About me
I’m Christina and I qualified in Therapeutic Counselling in 1999, ‘therapeutic’ meaning ‘beneficial’ and ‘restorative to health and wellbeing’. I have a wealth of life experience gathered along my personal journey of understanding what has made me the person I am, and I offer a high quality of care to help you also understand why sometimes you may feel down, anxious or that in some way you are not coping with life as well as you could be.
I have a calm presence and a person-centred approach to therapy, valuing all you bring. I have experience in Narrative Therapy, brief, solution focused therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy that can help with changing unwanted patterns of behaviour and empowering you as you unfold.
I have learned that our daily life and movements, and a deep connection to our own bodies, can greatly help us understand and to develop our awareness of ways in which we can start to improve our self-care and self-love, which in turn will help with our physical and mental health. I know that therapy also takes place in daily life, and I will be encouraging your daily involvement in your own recovery. Together we will be looking at your movements and posture and our awareness around this together with subtle changes can help to shift unwanted thoughts and feelings. It is expected that you actively engage with this aspect of your therapy, thereby supporting your whole being.
Some of the things I can help with include:
Anxiety, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, healthy eating and living, stress, anger management, self-care, difficulties with relationships, bereavement, loss and grief, trauma, controlling behaviour, depression, poor sleep.
I offer an initial assessment zoom session or phone call so that you can meet me and find out more about how we can work together. Our working relationship is an important part of therapy.
I look forward to meeting you.
Training, qualifications & experience
Coming from a background in credit control and administration, as a mature student studied at Nottingham University and my qualification was Masters in Social Work and Probation. I also qualified as Counsellor in 1999 with a level 4 Certificate in Therapeutic Counselling certified by the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB). I was able to use this working as a drugs counsellor in a prison and with patients and their families and carers as a Macmillan Cancer Support Social Worker, where much of this work is about loss and change
When I retired from Social Work I worked as a carer for people in their own homes and with young people in residential and foster care. Currently I sit on a Fostering Agency panel and I have private clients in my Counselling Therapy Practice.
My voluntary work has included helping to run a conversation group for speakers of other languages who want to improve their English, and I also worked in two nursery and primary schools as a school counsellor with the charity Place2Be. I achieved my Level 4 qualification for working with children, certified by the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB) at Leeds City College. I also edit articles for a Carer’s Journal.
As a Registered Member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) I have committed to continuous learning and some recent training has been Paediatric First Aid, Adult First aid (Red Cross), Social Media and Teenagers (Vocational Training Hub), Trauma Informed Counselling (Centre for Healing), Lifting Depression (Uncommon Therapy), Body Life Skills Programme (www.fabic.com.au).
I have recently completed Level1 in Narrative Therapy, which holds us as separate from our problems and difficulties, and that we are not defined by them. We look at the stories we tell about ourselves and are empowered to discover our strengths and resilience when we re-author those naratives that do not serve us anymore.
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
£80.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
I offer a free 30 minute zoom or phone call for an initial assessment.
When I work
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Further information
Our first session
I offer a free 30 minute introductory call. We will agree a contract for working together and I will need your contact details and also details of your GP.
What I can help with
Anger management, Self-esteem, stress, anxiety, depression, negative thoughts, trauma, lifestyle choices, difficulty sleeping, eating choices, loneliness, sadness, abuse.
Types of therapy:
Behavioural, Brief therapy, CBT, Cognitive, Integrative, Person centred, Play therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution focused brief therapy, Body Life Skills.
Clients I work with
Adults, EAP, Older adults, Young people
How I deliver therapy
Home visits, Long term sessions, Long-term face-to-face work, Online counselling, Short term sessions, face-to-face work, Time-limited.
