Amy Sutton
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I'm a registered counsellor specialising in anxiety, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties/toxic relationships, domestic abuse and LGBTQ+ & relationship diversity. I work with all genders and all ages over 18.
I provide support with anxiety, low mood and depression and other overwhelming emotions. I help clients navigate the past, present and future to understand their emotions and build emotional wellbeing in a holistic way; body, mind and brain.
I offer clients the space, time, safety and skills to live freely and joyously as themselves, with understanding, insight and self-compassion. This includes giving clients space to explore their relationships with others, and with their own identity; from gender & sexuality identity to body image and low self confidence.
And, I help people make choices and decisions about their lives that feel true to them, with confidence and autonomy. If you are questioning who you are, or what you want, in whatever capacity - love, career, friendships, the future - I am here to help you find yourself, be yourself and love yourself.
Specialisms
Domestic abuse and toxic relationships
I support survivors of domestic abuse to heal from the trauma of relational abuse including:
- Emotional abuse, coercive control and physical/sexual violence
- Post-separation abuse and financial abuse
- Narcissistic abuse
- Toxic behaviours such as gaslighting, breadcrumbing and stonewalling
With experience working in the domestic abuse and family law sectors I provide a safe, compassionate environment for survivors to explore and understand what has happened, heal and thrive.
Relationship difficulties, divorce and breakups
All relationships can be hard and issues can arise that leave you feeling alone, ashamed or unheard. I can help you build relationships that enable you and your loved ones to thrive. This includes:
- Building self-esteem and confidence to express wants and needs
- Learning what your boundaries are and how to create and maintain them
- Understanding relational behaviours or beliefs that might be holding you back from fully enjoying or engaging with your relationships
- Finding freedom from jealousy, comparison or relationship anxiety
- Exploring how you relate to others and why, using models like attachment theory
The breakdown of a relationship can be devastating. Going through the painful process of grieving for this loss can be confusing and isolating. I provide space and safety to:
- Grieve the loss of your relationship and the loss of the future you had planned
- Explore and understand feelings of betrayal, guilt, shame, jealousy or confusion
Together we can explore what life can hold for you after the end of a relationship, with a focus on self-compassion and hope.
Self-identity; gender, sexuality and relationship diversity
I work with clients who may be questioning who they are and what they value within gender, sexuality and relationships. With a focus on self-identity, esteem, acceptance and compassion, I can support you to:
- Explore what gender means to you and how you want to express it
- Understand how gender or identity impacts your self-esteem e.g. body shame, rigid gender roles or feelings of powerlessness
- Take pride in how you express your sexuality, from who you love, who you have sex with - and how - including kink, asexuality and questioning
- Explore relationship structures that fall outside the 'norm' including non-monogamy/polyamory
- Bringing awareness to the impact of intersectionality on identify
How I work
There is no one way to ‘do’ therapy, just as there is no single template for a full and free life.
You are the expert on your own life. Together with my therapeutic skills, experience and empathy, we will empower you to access and enhance your own inner expert - develop the skills and insight that lead you to a life of emotional freedom.
As an Integrative Counsellor, I integrate different ways of working to meet the needs of the individual, building a relationship with you so we collaborate on our approach.
I am not a passive listener but fully engaged in creative a supportive partnership with honesty, respect and compassion at its core - along with humanity and a healthy dose of appropriate humour.
Part of our work may involve looking at your past, to see how you have come to your present. Or, we might work together to understand and manage over-powering feelings or thoughts in the present.
I work from a trauma-informed perspective, which enables me to help you explore difficult aspects of experience safely, with empathy and understanding. My trauma training also informs my way of working with how our body reacts and responds to emotions and experiences, as well as our thoughts (often referred to as somatic work).
If it feels right we can also explore creative ways to work from artistic expression to writing and beyond.
I give you the space to be yourself, and find yourself in the way that works for you.
Who do I work with? And where?
I work with adults over the age of 18. My clients are varied and encompass different backgrounds, experiences, values and needs.
I work online and in-person from my comfortable therapy room in Christchurch, near Bournemouth in Dorset.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Registered Member of BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists)
- CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- CPCAB Level 2 & 3 Counselling Skills
Further professional development (not exhaustive)
- Transactional Analysis 101
- Embodiment Practices for Relational Trauma and Boundaries
- The Freedom Programme for domestic violence
- Understanding Mother-Daughter Attachment
- Level 2 - Mental Health Advocacy in the workplace
- Jung’s Archetypes and Shadow in Stories
Nature and Spirit, Jungian practice - Introduction to Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (please note I do not work using psychedelics)
- Supporting Young People who Self-Harm
- Working with the Highly Sensitive Person
- Neurodivergence and Trauma: How Being an HSP is Similar and Different
- Trans-awareness & Inclusivity
- Restorative Practice
- Trauma and the Body
- Trauma & Disassociation
Member organisations
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
£45.00 - £55.00
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I offer a free 20 minute initial consultation (telephone or online) to answer any questions and so you can get a feel for who I am and how I work.
Each 50 minute face to face session costs £55, due at the end of each appointment.
I offer a discounted rate to trainee counsellors. Please get in touch to find out my availability for discounted sessions.
When I work
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Further information
- Volunteer Counsellor at Trinity Winchester, supporting survivors of domestic abuse
- Previous - Counsellor at Mindspace Counselling Service, Basingstoke supporting adults and young people with a variety of common mental health concerns, both long-term and short-term therapy
- Previous - Counsellor at Alton Counselling Service, working with adults in long-term therapy
- Previous - Spill Mental Health Champion. As a Mental Health Champion for Spill’s online therapy service I delivered training to employees on common mental health issues affecting our modern world
