Andy Rayner, MBACP, MBPsS

About me

Hello and welcome,

People from all walks of life seek counselling at times in their lives

•       Whether you’re feeling depressed & ruminating about past experience(s), or anxiously worrying about future event(s).

•       Sometimes people are traumatised by things that happen to them while growing up, sometimes experiences as an adult.

•       Maybe you want to explore your feelings, thoughts, reactions to other people, or make sense of their behaviour towards you.

•       You might have a specific concern, or sometimes things don’t feel right in general.

•       For some it is just a sense that something is wrong, missing, or, …isn’t there more to life?

•       People often seek help when in distress but counselling isn’t just for the unwell!  It can help individuals to live a more meaningful life & flourish.

If any of this resonates for you then please explore my website and contact me to see how counselling with me might help.

Counselling has helped people with a range of concerns:

·         Anxiety & General Anxiety Disorder

·         Depression

·         Relationship issues

·         Work stress

·         Adverse experiences in childhood

·         Adult trauma

·         Bereavement and loss

·         Adjustment to change/transition

·         Enduring mental health distress

·         Autism spectrum concerns.

About my approach:

•       I offer face to face counselling for individuals

•       I offer short-term and open-ended time-frames

•       I offer weekly appointments, generally on the same day & time each week.  Occasionally I recommend a more frequent meeting arrangement if there is clinical reason

•       I offer weekday daytime, evening and Saturday appointments.  Appointment availability will vary depending on the location of our meeting.

•       At a first meeting we would normally discuss your concern(s), some background details, practical arrangements for our meeting, give you chance to ask me any questions, and, importantly, try to work out whether we are a good match to work together to work on what is concerning you.  Together we will agree how to proceed thereafter.

•       I seek to create a welcoming, safe, non-judgemental, and confidential space for people to explore and reflect on thoughts, feelings, and behaviours about whatever is the concern.

•       In terms of my approach; I integrate ideas and strategies from a number of psychological approaches e.g. humanistic, psychodynamic and analytic, CBT, plus others.  I also draw on latest developments from the research literature and neuroscience.

•       Forming these into a client centred, philosophically coherent approach aimed towards a richer & more authentic way of living.

•       With the emphasis on the client-counsellor relationship at the heart of the therapy.

About Andy:

•       I am an experienced and qualified counsellor, assessor and tutor.  Presently I work as a counsellor in private practice, I counsel for a number of organisations, and I work in the mental health field in education.

•       I am passionate about helping individuals in distress while respecting their difference.  And see both counselling and education as empowering people to live more authentic, richer, & more meaningful lives, by bringing a deeper psychological understanding to our experiences and relationships.

•       Before training as a counsellor I had a career in industry and in the health & social care sector.

•       When not counselling, or involved with my other work, I like to divide my time between family & friends, being, especially in the out-doors, and my music interests.