About me
WHAT IS COUNSELLING LIKE WITH ME
There is always light at the end of the tunnel. There is a way through. Whether you seek understanding yourself, healing your past, overcoming present or future fears and challenges, improving relationships, overcoming depression or anxiety, bereavement, financial issues, life changes, redundancy, loss, facing fertility or sexual issues, self-esteem issues, PTSD, phobias or whatever other issues you need help for, I assure you there is a lot you can do to help yourself.
With the tools, strategies, resources and information that I will provide you with, we will find the best way through together. You will choose whatever helps you better and serves you to get to your chosen destination. You will re-discover resources you forgot you had.
I create for you a safe space and time to be with you at all times earning your trust as we go along interacting with you and not just listening. You will feel comfortable and safe with me before we explore at your own pace and in your own way whatever it is that you want to look at. It will feel like talking to a trusted friend who holds space for you and understands you. I will always support you with empathy, respect and honesty, not judging and not challenging unless you want me to. It is all confidential. I will show you how to feel safe within yourself so you can find the courage to explore your issues in your own time.
I trust in the capacity my clients have to heal and recover and consider my role as a fellow traveller accompanying my clients through part of their journeys. My clients say consistently that I am warm and supportive and that they feel hopeful and encouraged after the sessions even when we have had to explore difficult or painful issues.
I offer a 10 min free phone call for you to see if I am the right counsellor for you. Coming to an initial session or any consecutive sessions does not oblige you in any way to continue.
Please, do not hesitate to contact me for an informal chat if you require further information about me, my practice or any other questions you may have. I look forward to welcoming you into my practice.
THE ROOM
I offer a comfortable and warm room for you. My clients have described the room as a "haven", a "sanctuary" or a "sacred space". There is a big window overlooking the garden and a lot of light. There is a bathroom next to the room.
There is free parking off the street with nearby shops and cafes.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
I am a relational integrative humanistic counsellor which means that your wellbeing is at the centre of my practice. I will relate and interact with you and not just listen. I offer you many different ways of working as I offer knowledge and tools from different therapeutic approaches such as Transactional Analysis, Internal Family Systems, Somatic work, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, CBT, Emotional Freedom Technique, meditation, breath work, imagery, relaxation techniques, neurolinguistic programming. All of which will be tailor to your particular way of working and preference.
I am BACP and UKRCP accredited counsellor with 20 years’ experience working for the NHS and in private practice.
I have worked in many different areas and departments within the NHS through the years: the former Primary Care Trust at different surgeries in York, York Hospital Trust, Priory Medical Group within three of its surgeries and TEWV NHS Trust.
I have also worked in two secondary schools counselling children and staff (Burnholme community College and Queen Ethelburga's School), in the Women Counselling Service in Harrogate and in Askham Grange prison in York.
In private practice, I have worked with the University of York and York Hospital Trust and also with different Government Ministries and York City Council through different EAP companies. I am also registered and work with WPA, BUPA, AXA and Aviva health insurance companies.
These different settings have allowed me to work with a great variety of people of different nationalities, races, religions, education and backgrounds, and many different problems and issues both in short-term and long-term therapy. I can work with current more immediate issues or with deeper long-standing problems.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM OUR FIRST SESSION
My only aim in the first session is to prove to you that I am worth of your trust and to help you feel comfortable and safe with me. I will listen to you and interact with you. I will convey to you my understanding, empathy and non-judgemental attitude. I aim to be fully present for you and establish an honest relationship where we can explore your concerns freely.
I will also explain to you the confidentiality limits and the boundaries of our relationship. I will always be open to any questions you may have.
In future sessions, we will look at your issues, your needs, your relationships, your aims for therapy and in life in general and use practical tools to help you access what you need or want.
Similarly, if it is just offloading what you come for, I will respect it. Whatever your aims and your needs are, they will be respected.
