Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG7
King Street
Leicester
East Midlands
LE1
07522 578007
Claire Bloxsom Clin.Dip. MSc. PhD. UKCP Accred/Reg. MBACP Reg.
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Email meNottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG7
King Street
Leicester
East Midlands
LE1
07522 578007
About me
I am a qualified Integrative Psychotherapist fully registered and accredited by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). I am also an Integrative Psychodynamic Counsellor registered by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (Registered Member, BACP). I provide individual counselling and psychotherapy to adults at my main site of Nottingham on Wednesdays and Fridays (occasional Mondays), and in Leicester for one day a week on Tuesdays. I do not currently work with couples.
What to expect from Counselling and Psychotherapy:
Counselling and psychotherapy are similar in that they both aim to enhance your sense of wellbeing and to support you towards the life changes you are aiming for. We all experience problems in life, and sometimes it really helps to have space for you to explore your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Both counselling and psychotherapy involve working with an unbiased and qualified professional in a safe, predictable, and confidential environment, typically weekly, for an agreed period of time. The terms counselling and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably - the main difference between the two is that the emphasis with psychotherapy is usually on deeper, broader, and more complex psychological work and is typically (but not always) aimed towards longer-term work.
Whilst counselling and psychotherapy can be a very effective process and can provide you with the opportunity for change, it isn’t always going to be easy because moving away from the familiar often feels uncomfortable. It’s important and necessary to feel challenged within a safe and supportive environment in order for growth and change to emerge. Commitment and collaboration will be needed. You may want to work on one specific issue over a short period of time, or you may want to engage with longer term in-depth work. You may have a sense of how long you are looking to work for, but it's equally fine to not really know, and we can take things in stages. However, for whatever length of time we work with, we will regularly review the sessions and the work we are doing.
How I work:
I am a UKCP accredited and registered Integrative Psychotherapist and a BACP registered Counsellor. I work face-to-face and one-to-one with adults (18+). The heart of my therapeutic approach is relational and appreciates our uniqueness as individuals and on your developing sense of ‘psychological integration’. This means that I would help you to consider ways in which you might experience a deeper sense of wholeness, connection, and comfort within yourself. I consider each therapy relationship to be unique, and therefore I can draw on a wide variety of theoretical approaches to help us reflect on how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour may interact, converge, or diverge. For example, I appreciate the importance of the mind (thoughts), body (physiological experience), socio-political culture and oppression, how we make meaning in our life existentially, our ‘spiritual’ and/or creative selves, and how all these aspects can impact us in our everyday lives. I often approach work from a ‘self-state’ perspective, which acknowledges the existence of different parts or facets of our personality, and how they might work better together as a whole if all parts are encouraged to find their voice.
We all take in messages of some sort from the world and we will have our own way of reacting to these. These messages might be explicit and direct or implicit, say through body language, and might come from our parents, peers, siblings, larger family, from society as a whole, the media, or from our culture. Sometimes the messages we take in are supportive and helpful, but other times they may not support our needs and identity and might create difficult feelings and a sense of unease.
I have experience of both long and short-term work. I'm open to working creatively, and consider the potential role of metaphor, symbolism, the arts, and the language of our body in addition to an explicit verbal narrative. As a focus of our work would be to support your personal empowerment, I cannot 'tell you' what to do. Instead, I will offer suggestions and feedback that we can evaluate together. My general interactional style is humanistic and I work collaboratively and relationally: This means that I value the process of the therapy relationship we create together in order to explore insights into your life. I am very open-minded, warm, and I tend to be actively involved in my working approach.
Training, qualifications & experience
Clinical Counselling and Psychotherapy qualifications:
- Certificate of Higher Education in Counselling (with Distinction) (University of Leicester)
- Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychodynamic Counselling (Metanoia Institute, London) leading to MBACP.
- Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy (Metanoia Institute, London)
- MSc.Integrative Psychotherapy (with Distinction) (Metanoia Institute, London, and Middlesex University, London) leading to UKCP registration and accreditation. http://www.metanoia.ac.uk/
I worked as a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the University Sector for over 10 years, and remain affiliated to an East Midlands University for research collaboration and teaching.
My other academic (non-clinical) qualifications include:
- BSc. (Hons) Psychology (University College London)
- Postgraduate Certificate of Higher Education (PGCHE) (Nottingham Trent University) leading to Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Ph.D in Psychology (University of Leicester).
I am also a Chartered Psychologist through PhD (Academic-training and research route).
I am insured and have regular clinical supervision with UKCP and BACP registered psychotherapists. I have experienced regular, weekly counselling and psychotherapy myself as a client for several years as part of training and can therefore appreciate the process from both standpoints. I work within the UKCP and BACP ethical framework.
