About me
About me
Hello and welcome.
I am an experienced counsellor and couples psychotherapist, offering short and longer-term therapy to adults and couples in Northallerton and Guisborough, North Yorkshire.
My core training is person-centred, and this remains at the heart of how I work. For me, therapy begins with the relationship between us: feeling genuinely heard, understood and accepted can create the safety needed to explore even very difficult experiences. I also work integratively, which means I can draw upon different therapeutic approaches depending on you, what has brought you to counselling and what you hope to gain from it. These can include CBT techniques, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness and creative approaches.
Some people benefit from longer-term therapy, perhaps exploring childhood experiences, attachment and relationship patterns and how these continue to influence life in the present. Others come with a particular difficulty and prefer more focused, shorter-term work. I don’t believe there is one way of doing therapy that will suit everybody.
I appreciate that contacting a counsellor can feel daunting. You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what is wrong or what you want to talk about. You may be experiencing anxiety, depression or low self-esteem; struggling with relationships, work, grief, stress or a significant change in your life; or perhaps you simply know that you aren’t feeling like yourself and something needs attention.
Sometimes there isn’t a name or neat explanation for the way we feel. Counselling gives you the opportunity to slow things down and explore what is happening, without judgement or pressure to have all the answers.
Alongside my work with individuals, I have particular experience and training in working therapeutically with couples. Relationships can become stuck in patterns where both people feel unheard, misunderstood or disconnected. Couples may come to me because of recurring conflict, communication difficulties, infidelity or loss of trust, intimacy, jealousy, parenting or wider family difficulties, or because life circumstances have changed their relationship.
In couples therapy, I don’t take sides or decide who is right or wrong. I help both partners feel heard and begin to understand what is happening between them. Often the argument on the surface is only part of the story. We can explore the feelings, needs and relationship patterns underneath it, helping you understand yourselves and each other more clearly and find different ways of communicating and responding.
Whether I am working with an individual or a couple, I bring warmth, curiosity and honesty to the therapeutic relationship. I believe strongly in the uniqueness and worth of each person and in our capacity for growth and change.
I believe that you are the expert in your own internal world. My role isn’t to tell you what you should think, feel or do, but to work alongside you. Together we can make sense of what has brought you here, recognise and build upon the resources you already have, and explore new possibilities for moving forward.
Training, qualifications & experience
I’m a qualified person-centred counsellor and I work in an integrative way, adapting to what might best suit your needs. I enjoy working with the healing power of nature, and offer outdoor therapy as part of my practice. My interest in the transpersonal, and spiritual philosophies also inform my work, together with my mindfulness training. I’m a registered BACP member, and an Accredited Registrant with the NCPS.
I have a background of work in health and social care and the charity sector, where I have supported people with a wide range of issues such as anxiety, depression, disability discrimination, grief, bereavement, and loss, relationship issues, the demands of being a full-time carer, and the experience of living with life-limiting, chronic, or critical illness. My counselling career to date includes working for MIND and with a specialist bereavement charity offering counselling to adults, children, and young people. I have extensive experience working with children, young people, and adults in schools and alternative education settings across North Yorkshire. I have also provided low cost counselling to families, parents, guardians, children and young people in an agency in West Sussex. In my private practice, I work with adult individuals, as well as with couples to provide guidance and support within relationships. I have experience of working with neurodiverse clients and in Employee Assistance Programmes.
My journey to the counselling profession began whilst working as a solicitor. I found I was drawn to people’s stories, motivations, personalities, and experiences. I have also worked in the fitness industry, as a personal trainer/instructor where I became fascinated by the mind-body connection, and how trauma and stress can affect our emotional make-up, our physical and mental health, and our overall well-being and wellness. This means I’m able to bring real world experiences to my therapeutic practice.
Qualifications
- Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling Level 4
- Counselling Studies Level 3
- Counselling Skills Level 2
- Certificate in Children and Young People’s Mental Health Level 2
- Advanced Personal Trainer Diploma Level 4
- Graduate Diploma in Law, (University of Nottingham)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (Guildford College of Law) (LPC) (The Law Society non-practicing solicitor)
- BA (Hons) Law & Sociology (University of Hull)
Training
- BACP Competencies Training Working with Children, Young People and Families
- Grassroots Suicide Awareness Training
- Introduction to Online and Telephone Working
- Working With Soul in Personal Development
- Understanding Depression and Anxiety
- Mental Health Recovery and Compassion
- Importance of Play and Assessing a Child’s Place in the World
- Hoarding Awareness for Emergency Front-Line Services
- Introduction to Trauma
- Working with Eating Disorders
- LGBTQ+ Awareness
- Self-harm Awareness
- CSE Awareness
- Trigger Orientated Therapy
- Police Firearms Officers Association (PFOA) approved counsellor
- Certificate in working with couples - National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists
Testimonials:
' Caroline possess naturally, innate, rare and special talents of empathically and kindly understanding people. She listens to me carefully and takes time to understand my life experiences; those that have shaped me and then more recent or immediate challenges. She is able to clearly percive what is going on - often when I don't quite know what is happening myself. She has a gift for articulating her perceptions with understandable and insightful vocablary. She brings so much light to things I never quite understood. Yet she never judges - she just helps me to identify a different way forward - with hope and possibility. She is amazingly helpful. ' - S. (Client)
' Counselling with Caroline has been invaluable. She took the time to really learn my story, and find out what I had been through. It can be hard to speak to someone when you're at your absolute lowest, but she is a good listener. She does that without judging me, and she helps me to make my own decisions. Sometimes in life, it really feels like other people don't do either of those things' - D. (Client)
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.
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.
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.
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
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 - £90.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I offer a free online 20 minute introductory session, without obligation. Any questions or concerns can also be made by email
I offer rates from £50 per 50 minute session for individuals, and £75 per 60 minute session or £90 per 90 minutes session for couples. I offer concessions to low income clients, and students. Outdoor therapy is charged at £60 for a 50 minute session.
Please contact me to discuss your individual circumstances.
I require 48 hours notice of cancellation, otherwise you will still need to pay for sessions missed. I accept payment by bank transfer.
When I work
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Further information
I offer a variety of options for sessions:
Remote counselling
This can be either on the telephone or online, and is a useful option since it can save travel time to sessions, and is accessible from anywhere in the UK. I offer telephone counselling using a landline, mobile, or via Whatsapp. Video counselling is available using Whatsapp or Teams. You will need a quiet, confidential space for both types of remote counselling, and access to the internet if you choose the online video option.
Face-to-face appointments
These happen in outdoor therapy sessions, or face to face in my therapy rooms, both with ample nearby parking.
I am also a Police Firearms Officers (PFOA) approved counsellor.
