Andrea Gavin

A warm welcome, 

I truly understand the importance of finding the right support, at the right time, with the right person. 

Counselling experience can vary enormously,  personally, I believe post-graduate level training is a necessity as is every therapist undertaking their own personal journey of therapy.   For me, this ensures I am informed, safe and able to work at great depth at a time of enormous sensitivity in another person's life.   I see therapy as a collaboration and exploration with two experts in the room - you as expert of you own lived experience and myself as holding expertise in therapeutic approaches and techniques.

I have had the pleasure or travelling alongside a range of people from all walks of life.   Early in my career I supported prisoners due for release, individuals experiencing the stress/strain of homelessness and worked in rehabilitation services supporting people experiencing psychosis.    I have been a counsellor in both the NHS Talking Therapy services and private health care - here focus has tended to be on anxiety management, depression/low mood or complicated grief,  life adjustments and changes as well as stress/burnout.

My approach is very personalised but is always relational and underpinned with best practice and clinical guidelines.  Importantly, I aim to remain alongside you and work at a pace and in a way that speaks to your personal need. 

Some areas I may work in are:

• Mourning, grief and living forward in the face of loss/unwanted life change such as death, divorce, redundancy. 
• Restoring calm,  finding emotional balance and distress management
  Finding the optimal stress point - preventing burnout, reducing imposter self
• Reframing unhelpful narratives such as inner critic which compounds low self esteem or self worth
• Relational issues to include ruptures, miss-communications, disconnects and may include guilt, trust etc.  
• Reducing overwhelm,  managing uncertainty and taking back control of worry

 I am passionate about supporting others to un-hook from stuck patterns,  manage emotional ups/downs,  reframe unhelpful inner dialogues and find inner peace at times of huge life challenge.   Importantly, I aim to support you find greater clarity, meaning making, balance and wellbeing.

This may include: 

• working with power/control in relationship - emotional/psychological domestic abuse, emotional intensity in relationship, phases/stages of leaving a relationship
• Improving wellbeing, resilience - moving to thriving rather than surviving;  finding one's compass and reconnecting to personal values 
• Navigating wanted/unwanted changes in life;   re-grouping after a bereavement;  finding direction from co-parenting to parallel parenting;  supporting families dealing with  prison sentences;  managing phased returns to work after period of ill health;  transitioning;  phased returns to work;  sensitive disclosures.
• Managing parenting / sibling experiences and neurodiversity especially autism and PDA

This is not an exhaustive list.

Therapy Approach 

I work as an integrative, humanistic therapist which draws on a blend of therapeutic models so our work is tailored around your unique needs. My training includes:

• CBT
• Person-Centred Therapy
• Gestalt
• Transactional Analysis
• Psychodynamic and Attachment-based approaches

This integrative model allows us to work with the whole self – thoughts, emotions, body, and lived experiences – exploring the past, present or future depending on your goals. As part of this, we may look at opposites such as depression and joy, anxiety and safety, fear and excitement, helping you reconnect with a fuller emotional range.

I am told that I am compassionate, down-to-earth, open, culturally sensitive and gently challenging when helpful.   I was raised cross culturally in the UK and Portugal.  I come from a large family and now have a family of my own and am navigating college/university experiences as we speak!

I am unable to offer crisis support or work with clinically diagnosed emotional instability within my private practice as this requires a depth to the work and a team approach that I cannot offer in this context.

Online or in person - what is best? 

I have worked both online and in person throughout my career.  My training was in-person (exception of online therapy training).   I added online working to my practice in 2016 and supported therapists to adapt to online working during the pandemic.   All approaches are evidence-based and are effective but each person and issues they bring vary.   

This outline may help you when deciding on what is best for you:  

E-therapy (email): I am in my 50's and recall the value of letter writing - email therapy is not dissimilar.  It gives you the opportunity to write down your thoughts, feelings and experiences and receive a response.  This works well when perhaps time is premium or you enjoy reflective journaling. Important to note -  you have to wait for a reply (48 hours response time).   You do not need to be a writer or aspiring author.

Video or telephone:   Unlike email, both video and telephone sessions are in real time.   I often liken telephone therapy to the Freudian-couch style of therapy.  You might also lay down, close your eyes and be reflective in a way that you cannot on a video call.   On the other hand a video-call gives us visual cues - I may not notice that you are tearful on a telephone call for example.  Some people use Teams for work and feel video calls feel too much like work.  For others,  seeing my responses and my face is a vital part of their therapy.   I will also recommend we move to a different approach if I feel that the chosen one is not effective.

Walk and Talk therapy:   Eco therapy as it can be known as enables us to step outside and have nature as our frame instead of the therapy room. This typically entails pre-agreed and planned routes structured within the 50 minute therapeutic hour.  At the introductory chat we will discuss health issues, back up plans and explore if this way of working is right for you.   I have found it to be very beneficial for working with low mood/depression.   Being outdoors we are open to the elements and this will often come into our work together.

Creative and Arts-Based Therapy:  In today's world we can live in our linear, language driven right brain which tends to have set/fixed rules and ways for doing things.  Using metaphors, images, music and body in therapy can help us access our left brain - this offers new perspectives,  flexibility of thinking, helps us adopt a helicopter perspective over our issues - essential for gaining distance and seeing things afresh.   I am trained to work with: 

• Art making (drawing, journaling, painting)
• Sandtray therapy for gaining perspective and exploring patterns
• Writing, metaphor work and narrative exploration
• Using music or film to explore emotional themes

No artistic skill is required. Creative therapy can be especially powerful when you feel stuck, overwhelmed or disconnected from your inner world. It engages right-brain emotional processing, helping bypass the inner critic and offering new ways of understanding, healing and reframing experiences.

I do not provide child or play therapy.  I can offer art based therapy online and in person. 

What to Expect in Therapy

• Care, kindness, validation and collaboration
• A safe, steady and supportive environment
• Space to explore your concerns at your pace
• A focus on what matters most to you

You’re welcome to book an introductory call to help you decide whether we’re a good fit. If I am not the right therapist for your needs, I will always signpost you to alternative support options.

Sessions are typically 50 minutes and can take place online, via telephone, email, face-to-face or outdoors. You can choose between single-session work, brief therapy (1–12 sessions) or long-term therapy (12+ sessions). There is never any obligation to continue.

Professional Background

I bring over 20 years of experience across adult mental health services, alongside a psychology degree, masters-level professional training, and professional accreditation with BACP (41101). I also work as a clinical supervisor for other therapists.

My experience includes roles such as:
• Psychotherapist in private healthcare settings
• NHS Talking Therapies – High Intensity Practitioner
• Counsellor in Higher Education
• Senior NHS Manager within adult mental health services
• Manager of wellbeing and emotional health programmes
• Clinical supervisor and team manager across multiple settings

Feel free to ask if you have any questions 

I operate a sliding scale and am willing to consider individual circumstances and needs. 

I appreciate that picking a therapist, choosing the type of therapy and affording therapy are all huge choices and decisions. I would recommend that you take your time, ask to have brief chats with therapists whose profiles you are drawn to. Ask questions and trust your gut feeling!. 

Happy to assist where possible.