HOW COUNSELLING CAN HELP YOU
We all want to be happier, less stressed, feel safer in life in general. You might want to explore and feel better about a particular incident or event in your life. You might be struggling with a relationship or have work or family issues. It might be about the past or more current immediate concerns. Whatever you bring, we will explore it together to help you gain insight, understanding or learn strategies and ways to overcome your issue to change what is limiting you.
The general aim is that you live a more fulfilling, satisfying and happier life realising your potential.
OUR RELATIONSHIP
I trust in the capacity my clients have to heal and recover and consider my role is that of a fellow traveller in my clients' journeys.
My clients say consistently that I am naturally warm, that they feel comfortable with me very quickly, that I am supportive and that they feel hopeful and encouraged after the sessions even when we have had to explore difficult or painful issues.
We may use our therapeutic relationship to aid the understanding of dynamics that might be displayed in your everyday life. The understanding of emotions and how they affect our bodies, appropriate supportive challenging and information sharing, may also be part of our therapy if they are of benefit to you.
WHAT I CAN HELP WITH
Abuse, ADD / ADHD, Addictions, Adoption, AIDS/HIV, Anger management, Anxiety, Autism spectrum, Bereavement, Body/somatic therapy, Cancer, Child related issues, Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME, Coach Therapist, Coercive control, Cultural issues, Depression, Disability, Eating disorders, Health related issues, Identity issues, Infertility, Life coaching, Loss, Menopause, Men's issues, Mood disorder, Obsessions, OCD, Personal development, Phobias, Post-traumatic stress, Pregnancy related issues, Redundancy, Relationships, Self esteem, Self-harm, Sex-related issues, Sexual identity, Sexuality, Spirituality, Stalking, Stress, Substance Dependency, Trauma, Women's issues, Work related issues.
TYPES OF THERAPY
Brief therapy, CBT, EMDR, Emotionally focused therapy, Existential, Gestalt, Humanistic, Integrative, Internal Family Systems, Interpersonal, Neuro linguistic programming, Person centred, Relational, Solution focused brief therapy, Transactional analysis
CLIENTS I WORK WITH
Adults, EAP, Older adults, Organisations, Trainees, Young people
HOW I DELIVER THERAPY
Long term sessions, Long-term face-to-face work, Online therapy, Short term sessions, Short-term face-to-face work, Single session therapy (SST), Time-limited
FOREIGN LANGUAGES SPOKEN
Spanish
ACCESIBILITY/TRANSPORT
My practice is easily accessible from York city centre by car, bus, cycling or walking. There is plenty of parking on the street. Bus number 1 leaves you 2 minutes walk from my door and you can get it from most bus stops in central York. The train station is a 20 min walk away and there is a bus stop there as well if you prefer to come by bus.
Coming to an initial sessions does not oblige you to continue. In fact, you are not obliged to continue counselling at any point.
SESSIONS TIMES AND FEES
You will be in control of the frequency and timing of the sessions to suit you within these times and the availability I have for that week:
9am - 4pm (last session starts at 3pm) Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Some Fridays at 12.30pm & 2pm
Some Saturdays at 10am & 11.15am
Some Thursdays and Fridays evenings at 7pm & 8pm
Sessions last 50 min and cost £60.00
I look forward to welcoming you into my practice.
Training, qualifications & experience
BA (Honors 1992)
MA in law 1993
Post-graduate Diploma in Counselling (2006)
BACP Accreditation in Counselling (2011)
As mentioned above, I have worked for different Trusts within the NHS for 20 years, schools, Askham Grange Prison, for charities, EAP's, private health insurance and in the private sector.
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
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 per session
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
£60.00 per 50 minutes session
When I work
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9am-4pm (last session at 3pm) Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Some Fridays at 12.30pm & 2pm
Some Saturdays at 10am & 11.15am
Some Thursdays and Fridays evenings at 7pm & 8pm
Further information
I also advertise on the BACP Find a therapist directory.
I am a registered approved counsellor with BUPA, AVIVA, WPA and AXA.
I work supporting staff at York Hospital Trust, University of York and several other companies and Government Ministries through EAP intermediaries.
