4 Cavendish Crescent North
The Park
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG7 1AY
The Crescent
King Street
Leicester
East Midlands
LE1 6RX
07522 578007
Claire Bloxsom Clin.Dip. MSc. PhD. UKCP Reg. MBACP Reg.
Saved
Save profile
Email me4 Cavendish Crescent North
The Park
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG7 1AY
The Crescent
King Street
Leicester
East Midlands
LE1 6RX
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 a Counsellor registered by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (Registered Member MBACP). I provide individual counselling and psychotherapy to adults in my main site of Nottingham, and Leicester for one day a week.
What to expect from Counselling and Psychotherapy:
Counselling and psychotherapy are similar in that they both aim to enhance and develop your sense of wellbeing 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 and more complex psychological work and is typically (but not always) aimed towards longer-term work.
Whilst counselling and psychotherapy can be an effective process and can provide you with the opportunity for change, it isn’t always going to be easy - it's important to feel challenged within a safe and supportive environment. 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 registered integrative counsellor and psychotherapist and work face-to-face and one-to-one with adults (18+). The heart of my therapeutic approach 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, how we make meaning in our life, our ‘spiritual’ and/or creative selves, and how all these aspects can impact us in our everyday lives.
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 style is humanistic and I work 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 open-minded, warm, and I tend to be active 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) leading to UKCP registration and accreditation.
I worked as a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the University Sector for over 10 years, and remain affiliated to an East Midlands University, providing and supporting lecturing and training.
My other (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 (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
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 the 1990s, and now continue to work with HIV positive clients as a counsellor. I have a special interest in working with HIV, and in 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. Therefore I have a good understanding of student needs, both in adapting to university and throughout the educational process.
- 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 current standard fee for individual counselling 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. Therefore, I am happy to offer a 30 minute initial phone call for no cost for us to get a sense of each other before arranging to have an initial meeting.
- Fees are payable by cash or via a bank transfer arrangement.
Concessions
- For those on benefits or who receive a low income, I am willing to negotiate a small concession on fees for appointments before 5pm. All concessionary rates are individual and dependent on financial circumstances. Please enquire.
Cancellations
- Once we have made an agreement to start work, I reserve a 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.
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
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
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 1AY
Leicester, LE1 6RX
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 |
There is a lift in the Leicester practice available in working hours. On a Friday mornings in Nottingham I can sometimes reserve a room on the ground floor if needed, please enquire
Availability
Nottingham: Wednesdays including evenings until 9pm, Friday mornings and lunch until 3pm. Leicester: Tuesday until 6pm. Sorry, I have no evening appointments left at the moment (Feb 2019).
Types of client
| Adults |
| Older adults |
