David Seaman
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
My name is David Seaman and I'm a qualified integrative counsellor and I have worked with individuals facing a range of issues including trauma, depression, loss, anxiety, abuse, addiction and managing relationships.
Childhood experiences form who individuals become in their adult relationships, carrying traumas that in time manifest themselves as psychological and physiological problems, unpleasant feelings are buried, they are buried alive and want to get out, this causes suffering, symptoms of anxiety, depression, mental and physical illness, the internal and external voices are overwhelming. Counselling is an opportunity to address these feelings and at last sit with these emotions. and then what?
The awareness of triggers, the distinction between past and present, it takes time, firmly held beliefs must be challenged, then in time a realisation that certain behaviours are not necessary anymore. The present can more easily be engaged with and understood when it is distinguishable from the past.
I know counselling can help because I have seen many individuals achieve the change they required. You can too. Every relationship in life is unique and that includes every counsellor/client relationship. If you are on this website then you are looking for someone to help facilitate change.
I believe you have the answers within, my role as counsellor is to help you find your genuine self, for you to gain control over your life and gain assertiveness, meaning you can make decisions that get your needs met, these are the changes that last.
There is not a one size fits all guide to personal growth and development, I do not believe in quick fixes or short cuts. Social media has turned therapy into quick 10 second self help soundbites, having counselling is not listening to advice or generalisations, it is about you and your very specific life story.
Seeing individuals grow and gain a genuine sense of identity brings me joy as a counsellor and is one of the reasons I love being one. I do not believe the counsellor role should be one that is authoritarian or directive, this is your journey. I will be with you as we explore the past, present and future, in a safe place, where you will not be judged.
Addiction:
The way I work with addiction is to engage at depth with what the need is, it is not enough to just stop that behaviour because one feels it is bad or wrong. Whatever it is that one has developed an unhealthy relationship with, it has appeared to meet a need, what is that need? We cannot pretend it doesn’t exist and hope it disappears, a dependency on recovery itself is a precarious way to exist, I don’t believe trying to outrun the addiction helps, together we can face it and gain an understanding of its purpose, kindly communicating with the part of the self that still feels that need, attending to that part of the self, filling in the gaps from the past.
Experience:
- Private practice in Ipswich since 2020.
- Counsellor at Iceni in Ipswich for four and a half years.
- Keyworker/Creative therapist at Focus 12 Rehab for two and a half years.
- I'm a registered member of the BACP and follow their ethical guidelines.
- Sober since 2013.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Gabor Maté on Treating Trauma, Stress, and Addictions, online course, CPD Certificate PESI 2025
- Trauma-Informed Stabilisation Treatment: Working with Substance Abuse, Eating Disorders, Compulsive Self-Harm, and Suicidality CPD Certificate PESI 2024
- Janina Fisher Complete Trauma Immersion CPD Certificate PESI 2024
- Transgenerational and Inherited Trauma CPD Certificate PESI 2024
- Bessel Van Der Kolk Body Keeps the Score CPD Certificate PESI 2024
- Working with the changing face of mental
health and cognition within the
workplace setting BACP CPD Certificate 2024 - British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists Certificate of proficiency
- Integrative counselling and psychotherapy at University Campus Suffolk
- MBACP
- Integrative counselling and psychotherapy, accredited by Middlesex University.
- Have undergone training in remote counselling for telephone and online work.
- I believe in regular continuing personal development (CPD), and that learning and personal development is essential for practising counsellors.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
£50 = 50 minutes
£70 = 90 minutes
When I work
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My counselling room is 24hrs so am able to be flexible
Further information
Basepoint business centre has a reception area where there is coffee, vending machines and a comfortable seating area, this can be utilized by clients, if required, before/after face to face counselling sessions. The building has free parking (up to 60 minutes) and is just off the A14, it is also not in the town centre which makes the location more discreet.
I have my own counselling room which is available 24hrs a day so am often able to be flexible with hours when required.
