Andrea Barton
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I have been working as a fully qualified Counsellor and Psychotherapist for over 9 years and offer a private practice, Humankind Counselling & Psychotherapy, based either online or in the convenient and central location of the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells.
I am passionate about offering counselling and psychotherapy because so many of us struggle with our thoughts, our feelings, our behaviours, and our life predicament at some time in our lives. Not knowing how to overcome our difficulties can leave us feeling alone, vulnerable, anxious, depressed, angry or overwhelmed with a combination of those feelings. I believe counselling and psychotherapy helps.
I hold that each of us possesses the inner strength and resources to overcome our struggles, but that it is from within a safe, warm, trusting and fully accepting relationship that we find the capacity to heal and grow. My aim is to provide you with that relationship. A relationship that allows you to open up, explore your most inner thoughts and feelings and in so doing better understand yourself and make positive changes.
I offer a therapeutic approach that draws from humanistic and existential theories, which in a nutshell means that I believe counselling is about exploring your unique world and how you perceive it. This involves gently enquiring into your past and your future aspirations, but with a particular focus on how both may be shaping you in the here and now. Together we will become acquainted with your values and beliefs, your relationship with yourself, with others, and with the outside world.
In this way you will come to better understand your struggles and discover your own inner strengths and resources to overcome them. With greater awareness, understanding and acceptance of yourself, I believe you will discover ways of being that are more true to who you are and want to be, that you will be able to have more fulfilling relationships and make more positive life choices.
Together we can either work on a short-term basis focusing on specific goals or on a longer term basis whichever you feel is right for you. We can discuss this during our initial session and review as we go.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Humanistic Counselling & Psychotherapy and am a Registered Member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy.
Past experience includes adult counselling at the As You Are Centre, school counselling through Fegans and working within the NHS Instant Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Service.
Working with both adults and young people (12-17 years of age), I hold a particular interest in trauma (acute, chronic, complex and vicarious). Trauma relates to any life event that is physically or emotionally threatening and causes ongoing psychological distress whether it be through attachment trauma (childhood difficulties with our primary caregivers e.g. neglect, abuse, loss of parent or parental divorce), or a traumatic event or experience at any time in our lives (e.g. bullying, accidents, domestic & sexual abuse, bereavement and loss, natural disasters, war). This means I work with a wide range of struggles including: anxiety, depression, stress, anger, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, addiction & self-harm, eating disorders, sexual identity, lack of meaning or direction, isolation, life choices.
I am committed to ongoing professional development and hold certificates for working with trauma and post-traumatic stress, sexual abuse, child protection, shame and suicide prevention. I am also qualified to offer Lifespan Integration Therapy, a relatively new form of body and mind psychotherapy, which I believe to be a gentle but powerful way of working to help heal childhood attachment issues and any form of trauma. For more information on this form of therapy please visit: www.lifespanintegration.co.uk
I am fully insured and hold a valid enhanced DBS certificate.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Attachment Trauma
Therapies offered
Fees
£70.00 per session
Additional information
So that we can both get a feel of whether we can work together and whether I am the right therapist for you, I suggest an initial 50 minute consultation. During this first session, I will conduct a short assessment and we can discuss your reasons for coming to counselling and your goals for therapy. The cost for this initial session is £35.
If we both agree we can work together, then we will meet for weekly 50 minute sessions, which are charged at £70 per session. Limited spaces at concessionary rates are available both for trainee counsellors and others who are struggling financially.
When I work
Week day and evening appointments available.
Further information
Before re-training as a therapist, I worked for many years in International Marketing both as an employee and self-employed. This involved working in high pressure environments for long hours and with extensive travel. I share this for those who might find it relevant to know that I have personal experience of trying to cope with work related stress, to attempt to balance your career with a personal life, as well as other issues such as politics at work, performance anxiety, redundancy, career choices, professional relationships. I relished working with people around the globe and embrace our similarities and our differences. I am fluent in German and have a good working knowledge of French.