Anna McNamara
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am a COSCA trained integrative counsellor who is professionally registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and an experienced therapist. I have worked with a range of issues including: anxiety, low self esteem and depression, shame and guilt, grief and bereavement, substance and behavioural addiction, relationship issues, family dynamics, attachment and boundary issues.
My main approach is humanistic in nature which works from an assumption that people are capable of overcoming the issues in their lives and have within them the ability to do that. Sometimes this becomes blocked in some way - and that is where therapy can help.
Our first meeting provides a space for you to share with me what brings you to therapy and helps me to get a sense of your aims and goals. We would also discuss how we might work together.
I really look forward to meeting you if you choose to take the next step with me.
Client Testimonials
’So genuine and easy to connect with. I feel you got me from day one.’
‘I learned so much about me and my relationships. And most of all - how to care about myself without feeling guilty.’
’…Thankyou for helping me to see my own worth.’
Training, qualifications & experience
I qualified with a COSCA Diploma SCQF level 10 in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy. I later registered with the BACP and am currently working towards accreditation with them. I train and supervise student counsellors and have lectured in counselling for the past 10 years.
I had been employed as an addiction counsellor and also as a bereavement counsellor before setting up my own private practice.
My previous career was in community development supporting adults and young people to realise their potential within a range of settings including the NHS, local community, mental health and addiction services, schools, homelessness, the prison service, young carers, Princes Trust and Women’s Aid.
CPD includes:
- Trauma Informed Somatic Therapy
- Inner Relational Focussing Therapy
- Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)
- Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
- Counselling and Racial Diversity
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
Fees
£50.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Payable by online bank transfer
When I work
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I offer 2 concession spaces for low income clients/student counsellors
Further information
I offer a genuinely caring, down to earth, open and honest approach that listens and puts your needs and interests at the heart of the work we do together.
Working through feelings and experiences can help release some of the stuckness we hold inside. In that process we might see things about ourselves and others more clearly. Through reflection we can often gain insight and make connections in ways that seemed hidden before. And being with someone else who can see the real you and accept you as you really are, even if you find that hard to do yourself, can also be a positive experience.
At present I am only offering online and telephone counselling. This is a newly emerging way of working in counselling which I have been offering now since 2020. I am ethically mindful of this format and ensure a range of measures are in place for safety and confidentiality. This is outlined during the contracting process.
Feedback from clients say that online work is much more accessible and feasible for them and has not impacted on the therapeutic relationship or the capacity for change in any negative way.
For online work, you would need to have internet access and a device that can access the internet - as well as a private space at home where you can feel safe and comfortable to talk.
