Amanda France
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
You may be reading my profile as you are experiencing feelings of being overwhelmed and looking for help to try to address issues such as anxiety, relationship issues, depression, feeling sad or family issues that are preventing you from living life to the fullest extent. Just by recognising you may need assistance is an enormous step and trying to find the right person to turn to can seem a bewildering choice. My aim is to make this process as clear as I can and I will endeavour to make you feel welcome and valued from our first meeting onwards.
I am a fully qualified therapist and an Accredited Member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. My university qualifications and professional body membership are vital but this is not the only factor in being an effective therapist. I believe that by being able to engage with you as a unique human being and taking a genuine professional interest in you Is essential.
What you can expect by working with me:
At our initial consultation it serves as an opportunity to ascertain if I am the best match for your specific needs. We would then discuss whether you required short or longer term therapy, the issues that bring you here and what you would like to gain from your counselling. I would explain how I would work with you on your presenting issues.
After this initial consultation and if you felt comfortable with me as your therapist, we would agree a regular weekly appointment where I would concentrate on what you would like to discuss in a non judgemental, empathic and supportive space. The therapeutic relationship that we form is the foundation for the therapy, as it enables you to feel safe to share your unique experiences with me and become empowered to look at solutions. I believe that as a therapist I am warm, genuine and honest and this enables you to be open with me about what is troubling you, this leads to greater self awareness and can give you clarity and perspective on your problems.
Being an integrative therapist means that I can then bring in a tailor made way of dealing with your issues using a range of different theoretical approaches, that are relevant to you as an individual. I trained to be an integrative therapist so that I could personalise the therapy to the client not administer one theory to all clients. You are unique with a set of individual experiences, I respect this and the therapy I practice reflects this.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Dip. HE in Counselling
- Cert. HE in Counselling
- MBACP (Accred)
- Cert in CBT
- Cert in Training and Development
- PGCE in Training and Recruitment
Although I am in private practice I have extensive experience as a therapist in the charitable sector. I was a volunteer and then a member of staff at Mind for over 5 years, I have been a tutor in mental health awareness, facilitated group work, devised and delivered training workshops and held line management positions in blue chip organisations.
I take my continuing professional development seriously and only attend courses that inform my practice to be a competent therapist, benefit my clients and are in an area I find interesting. A few examples of these are listed below:
- Working with Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
- Practitioners course for working with sub personalities
- Working with trauma
- Attachment theory
- Anger, Rage and Relationships
- Anger management
- Mental health awareness
- CBT
- Adult safeguarding
- Child safeguarding
- Equality and Diversity Training
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
Fees
Additional information
£45 per 50 minute session