Areas of counselling I deal with
- Abuse
- Addiction(s)
- Affairs and betrayals
- Anger management
- Anxiety
- Bereavement
- Bipolar disorder
- Bullying
- Cancer
- Career
- Carer support
- Chronic fatigue syndrome/ME
- Depression
- Discrimination
- Dissociation
- Domestic violence
- Emotional abuse
- Family issues
- Feeling sad
- Gender dysphoria
- Generalised anxiety disorder
- HIV/AIDS
- Loneliness
- Low self-confidence
- Low self-esteem
- Miscarriage
- Panic disorder
- Physical abuse
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Postnatal depression
- Pregnancy and birth
- Redundancy
- Relationship problems
- Self-harm
- Separation and divorce
- Sex addiction
- Sex problems
- Sexual abuse
- Sexuality
- Spirituality
- Stress
- Trauma
- Work-related stress
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of experience/ specialist experience:
- I have past experience working with clients with an HIV diagnosis as a Buddy in London in the 1990s, and have worked with HIV positive clients as an independent counsellor at a local HIV charity between 2016-2019. I continue to support HIV rights and have given talks on understanding and managing HIV related stigma.
- I have a special interest in emotional well-being in men.
- I am a qualified higher education lecturer in psychology and have worked with undergraduate and postgraduate students in higher education as a tutor, academic supervisor, examiner, course team member, and senior lecturer for several years.
- I have an interest in working with gender and sexual diversity (GSD/ LGBTQIAA+) which I feel is under-represented in Counselling.
- I am a member of the Terrence Higgins Trust.
- I am a member of the Leicester Counselling Centre.
Photos & videos
Fees
Fees
- My standard fee is £50 per session.
- Fee for the first face-to-face session is at a reduced fee of £30. You are under no obligation to continue after this first session, and I see it as a stand alone session where we mutually assess if we will work together.
Cancellation information
- First session
- I need 24 hours' notice at a minimum if you cancel, otherwise the £30 fee is still owed.
- Continuing sessions
- Once we have made an agreement to start work, I reserve a regular time for you. I therefore need 48 hours notice for any appointment you cancel please, otherwise the fee is chargeable at the agreed usual rate.
- Fees are payable by cash in the session or via a bank transfer arrangement before or close to after the session. Details are provided in the working agreement I will provide to you before our inital meeting.
Further information
I am a member of other professional bodies in addition to the BACP and UKCP and abide by their ethics as appropriate:
- Metanoia Insitute, London
- United Kingdom Association of Psychotherapy Integration.
- British Psychological Society (for academic research and teaching)
I am available for face-to face counselling and psychotherapy at the following locations (please note I am unable to provide online/text or phone therapy):
Leicester Practice - Tuesdays only until 3pm (Later appointments available from July 2019)
This practice is located in the Crescent on King Street in the centre of Leicester. There is some on-street parking and there are various car parks within walking distance. My practice is on the second floor. There is a lift available in office hours and there are toilets available.
Nottingham Practice - Wednesdays and Fridays.
My practice in Nottingham is located in The Park. You will be able to park outside the practice for your sessions without cost (I will need to give you a pass to put in your car). Please note I often work on the third floor of the practice and there is no lift, if this would be a problem, please let me know on enquiry and I will try to reserve a room on a lower floor. Toilets are available.
What next?
If you would like to explore working with me, please do contact me, and we can decide whether or not to move forward with an initial session. In your initial contact please let me know if you are looking for counselling in either Leicester or Nottingham. An initial session would be an opportunity for us to explore your aims and needs and to get a feel for what it would be like to work together. I am able to suggest alternative counsellors if necessary and useful.
Please note:
I do not have the facility to work with clients in crisis and I cannot work in this way: If you feel in crisis, please contact your GP as soon as possible, GP out of hours service, NHS 111, the Samaritans on 116 123, or SANEline on 0300 304 7000 (6-11pm).
If you are a man, you can contact CALM, which is a charity specifically supporting mental health in men. https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/get-help/ (5pm-midnight).
If necessary please go to your local Accident and Emergency department (if you cannot go on your own ask a friend or safe other to take you there). If you are unable to get to A and E and you feel you need to go, and all other options have not worked, call 999 for an ambulance.
Maps & Directions
Nottingham, NG7
Leicester, LE1
Type of session
| Online counselling: | No |
| Telephone counselling: | No |
| Face to face counselling: | Yes |
Practical details
| Sign language: | No |
| Other languages: | None |
Accessibility
| Wheelchair access: | Unspecified |
Lift in the Leicester practice available in working hours 9-6pm. In Nottingham I can sometimes reserve a room on the ground floor if needed, please enquire. There are one or two steps to access the building in both Notts and Leics.
Availability
Nottingham: 1 - 9pm on Weds, Fridays 9:30pm 5:30pm. Occassional Mondays are possible in Nottingham. Leicester: Tuesday 10:30-3:30pm- later appointments avail until 7pm from mid July 2019.
Types of client
| Adults |
| Older adults |
