Amanda Reynolds

Thinking about getting some counselling can feel daunting and fill you with even more anxiety. It can feel a little confusing with so many types of therapy and people who offer it.

I remember looking for a counsellor myself, and wanting to ask lots of questions. It felt important to find someone I could trust and be comfortable with, so I could just be myself. Being able to connect with your counsellor can mean the difference between a good or bad experience for you, which is why I offer free introductory calls to people who may interested in working with me. 

I’m a Neuro-affirming, trauma counsellor who is calm, open and honest. I will bring myself into our counselling space in this way. I offer a non-judgemental, safe and quiet space for you to talk and be heard.

You may know something is wrong but might not be sure what it is, and struggle each day. Not knowing where to start or how to stop something from happening. Anxiety, low energy and low mood can feel over whelming, and with so much advice online you can feel uncertain how to change it, leading to feeling exhausted, and burnt out. I can help and support you with this. Please email / enquire to request a FREE introductory call.

I want you to get the most out of counselling that you can, so it is worth your time coming. Therapy is an investment in yourself, and when you are ready to make that commitment I will be there to support you.

You deserve to feel better.

My clients often tell me that I am a warm and relaxed person, we can enjoy a good giggle and lightness at times, as well as holding the heavy stuff too. I value openness and honesty and will be reliable for you. 

I’m a professional member of the BACP and I’m registered with the International Commissioners Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection. I value your confidentiality and treat all my clients with respect and compassion. 

Who I work with: I work with lots of people who are distressed and experiencing many things such as anxiety, Autism, ADHD, family issues, relationship and friendship challenges, low mood and depression, neuro-diverse challenges, and low self-esteem. I work with individuals who suspect they have Autism or ADHD.

I also specialise in working with people who have experienced childhood sexual,  emotional and physical abuse, abuse by partners or family and trauma events. 

I work with individuals who feel they have hit burnout and find day-to-day living overwhelming and feel absolutely exhausted, these are people just like you. Everyday hard workers, shift workers, professionals, parents, and people on long term sick.

If any of my profile resonates with you, I would encourage you to take the next step and get in touch for a short introductory call. It’s free and only lasts about 20 or 30 minutes and there is no obligation to book anything further.

Why talking therapy? Counselling can change lives. It’s not a dramatic quick fix, although at times it can really shift you into a new awareness that helps you.

It brings hope, change and a new confidence to who you are.

It can reconnect you with your real self, help you discover and explore your needs, and give you the skills to find your own voice and make changes to your life that are for the better.

I have seen this happen many times and that is why I believe in it and offer it to people like you, searching for a better something.

Where I work from: For face-to-face, my premises are based on the borders of Castleford, Wakefield, Leeds, and North Yorkshire. Mainly, clients come for face-to-face sessions from around WF10 | WF7 | WF8| WF11| LS25 | LS15 | LS26 postcode areas. Castleford, Wakefield and Leeds. My online clients are from across the UK and Europe.

How I work: My professional training and experience guide my belief you are the expert on you. Working together, you will gain a deeper understanding of your experiences. This new awareness and understanding will help you to grow in confidence, recognise your own needs, learn to value yourself and find your own voice for a better life. 

I offer a safe space for you to learn how to trust yourself and grow in strength by talking and exploring your feelings and emotions. My approach focuses on you as a whole person and considers the social environment around you and that has shaped you. Often causing feelings of oppression, shame or guilt, regret, and loss. 

I offer various techniques to explore difficult and challenging emotions. I may suggest we write a timeline or draw something, or we consider using emotion cards or different objects to help you express your critical voices and different parts of yourself. We explore with a gentle curiosity, so confusing or complex behaviours and feelings can become clearer for you.

We will also be curious about your nervous system, you might not feel safe in your own body or when you are around others. Counselling can provide an opportunity for you to explore lots of things, including emotions or feelings of shame, secrets, self-sabotage and intrusive thoughts.

We can be affected by feeling a certain way or in particular situations or with familiar people and often feel triggered and unsafe. I may offer psycho-education around this or other areas of interest if you would like them, so you can understand why or what drives certain behaviours you might have that you wish to change, or do more of. 

At work with you in a gentle, trauma-informed way to enable you to understand past events that may be creeping up on you and into your thoughts. Memories seem to pop up or resurface that may need processing and exploring for you safely and gently, and we can do this together, you are always in control of our sessions. I will walk beside you and stay and support you when we explore your dark shadows together as well as the lighter and more positive aspects of your life. 

