Annie Shannon
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
I'm Annie, I'm a warm, empathic counsellor offering online and face to face sessions in Brighton, Hove and Hurst.
Counselling can provide the time and space to rediscover yourself, to heal and to feel empowered to lead the kind of life that you deserve.... you don't have to feel alone as you navigate difficult periods and life events, therapeutic conversations and support can help.
- I offer compassionate, empowering and down-to-earth (humanistic) counselling: my role is not to offer advice, to judge or tell you what you should do, but rather to provide an empathic, supportive, accepting and relaxed space as you:
- make sense of past or current events and relationships
- face bereavement, ill-health or a diagnosis
- explore your personal identity or a significant change
- increase self-awareness, identify and explore unhelpful self-beliefs and deepen your inner strength and confidence
I believe with the right support we can do more then just 'get through' challenging periods - we can grow, become more self-compassionate, resilient and ultimately find deeper meaning and contentment.
I don't work in a rigid or formulaic way; everyone is different, with different needs and so the environment and manner that counselling takes place in will also differ for each of us. As such I offer a variety of ways of working, including online, face to face and 'walk & talk' sessions.
I am not a 'blank canvas' counsellor and don’t have a clinical, sterile or cold approach. I am calm, patient and responsive and work in as inclusive, respectful and authentic a manner as possible.
My hope is that you will always know you are with a real human, who listens, cares and accepts you, just as you are.
I believe a positive counselling experience can have a domino effect, impacting not just you, but your family, friends, colleagues, peers and community.. there are no limits.
Training, qualifications & experience
- I have experience working with a broad range of people, ages and issues (such as: bereavement, trauma, depression, anxiety, self esteem, neurodivergence, health issues, identity & relationships);
- My training was in humanistic creative counselling and I undertook further formal training to work therapeutically with children;
- Alongside this, I know first hand the benefits an empowering and supportive therapeutic relationship can offer and have a deep understanding of the kind of challenging and painful events and experiences that life can throw at us;
- I am a registered member of the BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists), the largest professional body for counselling and psychotherapy in the UK and as such am committed to adhering to their ethical standards and requirement for regular supervision;
- I hold professional indemnity insurance and an extended DBS certificate and can work with adolescents, young people and adults;
- I am committed to continuing my professional development and attend regular training to support my work in areas such as: grief and loss, gamers & gamblers, neurodivergence, PMDD, relationships, safeguarding, self harm, SEND, shame, suicidality and trauma.
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
- Hormonal impacts on mental health i.e. PMDD, PMS, menopause
- Identity
- Childhood trauma and neglect
These lists of areas of working are not intended to deter - if you do not resonate with anything listed here please do still get in touch for an initial conversation. If I can't help I will do my best to recommend another counsellor or service.
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
- If it's useful, we can 'meet' online for a free 15 minute chat in order that you can get an idea for me and ask any questions you might have.
- I offer a reduced price 45 minute first face to face session in order that you can get a better feel for what counselling might be like with me before committing to ongoing sessions.
- I offer a limited number of concessionary spaces for low-waged clients, please feel free to enquire for current availability.
- Fees are kindly requested in advance of each session.
When I work
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Please contact me for availability, I sometimes have space outside of my normal working hours listed here.
Further information
Next steps:
- You can email, text or leave a voice message in the first instance
- We can then arrange a (free) 15 minute chat on the phone or online in order for us to 'meet' and for you to get more of a feel for what counselling might be like with me
- Our first 'face to face' session would be for 45 minutes at a reduced fee of £30 (payable in advance) and would be fairly informal, a chance for you to get a better idea of what counselling might be like with me and for you to tell me what your hopes and expectations of counselling are
- You can then decide whether or not you wish to commit to working together going forward - you won't be pressured to decide on the spot
- If you do decide to go ahead, we will normally meet at the same time each week for your 50-minute session
I offer the following options:
- Face to face sessions in three locations: East Sussex (in central Brighton AND central Hove) and West Sussex (Hurstpierpoint)
- ‘Walk and talk’ sessions - along Brighton & Hove seafront or in a local green space
- Online and telephone sessions
