David O'Hara

I am a Person-Centred Counsellor who has studied to diploma at Bury College. My background is ten years’ experience in mental health settings, working with a wide variety of clients such as a forensic background, personality disorders, drug, and alcohol issues. I have worked within care homes, forensic step-down services and in the charity sector. I am a member of the BACP and will be receiving full accreditation in April 2021.

Counselling is a form of therapy which can help individuals understand and work through painful and seemingly overwhelming issues; it can help you discover new directions and positive ways of enriching your life. As a person-centred counsellor, I offer a safe and confidential space where personal and private feelings can be explored, where issues can be shared without the worry of being judged. Counselling allows time to identify the problem and to look at alternative options with the goal of empowering you to make necessary changes.

Counselling

Person centred counselling is a type of talking therapy that centres on the client’s emotional responses to the issues that affect them. It offers the client the opportunity to discuss a variety of issues with a skilled practitioner who will facilitate the client to explore and reflect on their emotions, responses and actions to events in their life.

Person centred therapy is built on the respect for the client’s autonomy in finding solutions to their issues and in their authority on their own experiences. We will look at what matters to you, how you want to be able to resolve issues, look at what motivates you and help you find the ways and the confidence to achieve your goals.

The role of a person-centred counsellor is to create a non-judgemental space that facilitates the growth of the client, through reflection and self-discovery. The counsellor’s role is to shine a light on where there is an incongruence between beliefs and actions that cause the distress that clients feel. A person-centred therapist will not seek to lead the sessions so it will be up to the client to be willing to engage with their emotions and feelings as the sessions will not be structured by the counsellor directing the work. The goal is to be open to new experiences; both positive and negative and support you to feel able to deal with the issues that come forward rather than denying them.

Person centred counselling works well with people who are feeling depressed, anxious or bereaved. As the work is non-directive it works well with people who are able to express themselves, have an urge to explore their own emotions and are willing to accept the support to understand and process their thoughts as they are supported to understand the way they see the world.

Person-centred counselling deals with emotions, so if you are not comfortable or willing to explore your emotional responses to your issues then this process will not benefit you. Clients will need to be open and honest about their actions and responses to events and be willing to discuss what has informed these decisions. You will also need to be able to accept challenge on why you act in certain ways and be willing to change as a person. If you are unwilling to do this then you will gain few benefits from this approach and the sessions and a different method may suit you better.

£45 per session

A major part of the therapeutic process is being with the right counsellor; a brief introduction should be enough to work out if we are a fit.  I don't want the process with me to not be beneficial and this puts you off the process with a counsellor who is a better match for you.