Clients with Autism and ADHD: I offer an Autism informed way of working which means we can talk about ASC, how it may bring challenges for you, and together we can make reasonable adjustments to support your needs in the counselling sessions. Working at a pace to suit you. With psycho-education we can explore your sensory sensitivities, work with RSD, procrastination, impulsivity, social anxiety and explore strategies to suit you that work for you. With so much information out there it’s hard to know where to start, so we can do this together a step at a time and relevant to you as an individual.

The introductory call and what to expect: I will ask you a few questions so we can explore and identify what it feels like to be you, in your world. We will briefly discuss what your hopes or goals are for counselling. 

First sessions and what to expect: Once you're booked in we get started. Because it is private practice we have no time limit. We sit together and talk. You don’t lie on a couch or get asked to do anything odd or like you’re in drama class again.

I don’t make you do or say anything you do not want to and you are not expected to behave in any certain way, just try to be your true self. Who you are, and being able to be your true self is going to be really useful for you to get the most out of your sessions and for our relationship to work well for you.

We will talk about how you like to process information and how you prefer to work with me. 

I use my training to support you and help you to feel safe so we can explore the difficulties you are facing.

We will have frequent reviews and check in's. Usually every 6 sessions or so to keep us focused and make sure you're getting the most from each session.

I understand counselling can make you feel very vulnerable, and it takes time to build trust. My aim is to help you feel as safe as possible as you share things during our sessions. Your counselling is all about you, and you are always in control. We work at your pace, I may gently challenge you at times.

Next steps:

Your Pace: I understand this is a big decision and will support you step-by-step. When you're ready please get in touch to arrange a free intro call.

Free Intro Call: I offer a free introductory call to chat, explore how counselling can help, and ensure you feel comfortable working together before making any commitments.

Relationship First: Our relationship is key to your counselling success. It is important you feel ready, and comfortable talking to me, so we work together, and make a difference in your life. 

Ready When You Are:  I look forward to hearing from you, when you are ready.

Counsellor in Castleford, Wakefield, Leeds, WF10 | WF7 | WF8 | WF11 | LS25 | LS15 | LS26 areas.

Counsellor in WF10 | WF7| WF8 | WF9 | LS15 | LS25 | LS26 | Wakefield | Leeds area and online in the UK and Europe.

Daytime appointments:

• £55 for up to a 60-minute day time session
• £80 for up to a 90-minute day time session (works well for fortnightly sessions)
• Shift workers can be accommodated
• I DO NOT offer evening appointments

Where do we have sessions?

Face to face or using the online Zoom platform. 

Location:

Sessions are carried out in a confidential room, in Allerton Bywater.  There is free parking outside the building.  

There are plenty of buses to the village where my private practice is based. I am on the border of Wakefield, Leeds, and North Yorkshire. 

With toilets.

Walk and talk:

From our counselling room, we are also in walking distance to a beautiful bird reserve, (featured as an aerial image in the photographs). Walk and talk therapy can often feel less intense and may be something you will prefer at times. 

When will we have sessions?

Weekly or fortnightly spaces are available. Whichever suits you and your needs. Previous clients also return on an ad hoc basis when they feel they made need a session to work through something.

How Counselling Can Help You:

Counselling can empower you and support you in discovering a new voice, more confidence and self-belief. It can be a safe space to explore past events or process emotions that feel like they're holding you back and causing self-sabotage or addictive behaviours. It can show you how to learn to cope better and support yourself, how to ask for support and when to ask for help in the future.

I believe you have the potential to do all of these things, and that you deserve to value yourself even though it might feel you are not ‘good enough’ at the moment. My approach encourages you to be curious about overcoming constraints and at times can feel liberating, creating hope you can live your life in a more fully and creative way with new coping strategies.

Staying safe with a working agreement together:

As a professional member of the BACP I work to their guidelines and always provide us with a working agreement, a bit like a contract. We will look at it together and both sign it before we start our session, we can even add elements to it personal to you if they help you to feel safe and secure and able to come to your therapy sessions. Working agreements cover how everything is confidential, and considers safeguarding, so we work both ethically and safely together. 

Your privacy and data:

Being registered with the ICO means I take care of all your personal information in a secure manner. I protect it in locked cabinets only accessed by myself or with digitally password protected and encrypted files, texts and emails. Your safety and privacy is always at the forefront of my private practice.