About me
Hi - I'm Christel and welcome to my page. I'm an Integrative Therapist working online and face to face in the Basingstoke area. I have a special interest in helping those with acute anxiety, depression, facing neurodivergent challenges or tackling new life stages, menopause, peri-menopause or radical changes in circumstance.
As we move through our lives we hit challenges along the way and sometimes the temptation when things get difficult is to put our heads down and just peddle faster and plough on through. This works for a time but soon, especially if more issues keep coming your way, you run out of steam and difficulties start to show. Maybe you withdraw from life, feel constantly fatigued or have become irritable with those around you or even frustrated with yourself.
We can work together to find a better way for you to manage how you're feeling using tried and tested techniques. Having "tools" at your disposal that work with your biology and have been developed over years of studying human psychology, you'll feel better equipped and more confident as you tackle life changes. If you've ever wondered "Why do I do that?" or "What is it about that person that makes me feel that way?" we'll seek those answers in science as well as the self.
Alongside this we'll get to the bottom of who you are. By nature we problem solve and create "shortcuts" for responding to things. Think of these like shortcut keys on a computer, you press one button and something that used to take several clicks now happens instantly. If the shortcut no longer works it takes time and support to realise this and reprogramme it. That's what we'll do together, step by step.
Understanding ourselves is at the root of managing how we are feeling and our relationships with others. Feeling confident in ourselves means we can be just exactly as we are and this changes our behaviour and the way we relate to others. Being our true selves sounds like it should be easy but the influence of others and our environment shapes us over time and we can lose our sense of ourselves. I hope as we work together you'll feel trusting and confident enough to bring all of yourself and I'll see you just as you are and have always been.
If you're looking for therapy for yourself or a loved one and are not sure if therapy is the right approach, I offer half hour video calls to discuss completely free of charge. If after the call you feel you'd like to proceed but are unsure if what I offer is right for you, then I have an extensive network through which I can refer you to someone with a more suitable approach. No strings attached.
Training, qualifications & experience
My qualifications include:
Level 4 Psychotherapeutic Counselling Diploma (MCTA Oxfordshire)
Level 3 Psychotherapeutic Counselling Skills (MCTA Oxfordshire)
Level 2 Introduction to Counselling (University of Oxford)
I'm passionate about my work and so constantly seek new knowledge and keep my finger on the pulse of new approaches in therapy by reading journals, books and listening to educational podcasts. Further to this I also have completed the following additional learning:
- Trauma Responsive Practitioner Training
- De-Escalation skills
- Working Therapeutically with Autistic Clients
- Safeguarding and protecting Children, Young People or Vulnerable Adults (Level 3)
- Community Grief Training - Cruse Bereavement
- LBGTQ+ Awareness
- Whole System Approach to Reducing Gambling Harm
- Domestic Abuse Awareness Training - Dragonfly
- Understanding Self Harm - Battle Scars
- EDI Training
- PICT Working with people with Personality Disorders
I've worked in front line services also for those facing addiction in and around the Reading area. I offered fixed term counselling (6-12 sessions) to address in the moment needs for those in recovery from all forms of addiction. This work had a strong overlap with Neurodivergent challenges also such as ADHD and Autism as well as those facing a change in life stage such as Menopause and also loss and grief.
For the last 5 years I've worked at a Crisis Support evening drop in service in the Basingstoke area. Here I work with individuals who are actively in crisis to help to regulate how they are feeling and offer a calm and supportive place where they can feel safe and understood. The work focuses around de-escalation, safety planning and signposting to further support.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I also work with those facing Peri-Menopause, grief and loss of any kind.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
My fee is for a "therapist hour" which is 50 minutes in session with you. The reason it isn't a full hour is because the other ten minutes is used for recording notes about the session and formulating how we'll progress in future.
I offer concessionary rates to trainee Counsellors.
I offer contactless payment in person to make things more straightforward for you or you can pay by bank transfer.
When I work
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Further information
I look forward to hearing from you and working with you. If you'd like to book in a free 30 minute consultation to get a feel for what it would be like to engage in therapy and what I'm like as a therapist then please get in touch via my website at cvvcounseling.com
