Beverley Harman

Hello, my name is Bev and I am a qualified Therapeutic Counsellor. I am based on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon. I have a breadth and depth of experience and I am confident I can support you.

I believe that the key to effective therapy is building a mutual trusting relationship because it underpins and shapes the therapeutic environment. I approach my counselling non-judgementally, embracing difference and offering you kindness, patience, compassion and reassurance, so you feel fully valued.  

What can I offer you?

I can offer you an opportunity to talk in a safe and confidential space, where you can feel listened to and fully valued for who you are. I endeavour to help you feel at ease and  you feel confident that I can support you effectively.  First and foremost I'm a Person-Centred Counsellor, it is one of the 'humanistic' approaches, meaning it focuses on human potential, free will and self-discovery and by getting to know you and understanding your challenges, I can  can draw on other techniques such as, Gestalt,  ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy), Somatic Therapy and Mindfulness. As my experience has grown as a counsellor, I have collected 'tools' along the way from the different approaches and I can use these to support clients. I have noticed that mixing styles and techniques can be very successful and I often weave them throughout sessions and adapt to the clients I have in front of me.

Are you feeling or stressed, anxious?

Stress and anxiety can present itself in many ways, coping with it can be overwhelming causing irritability and you may overreact to situations. You may have constant fears and worries, constant negative thoughts that play over and over in your mind, so much so that it feels as though you’re involved in a tug of war. This can zap you of energy and make you feel fatigued. It may be difficult for you to remain focused and concentrate on new things, so you end up trying to control situations and people, to keep your anxiety at bay, therefore you become trapped in a state of suffering and cannot even enjoy the simplest things in life. Consequently, our anxiety affects our thoughts, feelings, emotions, behaviour, and our day-to-day living. Maybe this is beginning to adversely affect the the way you live your life, your relationships, your work and the people around you? It may be that you are unable to eat, sleep, or struggling to work. Sometimes this anxiety can lead to OCD, panic attacks or agoraphobia.  

Other situations that you may need help with

Living with Autism & ADHD

Difficult life events such as bereavement or redundancy
Relationship problems
Events from your past that still cause you distress – consciously or unconsciously - flashbacks, nightmares

Difficult feelings such as anger, shame or low self-esteem
Mental health problems
Some long-term physical health conditions

How I support you

My aim is to listen to you and help you reflect on your thoughts, feelings and behaviour by encouraging you to notice your emotions and body sensations,  as we don't just think stress and anxiety; we also feel it. Stress comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I can help you by  exploring the root causes and process any unresolved issues that you haven't dealt with, it could be that you have been burying your emotions because of a past hurt and you are constantly living in the past. My experience suggests that we need a better mind and body connection.

Stress weakens our immune system which can cause all sorts of problems such as sleeping problems, headaches, sickness, bowel problems and all sorts of joint pain.  I want to help you to recover from these effects and reduce your stress and anxiety.  By working with you and using a variety of approaches, I can teach you new coping mechanisms. The aim is to help you gain a greater psychological flexibility so you can mange your stress and anxiety better. 

I can support you to work through your challenges to overcome any negative reactions. In my experience, many different events can trigger an emotional response in a person, which can be very stressful and frightening. By talking about you thoughts, feelings and behaviour it can help you to process and understand what is happening to you.  It will increase your self-awareness, so you can start to take greater control of your life and help you to make positive changes and improve your confidence.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is part of my counselling sessions, it has the potential to develop heighten awareness of your senses and experiences and for you to learn to be less sensitive in situations and help you differentiate between what you are thinking and an actual experience.

Specialism

I am an inclusive practitioner and a strong advocate for equality and equal access to communication. I have a wealth of experience of working with Autistic  people and people who have ADHD. I have family members with Autism and my partner is Autistic and so I understand the many challenges they face day-to-day. I also support people who are waiting for a diagnosis and how this can be a very difficult time.

I have worked for twenty years with Deaf people and hard of hearing people who don't use sign language. I am a qualified Lipspeaker, and I completely understand the challenges faced to access communication especially the feelings of isolation. I  strive to make the adjustments needed for you to have equal access to counselling.

I work with people and I identify with people who have an unhealthy relationship with food. I can help and support people regulate their emotions and understand the relationship of food and the havoc it plays on our moods.

Student Mentoring

I am registered with the Association of NMH providers, The Department of Education, which offers mental health mentoring support for students at university. I have taken additional qualifications to support students who may have a disability such as autism, ADHD,  complex medical conditions or mental health challenges.

Accredited Member of the National Counselling Society (NCS)

I am an accredited member of the National Counselling Society and I work in accordance with their Ethical Framework which underpins my practice as a therapist. I am fully insured.

How to get in touch

You can email me, ring and leave a message or text me and I promise to reply as soon as I can.

Sessions

I offer sessions via Zoom, face-to-face or the telephone, where we can talk privately. 

First initial consultation - free

£40 per session 

6 sessions paid in advance £200