Catherine James
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I offer counselling, this can be carried out Face to Face, online or over the telephone. I also offer Animal Assisted Therapy with my Therapy dog Fudge.
'It is extremely important for you to believe in yourselves, not only for what you are now, but for what you have the power to become’. Neal A. Maxwell
About counselling
Talking things through with someone neutral who is disconnected from other areas of your life can be extremely helpful, and is often the start of things becoming clearer, thereby bringing about positive change. Working together with a professionally trained counsellor will provide a safe, confidential and non-judgemental setting, allowing you to safely share and explore any feelings, worries and difficulties that you may have. During counselling you will not be given advice on what you should do or how you should be, instead you will be guided in order to find the solutions within yourself.
People seek counselling for a variety of reasons which may include depression, anxiety, and bereavement; others may dissatisfied with the way life is, without being able to identity a particular problem.
About me
I have a natural empathy with people and like to help with the difficulties and challenges they face, it is this that inspired me to take a turn in my career and become a counsellor. Having had experience of personal counselling I have also acknowledged the positive benefits and clarity that counselling can provide.
I am a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) and offer an integrative approach to counselling. This means that I adopt a range of approaches in order to suit an individual client and their needs, in particular I tend to use a ‘person-centred’ approach. I believe that every person is unique, each reacting differently with life’s challenges, therefore an approach that suits one client may not necessary suit another, and this is where an integrative approach can be ideal.
For more information about me or the way I work please contact me by either phone, email or you can visit my website.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Postgraduate diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP accredited course)
- BSc Social sciences (Hons) with Psychological Studies (Open)
- The Samaritans initial training
- SCAS Companion animal interventions in therapeutic practice.
- I am a registered member of the BACP and adhere to their code of ethics and principles.
Member organisations
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
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£45.00 per session
Additional information
Each counselling session lasts for 50 minutes at a cost of £45 per session. Payment is required before each session in the form of cash or bank transfer. If you would like to book an information session then please get in touch by phone, email or by using the contact form on my website.
When I work
I am available to offer some daytime appointments as well as evenings and weekends.
Further information
‘Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no question, they pass no criticisms’ – George Elliot.
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in counselling incorporates an animal into the counselling session in order to maximise the therapeutic benefits for the client. Animals offer so many benefits to us as humans, one of these being unconditional acceptance. They don't mind who we are, what we may have done or what we look like, they really are completely non-judgemental. Therefore having an animal present during a therapy session can contribute to the safe and non-judgemental environment provided by the counsellor.
Working alongside an animal, for some clients, makes it easier to express difficult feelings and experiences. This has been shown in the work of child Psychologist Boris Levinson who was the first to record the benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy in counselling. His dog Jingles became his co-therapist and the children he worked with made significant progress. Boris found that animals are completely genuine which helped the children to form non-threatening relationships with them.
