Clare Abbotts
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Hi! I'm a counsellor and psychotherapist working in Stoke-on-Trent, Stone, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stafford and north Staffordshire, offering face to face, online, telephone and outdoor counselling.
You may be considering counselling because you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, in pain or trying to work through grief. Perhaps anxiety, depression, self-criticism or feeling really down or conflicted is really weighing you down and it's impacting on your day-to-day life. Perhaps you need to feel more confident, or find a you that feels, well, more you. Perhaps something happened that you've never been able to understand. Perhaps you don't know what's wrong.
I offer outdoor therapy as well as online or face to face. I'm passionate about the impact that nature and the outdoors can have on supporting processing of emotions and empowering people to make the changes they need.
By helping you to explore and identify your feelings, I can help you to better understand what you need to get through what's troubling you. With me, all emotions are valid and are important clues as to what you need. We'll work together to understand them and help you make small changes that can make a big difference. With me, you can create your own 'ripple effect'.
I work with adults in both short-term and long-term work. I am an integrative psychotherapeutic counsellor, which means I'll draw on different approaches to help you with what you need, when you need it, but you'll be in charge on what we work on and when. I'll never push you 'too far.'
It can be difficult to know how to choose a counsellor - it can be really overwhelming. But with me, we'll take it a step at a time. I believe in the power of a therapeutic space where you don't feel judged and where you can explore your feelings really safely.
While I have experience of helping people with a range of issues, my specialist areas include:
- relationship issues (working with the individual rather than with couples) including conflict
- trauma
- childhood trauma and experiences
- bereavement and grief
- loss and major life events
- abuse
- health issues and illness
- depression
- stress, anxiety and panic
- relationship and family issues
- ADHD and neurodivergence and pressures from society
- anticipatory grief
- self-confidence
- self-esteem, self-identity and empowerment
- social anxiety
- anger
- loneliness
- self-exploration
- working outdoors - to help people heal through natural spaces. This includes walk and talk therapy and more immersive practices (if you want to use them) to harness the healing power of nature.
- working with disabled people to empower them in an 'ableist' world working creatively, using natural objects and other creative objects to help you tune in to your thoughts and feelings.
Interested in getting started? Your first session is free and acts as a way for us to get to know each other, for me to understand your goals for therapy, and for you to see if I'm the right counsellor for you. If I am, we can then arrange the first session. You can email me to get started or find out more about the first session at https://therippleeffecttherapy.com/your-first-session%2Fprices . I look forward to helping you.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Masters (MSc) in Psychotherapeutic Counselling : Distinction
- Post Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling: Distinction (training in all core approaches to counselling)
- Post Graduate Certificate in Counselling: Distinction
- BSc (Hons) Psychology and Sports Science : 2:1
- Further training includes:
- Inner child work - i.e. working with you to process child/adolescent experiences and understand how that impacts on day to day adult life; especially on intimate relationships.
- trauma - working to release trauma held in the body that affects our day to day lives.
- Polyvagal support - working with the body and the largest nerve in the body to moderate anxiety and stress responses.
- training in therapy outdoors with The Centre for Natural Reflection. This approach views the environment we live in as a living system and part of the therapy process. This includes Walk and Talk therapy.
- Training in affirmative therapy with people with disability/impairment
- Working with difference and culture
- Working remotely
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
- Anticipatory Grief
- Death anxiety
- Palliative care
- Anger
- Long Covid
Therapies offered
Fees
£35.00 - £45.00
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
- Free initial online or telephone consultation
- £45 per session for most although concessionary sessions are available (please ask about this at the point of enquiry - thanks)
- I offer a limited number of lower-cost sessions for people in hardship (low income, or benefits for example - £35) and students (£40). Please make it clear that you are asking about these places at the time of booking.
When I work
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I offer in-person, telephone and online sessions Monday to Friday, and can also offer online and outdoor therapy/walk and talk sessions at the weekend or Monday mornings.
Further information
I am insured to practice therapy outdoor for those clients that feel they would benefit from therapy in a more natural environment.