Belinda Hook
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Counselling
I am a qualified and registered, accredited counsellor with the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP). I have been in practice since 2013, qualified in 2015, and accredited in 2020. I am now a qualified member of the EMDR Association, and provide EMDR Psychotherapy.
I work as a humanistic, Psychodynamic counsellor, with integrated approaches such as Gestalt therapy, Psychosynthesis, Mindfulness, and Focusing, which can all be very helpful in bringing awareness to the depths of oneself and situations.
I offer an accepting, non-judgmental, safe space to hear you and help you to find in yourself what it is you are looking for. That may be peace in coming to terms with painful emotions or situations, or it may be finding better ways of being or learning to accept things just as they are.
There may be a specific problem, or there may not be, and both are fine.
EMDR Psychotherapy
EMDR - Eye movement desensitisation reprocessing therapy offers a focused approach to trauma resolution. Often our problems in living stem from early trauma, even when there is no obvious trauma that we perceive. Trauma can be hidden and subtle, it doesn't always involve a one-off incident. EMDR is focused and effective, and therefore healing can be achieved much more quickly than with talking therapies alone.
About me
I formerly worked as a carer with the elderly and then with technically dependent children in clinical care, with the NHS. After I’d had my children I decided I needed to work in a more empowering way, while still helping others.
I began studying counselling with The Open University and then moved to study at the Iron Mill Academy in Exeter where I qualified as an Integrative counsellor in 2015. I have completed numerous courses since qualifying, including a course in working online, and gained my accredited status in 2020. In 2022 I qualified as an EMDR Psychotherapist.
During my time as a counsellor I have worked with a diverse range of clients from many different backgrounds and with a wide variety of issues. I have worked in a number of settings which has provided me with training in different ways of working while strengthening my core skills in counselling. I am committed to continue my professional development and training on an ongoing basis to ensure that I am always working in accordance with the BACP ethical framework. I undertake regular supervision both for counselling, and EMDR.
When I’m not at work I enjoy long walks with my family, going on adventures, drawing and painting, and DIY.
I am qualified to work online and via telephone with my clients, although EMDR must be online, or face to face. I see clients from my home in Innerleithen.
Training, qualifications & experience
EMDR Psychotherapy 2022
- EMDR Association
BACP Accreditation 2020
- BACP
Delivering therapy online 2020
- Abertay University
- A wide range of certificated CPD courses dating from 2017 to date
Advanced Diploma Integrative Counselling 2015
- Iron Mill Academy, Exeter
Induction in the Delivery of therapeutically-Focused Workshops
2014
- South Devon Carers Consortium
Certificate in Counselling 2011
- Iron Mill Academy, Exeter
Exploring Fear and Sadness 2010
- Open University
Introduction to Counselling 2009
- Open University
I began my counselling study in 2009 with the Open University. In 2011 I began studying at the Iron Mill Institute in Exeter, where I qualified as an Integrative counsellor in 2015.
Since then I have worked with a wide diversity of clients with many different presenting issues, from carers to substance users, and people with severe mental illness.
My professional development has covered a wide range of subjects and topics related to various modalities in psychotherapy, and the differing ways they view problems in living. I keep my learning current and up to date, and practice in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework, and relevant organisational policies.
My experience of working with different client groups and presenting issues has simply reinforced that each of us is individual and unique, no two people share identical experience or process them in the same way. It is therefore not the 'issue' we are working with, but a person with a unique narrative and way of viewing the world.
Member organisations
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.
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
PFOA Approved Counsellor
EMDR Association Member
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 - £80.00
Free initial telephone or online session
Additional information
Counselling
First introductory session is free online or by phone.
Sessions are £60 per hour. EMDR sessions can take up to an hour and a half and are charged at £80
EMDR sessions are £80 for assessment (process) sessions, which typically last an hour and a half.
Online fees are as above.
When I work
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Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 11:00-8:00, or later if necessary.
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Further information
What is counselling?
Counselling is a talking therapy. It is a process where you can feel safe talking to someone who listens to your point of view, who accepts who you are, who doesn't tell you what to do and who will not discriminate against you.
It can help you understand difficult emotions
Make sense of your circumstances
Work out your own options
Move on better equipped to cope with the future
People come to counselling with many different experiences.
You may feel angry, scared, sad, depressed, anxious, stressed or lonely.
You may be grieving, have a lack of confidence, a difficult decision to make, difficulty sleeping, concerns about sex or experience of abuse.
Your problems may be with relationships, family, work or school.
You can talk about and work with your individual needs.
There is safety in exploring your own experience in a confidential environment. I liken it to being on a journey. You may find you need to stop and look at the map for some reason. Perhaps you are lost, or don’t like the road you have been on. Maybe you wonder what other roads are out there. It might be that the ride has been very bumpy or traumatic even. Counselling offers you a chance to stop, look at the map and have time to yourself to help with the next step.
If we do not change the direction we are going, we are likely to end up where we are headed. ― Lao Tzu
In this time I don’t tell you where to go nor do I judge your progress. It can be very helpful having someone looking at the map with you. If I point to what I see on the map, this may enhance your view. ― Juliana Hopkins
I am an accredited Counsellor, registered with the BACP, since 2013. My work integrates modalities from a psychodynamic core, to suit each unique individual.
I began life in South East London where I worked caring first for the elderly, and then babies and children with the NHS, and then I moved to Cornwall to raise my own children. In Cornwall I qualified to be a counsellor and after 11 years there I relocated to the Scottish Borders.
During my work as a counsellor I have increasingly noticed the connection between self and environment as a reflection of the relationship with the self. For example when we feel out of control of our lives, it tends to be projected into our living space in the form of chaotic clutter. If your living environment is problematic for you, I'm happy to explore that with you.
Contact (I am best contacted by email)
Email
bcwwcounselling@gmail.com
Website: belindahook.co.uk
Facebook: BCWW Counselling Scottish Borders
