therapists who work in a range of settings including hospices, hospitals, Universities, as well as independent private practice.  I currently have a vacancy for monthly supervision on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Please email me if you are a counsellor/therapist and would like to discuss working with me as your supervisor. (Also, see my Supervisor Profile on this directory)

Training, qualifications & experience

* British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist & Supervisor)

* Member of UK Register of Counsellors

* Relate Certificate in Marital & Couple Counselling

* Relate trained Supervisor of counsellors (BACP Senior Accredited Supervisor)

* Advanced Diploma in Guidance & Counselling (with Distinction)

I have also written extensively about therapy:

* For two years I wrote the monthly IN PRACTICE column in the BACP Professional Journal Therapy Today

* I am the author of LISTENING IN: A Novel Of Therapy & Real Life (published by Accent Press) and the short story: Fifty Minute Hour (published in the Legend Press collection: '8 HOURS')

Member organisations

school Registered / Accredited

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
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

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

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

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.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Areas of counselling I deal with

Fees

£60.00 - £75.00

Concessions offered for

  • check_circle Trainee counsellors

Health Insurance/EAP

  • check_circle WPA

Additional information

Therapy sessions with me last a full hour and fees are £60 for individuals, & £75 for couples.

Payment is by BACS and I'll email you an invoice at the end of each session. 

I offer a reduced fee for counselling students'training therapies of 20 sessions or more.

When I work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

I currently have availability to take on a new client for a full 1 hour Zoom appointment. Email me for my Notes for New Clients & to make an appt and I shall get back to you very promptly. 

Further information

As you see, I have specified some problems/issues I offer help with, but the real focus of counselling and psychotherapy and is always RELATIONSHIPS...

i.e..

* a relationship with spouse or partner that is causing you concern

* how you relate to others e.g. parents, children, siblings, sexual partners, friends, colleagues, authority, neighbours, god, and the meanings of those relationships for you.

* or perhaps the ending of an important relationship through death, rejection, separation or divorce.

* or your relationship with yourself - i.e. how you feel about yourself and the body you inhabit; how well you understand and manage your own feelings and emotions, and how you find meaning in the life you are living.

For your additional reassurance, I have been Advanced CRB checked.


Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, HD9

Type of session

Online

Types of client

Adults (25-64)
Older Adults (65+)
Couples

Key details

DBS check info

In England and Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly known as CRB) carry out criminal records checks for individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children. To find out more, visit gov.uk , or contact this professional directly

Online platforms

Zoom

Supervision

Online
Phone

* I currently have a vacancy for 1.

View supervision profile

Kevin Chandler
Kevin Chandler