Claire Marshall
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
What I can offer:
I am a Nature Based Psychotherapist, offering you counselling and psychotherapy within our natural world.
Have you decided you would like some support and started to look into counselling and psychotherapy, but does the idea of sitting in a small windowless office whilst you explore your inner thoughts fill you with dread? Maybe outdoor therapy is for you?
Outdoor Therapy:
By being outdoors we can over come the intensity of being in a small office, it allows us to be side by side on your journey and creates a balance between us that can create a stronger therapeutic relationship. Being in nature you are surrounded by the cycles of our natural world and this can be incredibly useful during your own explorations of your cycles of behaviour.
Outdoor sessions vary depending on you. I have a variety of routes depending on what you need, gentle walks in the open, woodland walks, near bodies of water. These different areas allow you tailor your session towards what you need. I always say that interaction with nature is encouraged but not enforced. Just being in nature has its benefits, however, when you really embrace nature and allow it into our therapeutic work, it opens so many more doors! We can be creative, more hands on or we can just be in nature and talk - what ever you are looking for.
My Theoretical Background:
The modality I work from is Integrative, which just means I pull from different theories to tailor your therapy to suit you. The basis of my approach is Person Centred – meaning that you are in control of the sessions and what you discuss. The heart of my approach is to create a safe space for you to explore your thoughts and that we develop a strong therapeutic relationship to allow for change to take place. I strongly believe that when nature is brought into the therapeutic relationship it allows for deeper work to take place.
I am also a ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide, which fosters my passion for using nature to nurture mental well being and allows me to bring more immersive skills into our counselling and psychotherapy sessions.
Not Just Outdoors...
I have an outdoor office space at my home in WF3, and I offer sessions via phone and online.
Ethics/Insurance:
I am a member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and I work within their ethical guidelines. I hold an up to date DBS certificate, I am insured and first aid trained.
Experience:
I have been practicing since 2017 and have worked with a wide range of clients, including but not limited to; general anxiety, depression, bereavement, survivors of sexual abuse and relationship problems. Mostly commonly, I work with clients who are feeling 'stuck'. This might be a change of circumstances, making a big decision, or feeling like you don't know where life is taking you. I find that being outdoors and inside nature it provides you with the space to explore your thoughts and feelings around each area.
My post qualification training has been intensively in taking psychotherapy outdoors. This has been a mix of short courses, more in depth immersive training over several days, and longer academic courses. These include, but not limited to, my MA Psychotherapy Thesis - 'Taking Psychotherapy outdoors - What happens to therapeutic relationship when you remove the physical boundaries of the therapy room', my ANFT Certification to become a Forest Therapy Guide and my training to become a Certified Eco-Nidra Teacher. I am very passionate about working with nature and I will continue to update and expand my knowledge of working with our natural world.
What to expect:
Interested but still not sure what to expect? Finding a therapist is like trying to find the perfect pair of shoes, the fit must be right! I offer a free 15-minute telephone call to discuss your needs and give you the chance to ask any questions you might have. If you then decided you would like to ahead and book a session, we will have an initial session where we will go over the contracting and route planning (if outdoors). We would then book in your first session and your away!
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications:
- MA Psychotherapy
- Post Graduate Diploma Counselling and Psychotherapy
- BSc Psychology
Training:
- Shinrin Yoku Diploma
- Eco Nidra Teacher Training
- ANFT Forest Therapy Guide
- The Shadow and Archetypes in Fairy Tales and Stories
- Ecotherapy and Walk and Talk Counselling
- Online and Telephone Counselling
- Dealing with Distress
- Addressing Suicidality and Suicide Risk Online
- Working Online
- Taking Therapy Outside - Understanding therapeutic practice in outdoor natural spaces.
- Introduction to Domestic Abuse
- Counselling Children and Young People using the Person Centred Approach
- Working Creatively with Grief
- Issues Surrounding Sexual Abuse
- Grief and Loss Course
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
Outdoor Therapy
Walk and Talk Therapy
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£55.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Additional information
Initial information session (20 minutes....………...FREE
(telephone)
Outdoor session (50 minutes)……………..………....£55
Outdoor session (90 minutes)……..……………..…..£82
Indoor session (50 minutes)…………..……………....£55
Online/telephone session (50 minutes)...………….£55
When I work
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Outdoor Session times vary depending on the season as we are limited to day light hours.
Online/telephone/indoor sessions are more flexible and I may have more availability than listed.
Further information
A lot of people ask how the outdoor sessions work, well they are the same as indoor sessions just outside! Of course, there are additional areas to consider, such as the weather, confidentiality, and fitness levels, but don’t worry these sessions are not “physical workouts” they are tailored to what you want.
You always have the option to change to an indoor/online/telephone session at any point if you don't feel like being outdoors.
If you have any questions, please do get in touch and we can discuss those further.
