Carina Badger

Gain perspective about your process and develop boundaries so you can make informed, mindful choices about the life you want to live.   I help people feel more content and in control of their lives.

Perhaps some of this sounds familiar...

• You feel stuck in the same patterns of behaviour and can’t work out how to change this
• You’ve been feeling anxious or stressed
• Maybe you feel overwhelmed by life’s challenges
• You feel disconnected from yourself and others sometimes
• You’re not thriving
• You feel like something is 'wrong' with you or others
• You struggle in relationships with other people

I firmly believe that you write your own narrative in life. But it can feel hard to face things alone or make sense of the challenges life can present.  It’s probably not more willpower you need – it’s more insight and empathy in a safe space to figure out who you are and how you want to live your life.

What sort of issues do I help clients with?

I work with couples and individuals.  Some of the sorts of areas I work with include:

• Repeated patterns of thinking or behaving where you feel stuck
• Anxiety and stress
• Overwhelm
• Depression and feeling low
• Loneliness
• Low self-esteem and low self-confidence
• Relationship challenges such as difficulties with partners, friends or families, affairs and betrayals, separation and divorce
• Attachment difficulties
• Bereavement, grief and loss
• Life transitions such as children leaving home, menopause, coming out, a relationship breakdown, a bereavement, changing career or city, retirement or something else. These transition periods can bring up a range of emotions that can feel overwhelming and bewildering

I also work with couples seeking to break out of cycles of behaviour that are holding them back from flourishing.

In 2024 I will be starting some therapy groups. Please get in touch for details.

My aim is to be curious, human, professional and compassionate. 

🏳️‍🌈 I am an LGBTQ+ affirmative, sex and fat positive counsellor. I have specific training in gender, sexuality and relationship (GSRD) therapy.

What I offer

In addition to relationship therapy, there are some different ways you can work with me:

Short-term counselling: Sometimes clients are seeking support for something that has happened in their life such as a bereavement, crisis at work or a relationship break-down. I offer short-term counselling (usually over 8-12 weekly sessions) and we will work with whatever you want to bring each session.

Short-term therapy and therapeutic coaching: Some clients are seeking a limited chunk of therapy to explore a specific issue. This is usually (but not always) where clients have experienced therapy with myself or another therapist previously. I offer short-term therapy over 10-12 weekly sessions where we identify the issues, set goals and establish the expectations of what can be achieved in this timeframe. This may (if appropriate) involve a therapeutic coaching approach.

Open-ended therapy: More often, clients approach me with a more general sense of something  not working out for them and they don’t know where to begin. Or perhaps there is a specific issue, but it is too complex and deep-seated to be resolved in a few sessions. For this I offer a longer-term open-ended approach.

If you are interested in group therapy, get in touch for information about groups I am starting in 2024.

I prefer to work with clients on a face-to-face weekly basis wherever possible, but I appreciate that this may be challenging with your various commitments. If you would like to work with me and don't think a weekly approach would work for you, get in touch and we can see if we can find an arrangement that might work. 

Fully qualified BACP therapist and counsellor also in Advanced Training in Psychotherapy towards UKCP accreditation. I see clients in Manchester (Didsbury, Chorlton or Urmston). I draw on a number of different theories in my work and can introduce you to a range of techniques and practices.

You can expect a safe, non-judgemental and confidential space.

Free initial chat

I appreciate taking the first step and making contact with a counsellor can be daunting.  It’s natural to feel uncomfortable or hesitant.  You may have additional questions and I am happy to have a chat with you. Send me a message to arrange an initial chat. This is an opportunity for you to get a sense for how I work and I can answer any questions you may have. There is no charge for this and I hold the chat by phone or Zoom.

If what you’re currently doing isn’t working for you, let’s find another way that does. 

I work with people aged 15 and above. I have completed postgraduate training in line with BACP competencies to work with children and young people.

In addition to counselling, I am able to work with organisations on a consultation basis to deliver psychological wellbeing programmes. I am also a therapeutic executive coach.  Please contact me for further details.

I see clients online and face-to-face in Urmston, Chorlton and Didsbury in Greater Manchester.

On Mondays my therapy room is in Chorlton, Greater Manchester (M33) in the Manchester Institute Wellbeing Centre, 464a Wilbraham Rd, Chorlton M21 9AR. This location is close to Chorlton tramstop and bus links. 

On Tuesdays and Thursday morning, my therapy room is in Didsbury, Greater Manchester (M20) in the Didsbury Counselling and Therapy Centre, 212A Burton Road, M20 2LW. This location is close to Burton Road tramstop and bus links. 

On Wednesdays and Thursday afternoon, my therapy room is in Urmston, Greater Manchester (M41). The room is 12 minutes walk from Urmston railway station. There is on-street parking on the streets around the property.