About me
Hello. I'm Carl, an integrative person-centred therapist working with individuals aged 16 and over, couples and families. I work from Shoeburyness and online across the UK. I am a therapist because I love to help others get back in touch with themselves and get on with their lives. The areas I work with most are anxiety, relationships, parenting, men's wellbeing, attachment, grief and neurodivergence (Autism and ADHD). If you need to find your way again I might be the therapist for you.
Couples and relationship therapy
Half of my work is supporting couples of all ages, genders and sexual orientations, including monogamous and consensually non-monogamous relationships. You may want support with recurring conflict, communication, disconnection, trust, the impact of ADHD, or decisions about your future together. I also support people navigating separation and co-parenting.
Every couple is unique and brings different aspects of life experience to the relationship.
I aim to help each person feel heard and understand the patterns between you. We can explore what each of you needs and what you want from the relationship, without assuming there is one right outcome.
I also offer a parenting programme for parents of teenagers, helping you understand your teenager, work together as parents and bring calm back to family life.
Understanding ADHD and Autism
Whether you have an ADHD or Autism diagnosis or are exploring experiences that may relate to ADHD, Autism or both we can look at overwhelm, self-criticism, masking, relationships and the effort of meeting everyday demands. There may also be grief or anger about years of feeling misunderstood. I offer space to make sense of your experiences and explore support that fits your needs, strengths and circumstances.
Anxiety, loss and men's wellbeing
I support people experiencing anxiety, stress, burnout, low mood, grief and difficulties with confidence or self-worth. For some men, expectations to cope alone or keep feelings hidden can make reaching out difficult. You are welcome to bring uncertainty, sadness, anger or vulnerability, without needing to present a particular version of yourself.
Relationships, discrimination, work pressures and inaccessible environments can affect wellbeing too. We can consider both your responses and the circumstances around you.
My approach is unique in that I see anxiety as caused by how we interact with other people rather than personal suffering in isolation.
Why you might want therapy
Often a person seeks therapy because they become stuck in the present, struggling to see the future they desire. How that person learned to get what they needed in childhood often leads to repeating patterns of feelings and behaviours in adulthood that don't always work out as expected. Trauma, loss, demands from other people make you question who you are, leading to anxiety, feeling like an imposter, lacking confidence, and generally feeling held back by a strong need to feel secure and protect yourself emotionally from the world.
But over time as your world becomes smaller, conflicts arise as you begin to both recriminate yourself for missed opportunities and for not doing the things you expect of yourself in the one hand, and being stuck on the other. In a relationship, that can lead to a feeling of self-preservation where you feel guarded and end up fighting your own corner against those you love.
How I approach therapy
My approach to therapy helps you realise that being human is about growing from your mistakes and reconnecting with yourself through your relationships, sharing your vulnerable experiences and learning to trust again. After all, that is how therapy works – you connect with me through talking, sharing and feeling heard, which allows you to both question and trust how you think and feel, leading to the changes you need to make to be you again.
Counselling with me makes room for both what you feel and what you think, so the two stop pulling against each other and it becomes easier to look up again, reconnect and make choices that are right for you.
Space to be yourself
Our starting point is what life feels like for you. I'll listen without judging, work at your pace and help you explore what you need from counselling. You can talk about experiences that are difficult to put into words, question expectations placed on you, or simply begin with what feels hardest today.
My approach is grounded in person-centred counselling and I also draw on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), making room for difficult thoughts and feelings, exploring what matters to you and finding manageable steps in that direction. Where useful, we can try practical tools or mindfulness together. We'll adapt the work to you.
Meeting and getting started
My quiet counselling room is in Shoeburyness, welcoming people from across Southend-on-Sea and the surrounding SS0, SS1, SS2, SS3 and SS9 areas. There are two flights of stairs; further access details are below. Online sessions are available across the UK.
I offer a free introductory call so you can ask questions and get a feel for whether working with me seems right for you. There is no obligation to continue.
Click Email me to say a little about what brings you here and whether you'd prefer to meet in person or online. A few lines are enough to begin.
Training, qualifications & experience
I continue to develop my practice through professional training and learning. My qualifications and memberships include:
- Counselling Practitioner Diploma in Integrative Counselling
- Accredited Registrant of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (MNCPS Acc.)
- Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP)
- Certified Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Practitioner – The Association for Psychological Therapies
- Certificate in ACT for ADHD
- EFIT training – International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy
- Bereavement Specialist – Cruse Bereavement Support
- Certified Couples & Relationship Therapist
- Level 5 Diploma in Positive Psychology Practice (Coaching)
- Trained in Emotion Regulation Therapy (ERT), especially effective for GAD.
My work combines a person-centred foundation with approaches that can help us explore emotions, relationships, strengths and what matters to you. We will discuss any exercises or practical tools together and adapt them to your preferences and needs.
Member organisations
school 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.
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.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations. In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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.
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
I also work with parents of teenagers (11 to 18) who want a calmer, closer relationship with their child. You can choose my structured programme of four or six sessions, or work session by session and spend longer on the parts that matter most to you. The programme brings together my experience as a relationship counsellor and current research on parenting teenagers.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 - £135.00
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
My fees for individual therapy are as follows:
- 50 minute sessions cost £60
- 60 minute sessions cost £70
- 90 minute sessions cost £90
My fees for relationship therapy (two or more clients) are:
- 90 minute sessions cost £95
- 120 minute sessions cost £135
Each session is payable in advance.
I am a registered provider for WPA, Aviva and VitalityHealth, offering counselling services through their healthcare and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). All engagements of this type must be pre-authorised by your healthcare/EAP provider.
Please note that your EAP provider may not cover my entire fee.
When I work
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Further information
For In-person counselling, my therapeutic space is in Shoeburyness, in the top of the house where it is quiet and we won’t be overheard or disturbed. There is free on-street parking.
I don’t offer a toilet facility.
I also host online video counselling via Google Meet with telephone counselling as a backup. I can also offer FaceTime and WhatsApp.
