Catherine Winchester
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Life is difficult for all of us at some stage or other, sometimes it feels overwhelming and unbearable. You may feel stuck, yet unable to talk to anyone close to you, for all sorts of good reasons. Talking in confidence and beginning to reflect on your situation with an experienced and trustworthy therapist can be the first step towards the changes you hope for.
My job is to listen, to understand, to see you. No judgement, no agenda, no advice. As we build a relationship, within strict professional and ethical guidelines, I provide a calm, insightful perspective to help you explore thoughts, feelings, memories. Often, the most troublesome are those we are least aware of - because they have been hidden, at some cost to our peace of mind. We work at a pace that suits you, making sense together of what has been hard to understand alone.
Maybe you are struggling but finding it hard to identify what the trouble is? Maybe you do know but don't see a way forward. Such feelings often start early in life, leading to confusion, anger, sadness, relationship problems or risky behaviour. Whatever is going on for you now will have roots in your early years and family context - how you learned to think about yourself as a child and how you learned to interact with others are crucial to how you are dealing with life right now. My work is informed by modern understanding of neuroscience and epigenetics, as much as by the work of Freud and his followers.
The list below covers some of the reasons people may want help but I see everyone as an individual, rather than a diagnosis.
Why me? I have postgraduate level qualifications in counselling/ psychotherapy, and in clinical supervision.
I am not only registered with BACP but Senior Accredited, which means that my approach to therapy and my practice have been assessed rigorously, at both the Accreditation (2014) and Senior Accreditation (2021) stages.
I have been qualified since 2011 and in private practice since 2014.
Please see my website for further details: www.henleycounselling.org
Training, qualifications & experience
Professional memberships
Reg MBACP (Senior Accredited) - Registered and Senior Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Therapy.
Qualifications
BSc (Hons) University of St Andrews, Physiology
Postgraduate certificate (Level 7 with distinction) in Psychodynamic Theory and Counselling Skills, University of Reading
Postgraduate diploma (Level 7 with distinction) in Psychodynamic Counselling, University of Reading
Postgraduate diploma (Level 7) in Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and Counselling Supervision, Terapia (University of Middlesex)
Certificate in counselling young people, endorsed by BACP, (Level 5)
Experience
- Counsellor working with adults, children and young people for charities in Reading and High Wycombe
- Counsellor in a primary school, a secondary school, a further education college and a university
- Clinical Manager and Clinical Supervisor at No5 Young People in Reading
- Trustee, Riverside Counselling Service, Henley-on-Thames
- Counsellor/psychotherapist for adults and young people in private practice, Henley Counselling (current)
- Clinical Supervisor of individuals and groups, including trainees and qualified counsellors/psychotherapists (current)
- Committee Member of Reading Therapies Group (current)
Member organisations
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.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
In my experience, people do not usually fit into boxes - while a label can be useful, it is more appropriate to the medical model than to the way the mind works. We may be able to identify traits or disorders but your situation is uniquely yours.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£75.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
As of May 2024, my only free slots for therapy are on Thursday morning, either at 11 am or 12 noon. Please contact me if either of these times would suit you.
Other slots are available for supervision.
Initial contact is by email and I aim to reply within a few hours on the same or next working day (Monday to Friday). We will then arrange an initial meeting of up to 90 minutes long.
The fee is £75 for the initial meeting and for each regular session, for new clients in all age groups. There is no fee increase for existing clients nor those returning after a break, who continue paying their original fee.
Concessions are available for students of counselling/psychotherapy and for refugees. This can be discussed at the initial meeting.
Therapy and supervision are available in person or online via video link.
When I work
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Once agreed, your 50-minute slot is reserved for you each week.
Further information
Psychodynamic therapy means that I am here to listen to whatever is on your mind and to help you explore connections and patterns in your life that may have caused confusion and conflict. It is an opportunity for you to be seen and heard freely. The more you understand your inner world and the meaning behind troubling feelings, problematic behaviour or depression and anxiety, the more you can begin to regain control, or peace. This is not a quick fix - we may be unravelling long-established ways of coping - and it takes courage and trust but it can achieve lasting change.
