Avril Allen

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Accred MBACP, UKCP Counsellor, Psychotherapist, Supervisor
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

Hythe CT21 & London Bridge SE1
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

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Hello, I’m Avril and I am an accredited BACP and UKCP counsellor, psychotherapist,  coaching psychologist and clinical supervisor, ​​helping clients mend from past hurts; relationship issues; anxiety including social anxiety, generalised anxiety and panic attacks; lack of confidence and assertiveness or loss of direction, focus, concentration and purpose amongst other areas.

Are you looking to...

  • Improve your relationships?
  • Stop anxiety spoiling your life?
  • Gain confidence in yourself and your abilities?
  • Develop a strong sense of self?
  • Feel a sense of well-being and achievement?

Then I can offer you all the help and guidance you need.

I help people resolve emotional matters in a warm, yet rational, deliberate manner.

As you will see below I am experienced with different approaches to therapy and will tailor the work to suit you as a person.  All my work is underpinned with my strong conviction that whatever you bring to therapy, with understanding in a safe, accepting environment and the right problem-solving skills, you will discover and hone your inner strengths. And your problems may even turn out to hold your potential.

I enjoy seeing my clients build a strong sense of self confidence, clarity and well-being.

How does it work?

Online Therapy is an exciting departure from traditional face-2-face treatment. Apart from the obvious advantage of accessibility anywhere with an internet connection, you have the session in text to reflect on later.  I took part in an NHS research trial (Ipcress) with Bristol University, delivering CBT online to patients referred with depression/anxiety. Successful results were published in The Lancet : Volume 374, Number 9690, 22 August 2009.

I meet clients Face to Face in Hythe or London, but many clients prefer Telephone meetings or Online live chat, as then geography is not a problem. Wherever we meet you can be assured that it will be in a confidential setting.

What is the next step?

Contact me to arrange an initial discussion about the possibilities and further information. When emailing, please include your location and contact telephone number(s).

Training, qualifications & experience

  • MBACP Senior Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist
  • UKCP Accredited Psychotherapist
  • Art Psychotherapist
  • BIH Hypnotherapy & NLP dip (with distinction)
  • Master NLP practitioner
  • Psychologist with an organisation delivering online CBT to NHS patients via IAPT

After working within the NHS for a couple of years I have many years' experience in private practise and via EAPs (employee assistance programmes) worked with personnel of diverse companies such as

  • Pricewaterhouse Coopers
  • Ernst & Young
  • PetroCanada
  • BBC
  • Transport for London
  • Merrill Lynch
  • FSA (Forensic Science Service)
  • Asda
  • Abbot Mead Vickers.

I am on the staff as a recommended therapist for students training at the Psychosynthesis and Education Trust and was on their Assessment panel for 2 years, assessing whether clients would be best served with a referral to our students or an experienced member of the counselling service.

Experienced BACP accredited supervisor for therapists.

My background

I am a BACP accredited counsellor/psychotherapist clinical supervisor and also accredited with UKCP as a psychotherapist.

A bit about my background.  Starting out with a psychology degree, I graduated from the Psychosynthesis & Education Trust; qualified as an Art Therapist and worked within the nhs for a while, before starting in private practice.  I designed and led Art from Within workshops for 10 years and have practiced as a counsellor and psychotherapist ever since.

Having been astonished at the creativity of the unconscious mind through art therapy in particular I fulfilled a long-held ambition to qualify as a hypnotherapist in the 90s. 

Nowadays I am a life coach too, helping people reach their potential and design their lives creatively, but do not be concerned if you feel too bruised to go for goals and achievements and want a safe, warm, accepting space to heal, because I can help you work through the past, or empower you to create a good future.  I will explain the difference between therapy and coaching if that interests you, and help you decide which is the best approach right now for you.

Whether brief solution-focussed or a longer journey, our relationship can continue as long as you need it to be there.

Member organisations

Registered / Accredited

Registered / Accredited

Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.

UKCP
UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)

The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.

As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.

UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

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

UK Council for Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

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.

UK Council for Psychotherapy
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

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.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Other areas of counselling I deal with

Psychotherapy enables you to understand yourself better, explore and heal from the past and how it has affected your personal foundation, relationships and patterns.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy CBT and Brief Solution-focused, therapies are cognitive approaches exploring the way you think which affects the way you feel.

They are the NHS treatment of choice for many problems including depression and anxiety.  If your thoughts are not useful we explore ways to change them to more resourceful thought patterns. It’s all about what works!

NLP is about feeling great and enhancing your performance in whatever you do. Stress or lack of confidence can hinder your effectiveness at work, in sports and developing relationships. NLP was developed by modelling very successful people in their fields; is commonly used in sports and business and just as useful in your personal life.  It can help remove the impact of a nasty memory and teach you the control to create a confident and motivational state instead. 

Hypnotherapy is a pleasant, peaceful experience engaging the creative subconscious mind which is responsible for stored learning and producing habitual behaviours without the need of conscious thought, which is why logical decisions to change habits may not always work.  Hypnotherapy is particularly effective to stop smoking, overcome phobias, build confidence, relieve stress and restore a sense of well-being.

Anxiety

I specialise in helping clients stop anxiety spoiling their lives with Anxiety Breakthroughs programme:
http://avrilallen.co.uk/anxiety-breakthroughs/

Avril Allen is also registered with Life Coach Directory.

Hythe, Kent, CT21

London Bridge, London, SE1

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone

Types of client

Adults
Older adults
Groups
Organisations
Employee Assistance Programme

Supervision

In person

I am an accredited BACP supervisor, and ukcp accredited psychotherapist with many years experience, and will work with you in a warm, supportive yet deliberate, rational manner.

View supervision profile

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