Dr Claire Bloxsom

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UKCP Reg. Integrative Psychotherapist, MSc. ClinDip, PhD.
No current availability
No current availability

This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG7
No current availability
No current availability

This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.

About me

Welcome to my profile - I’m Claire - and firstly I want to acknowledge the courage it takes to search for a psychotherapist. It’s a really significant investment, and probably the most important thing is that you work with someone who you feel is a really good fit. For me, I think that the therapy relationship and use of that relationship is central to the success of the work. 

General Information 

I’m an Integrative Psychotherapist and trained at the Metanoia Institute in London. I have three main clinical qualifications: a Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychodynamic Counselling, a Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy, and an MSc (with Distinction) in Integrative Psychotherapy (Metanoia Institute/Middlesex University). You can find out about my core training here: https://www.metanoia.ac.uk/programmes/psychotherapy/msc-in-integrative-psychotherapy/

My Approach to Therapy: I have a clinical practice in Nottingham working either face-to-face or online (Zoom) 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’ in the cultural world. This means that I would invite you to consider ways in which you might experience a deeper sense of wholeness, connection, and comfort within yourself in relationship to others and the cultural world around you. I consider each therapy relationship to be different, and so I 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 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, racialised identity, and religion. Sometimes the messages we take in are supportive and helpful, but other times they may not support our needs and identity and this might create difficult feelings and a sense of unease and conflict.
                                                                                                
I have experience of long, mid-term, and shorter-term work, though I most typically work medium to long-term (6 months +). I'm open to working creatively, and consider the potential role of metaphor, symbolism, the arts such as music as a listener or as a musician, and the language and sensation of the 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. However, I do offer suggestions and feedback that we can evaluate together. My general interactional style is actively involved and I work collaboratively and relationally. To me, 'relationally' means that I value the process of the therapy relationship we co-create together, which may be useful to use and discuss when exploring insights into your life.

I have completed Level 1 of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy training and am a trained EMDR therapist (levels 1,2,3).

                                                                                               *I have experienced both private psychodynamic counselling and private integrative psychotherapy myself for over 13 years and can therefore appreciate the therapy process from a client position. 

*I do not have the facility to work with clients in psychological crisis in my private practice. 

*I have completed the UKCP Covid-19 Online Working Guidance’

Copy and paste the link to this open access article, which is useful if you are still wondering what integrative actually means. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4707273/#__ffn_sectitle

Training, qualifications & experience

Specific Clinical Counselling and Psychotherapy qualifications:

  • Certificate of Higher Education in Psychodynamic Counselling (with Distinction) (Vaughan College, University of Leicester)
  • Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychodynamic Counselling (Metanoia Institute, London)
  • Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy (Metanoia Institute, London)
  • MSc. Integrative Psychotherapy (with Distinction) (Metanoia Institute, London)
  • Currently completing Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Supervision (UCKP/SCPTI)

Other training

I complete a variety of Continuing Professional Development each year, which is standard practice for psychotherapists: UKCP Reg psychotherapists have to submit evidence of CPD each year to our member organisation (250 hours over every 5 years). A lot of my training has related to creative arts in therapy, body and somatic therapy, working with shame and an the inner critic, trauma, gender and sexual relationship diversity, and working with gay and bisexual men.

I am interested in the role of the body in mental health and therefore have some training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Level 1) which is integrated into my general practice. I am also a fully trained EMDR therapist (Levels 1,2 and 3 with Alexandra (Sandi) Richmann).

EMDR: I may be able to offer EMDR as part of a more integrated therapy should that be appropriate and relevant.  Please note that the inclusion of EMDR may require a longer session, therefore incurring a higher fee (£80 per 80 min EMDR focused sessions). 

I have regular supervision on my clinical work, as is required for all UKCP Registered psychotherapists, and I also have additional specialist EMDR supervision for any work that includes this approach by an EMDR accredited consultant. 

Particular clinical experience includes: anxiety, low mood, shame, low self esteem, stress, careers, chronic illness, culture, ADHD traits and neurodiversity, wellbeing and health in people living with HIV, the role of creative arts in mental health especially the role of music in emotional regulation, musician’s mental health, and working with gay, bisexual, queer, and lesbian clients. I have a lot of clinical experience working with men’s mental health.

Member organisations

Registered / Accredited

Registered / Accredited

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
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

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.

UKCP
UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)

The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.

As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.

UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

Accredited register membership

UK Council for Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

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.

UK Council for Psychotherapy

Other areas of counselling I deal with

  • 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 have many years of experience lecturing psychology at University and have a PhD in Psychology and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education. I do use these transferable skills in my clinical work, though please note that my PhD is an academic Doctorate in Psychology for research and teaching and it is not a clinical doctorate.
  • I have experience of training psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic counselling in the West Midlands and have been an external examiner for UKCP Psychotherapist accreditation vivas at the Metanoia Institute, London.
  • I’m a member of the Metanoia Institute
  • I’m a member of the Scarborough Counselling and Psychotherapy Institute. 
  • I’m a Friend Member of the Black African and Asian Therapy Network.
  • I”m a member of The Relational School. 
  • I’m an associate member of the Association of Person Centred Creative Arts. 

Fees

£65.00 - £85.00
Free initial online session

Additional information

*One session is 60 mins and the fee per 60 min session is £65*

If EMDR is included the work, a longer session may be required of 80 mins (£85 for 80 min sessions).

My lower cost/ concessionary slots are currently full.

If I have availability that's compatible with you, I offer a 30-45 min free Zoom video call session at no cost to get a brief sense of each other, to make a mutual initial suitability assessment, and for you ask any questions.. 

Fees by bank transfer to be paid before or within 24 hours of the session. sessions can be paid per session or in blocks per month. 

*Important Cancellation information*

  • I need three days notice at an absolute minimum for any appointment you cancel please, otherwise the fee may have to be chargeable at the agreed usual rate. If the sessions we have are face-to-face, I can’t reschedule instead of charge if the notice is fewer than three days, because of my contractual agreement on cancellations with the space I use. 

When I work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Usual Practice Hours: 

  • Mons - 10-1pm and 6-8pm
  • Weds 2:30-9pm
  • From September 2024, I will be expanding my private practice and will have more availability on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Further information

Premises

For face-to-face work. I work in the Park area of Nottingham. I usually try to work on the ground floor, but depending on the day, the other rooms I sometimes use are two flights of stairs up.

Other qualifications and interests: 

I have a PhD (non-clinical) in Psychology (Leicester) and a first degree BSc(Hons) in Psychology (UCL) as well as a qualification in Higher Education teaching (PGCHE - Nottingham Trent University). I have 20 years’ experience in university teaching and academia (psychology, then psychotherapy).

Please note that although I regularly use skills gained from my academic psychology training to enhance my clinical practice, my PhD in Psychology is an academic Doctorate, and not a clinical one. 

Music and Art is both a personal and professional interest of mine. I have a particular interest in the role of music in mental health, emotional regulation, and wellbeing, and have been working since Feb 2024 with a music charity as a clinical supervisor. 

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG7

Type of session

In person
Online

Types of client

Adults
Older Adults
Groups
Organisations

Online platforms

Zoom

Supervision

In person
Online

Integrative counselling/psychotherapy clinical supervision, offering initial 6 lower cost sessions as I finish my UKCP supervision PGDip (level 7)

View supervision profile

Dr Claire Bloxsom
Dr Claire Bloxsom