Danusia Atkinson
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Are you stuck feeling low and sad? You may be confused why an ending such as retirement or a breakup feels impossible to get over. Perhaps you worry you can’t cope with the death of a loved one or cannot understand why a change in your life has left you struggling with depression or anxiety. Counselling can help you understand your suffering, support you in navigating an ending, and empower you to adjust your life.
Grief, loss, and endings impact us all and can be surprising and unexpected. We can struggle to grieve the death of a loved one or mourn the end of a relationship, we can also find that changes in our life such as our children leaving home, deciding to divorce or a diagnosis for a loved one can feel like a bereavement. Sometimes new stages in our lives, like becoming a parent or changing jobs can trigger an overwhelming emotional response we can’t understand.
Often clients worry that by talking about grief or endings, we might intensify our sadness but these feelings need to be shared, listened to, and made sense of before we can start to think about what it is we need and want to do.
Counselling can help you cope with a difficult time by:
· Helping you understand why you are finding life so difficult and why your reactions are confusing.
· Giving you space, time, and support to tell your story at your pace and develop ways to manage your feelings
· Empowering you to change what might not serve you and find a way to live that feels more authentic to you.
Training, qualifications & experience
Hello and welcome to my counselling practice. My name is Danusia and I am a warm and calm counsellor practicing in Sevenoaks, offering both face-to-face and online sessions if preferred.
I started my private practice as I saw many people struggling with grief, loss, and endings in a culture that not only encourages us to stay silent about and get over grief but expects us to navigate change without any impact. People may be expected to feel joyful when becoming new parents and not be allowed to feel other feelings such as loss or anger. Those who lose someone by suicide or substance use may face judgment or stigma that leaves them isolated and ashamed. We may be encouraged to not overthink difficult feelings when, in reality, we need to make sense of them in order to not feel constricted by them. I have seen many clients who, when navigating change and loss, feeling unsupported and silenced were left pushing their feelings away until they experienced acute anxiety or severe depression.
I don’t believe in closing people down or judging them. I listen to you; I think with you and help you explore what is difficult in a compassionate, warm, and non-judgemental space. I believe you deserve that support. I believe that with a gentle and thoughtful counselling experience, you can start to understand yourself better, make sense of your difficulties and think about how this may affect how you are responding now. You deserve the space and time to be thought about and through counselling, you can find a way forward that feels authentic and welcome for you.
I am an experienced counsellor, having worked in school and within charitable agencies. Alongside my private work, I am Deputy Head of Counselling at a local low-cost service where I am responsible for the management and supervision of a team of counsellors. I am accredited by the BACP which means that I have been assessed as meeting their higher standard of competence and ethics.
If you would like to explore counselling with me, you can contact me and we will arrange a free telephone consultation. It is important that you feel safe and comfortable with me so that we can work together. We can talk about what you might need, I can answer any questions you might have about me and my practice. If I don’t feel like the right fit for whatever reason, there is no obligation to continue and I will endeavour to recommend someone for you.
Member organisations
school 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 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
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
Counselling sessions last 50 minutes and are charged at £60.
When I work
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I currently have spaces available. Please do contact me to arrange a convenient time.
